Reviews

The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund

nessla's review against another edition

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3.0

Tiedättekö sellaiset kirjat, joita lukiessa on koko ajan vähän pettynyt siihen mitä lukee, ja turhautuu kaikesta, ja on aivan varma ettei pidä kirjasta yhtään..

.. mutta sitten kun saa sen luettua, teksti jää päähän ja muuttuu yhtäkkiä aika-hyväksi tai jopa hyväksi?

En tiedä miten sellaisia kirjoja kirjoitetaan, mutta tämä on sellainen.
Luin suomeksi. Käännöksestä huusi ruotsin vaikutus läpi (dialogissa etenkin), ja epäilen kielen muutenkin olevan kehnompaa käännettynä.

Olen myös tosi huono lukemaan tämän tyyppisiä kirjoja, joten nihkeyteni voi johtua siitäkin.

2 ja 3 tähden välillä.

bookish_scientist's review against another edition

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5.0

It's rare that I find my rating to be far to the right of the outside of the mean, but The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund continues to haunt me--days after finishing it. Did I 'enjoy' the book--that's difficult to answer. The writing was what kept me going, but the subject matter, well.....let's just say that that it is disturbing on a level I've not experienced in quite a while in a book. And that is why I gave it the rating I did. It was a very solid 4.5 stars pushed to 5 for the writing; the realism and intensity Sund gave to a subject that turns my stomach kept me pulling for the main characters and reading more. There were absolutely times when I needed to put this down and go to something a little more lighthearted--and I expect that with the length of this book, few would be able to stomach plowing through in a marathon reading session. But if you enjoy psychological thrillers and can handle (note I do not say enjoy) the graphic and frequent descriptions of child abuse, this tome may be a good one for you.

wirsindgefangene's review against another edition

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2.0

Ich stecke ja viel weg, wenn es um Thriller oder Krimis geht. Gemetzel machen mir nicht wirklich was aus und auch sonst komme ich mit genauen Beschreibungen von allerlei Grausamkeiten klar. Doch die zum Teil sehr explizite Darstellung von Pädophilie fand ich unfassbar abstoßend und widerwärtig. Dieses Thema ist echt nichts für mich und hat mich schon an Sebastian Fitzeks "Das Kind" gestört, aber das nur am Rande.
Die vielen Sprünge in Zeit und Ort waren stellenweise sehr verwirrend. Aber leider nicht auf die Art, die Spannung erzeugt, sondern eher so, dass man am Ende nur noch genervt ist. Außerdem werden die Figuren nur lieblos charakterisiert und man baut zu keiner eine Beziehung oder Sympathie auf. Außerdem war die Wendung unglaublich vorhersehbar. Und das sogar für mich, die sonst nie kapiert, wer der Täter ist...
Das Lesen dieses Buches hat mir einfach überhaupt keine Freude bereitet und ich werde trotz des (mehr oder weniger) offenen Endes die Trilogie nicht weiterlesen. Wie sich die Geschichte weiter entwickeln wird, lässt sich nämlich auch schon ziemlich erahnen.
Kurzum: ein Flop auf ganzer Ebene!

reettis's review against another edition

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2.0

En pitänyt tätä kovinkaan hypnoottisena, enkä ihastunut erityisemmin. Ihan hyvä perusdekkari, joskin näitä lukiessa alan aina ihmetellä miksi dekkarigenre toistaa niin sitkeästi omia stereotypioitaan -mikään ei koskaan tule yllätyksenä. Tässä oli myös todella paljon tarpeetonta väkivaltaa, eikä se saa minua pelkäämään tai kiinnostumaan, ainoastaan ihmettelemään kirjailijan motiiveja sellaisen kirjoittamiseen. Mutta ihan hyvä kirja, odotin kyllä paljon enemmän tältä. Kirjan paras osa taitaa olla kansikuva -en ole uskaltanut lukea tätä aiemmin, koska tuo kuva on pelottava!

secre's review against another edition

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4.0

This is dark and then darker still. Whilst there aren't all too many depictions of graphic violence and gore, that isn't really necessary. Instead the focus on human trafficking, pedaphilia, rape and child pornography, along with the all too human impacts is undeniably disturbing. The author doesn't pull her punches and you are forced to confront the profound effects the abuse has on it's victims, both as children and as adults fractured by the past.

The psychological effects and consequences are explored in a detail that I have rarely seen in novels, with particular focus on when the coping mechanisms go wrong. And somewhere tied into this is a current story of unbelievable brutality, murder, revenge and hatred. You can't understand the present without delving into the past and yet the past is both convuluted and hidden in fragmented corners of a deeply disturbed psyche. What is seen or remembered cannot necessarily be accepted as truth.

I do have to say that not only is this dark and disturbing, it is also exceptionally complex and I may well have to read it a second time in order to piece together all of the myriad threads and references. This isn't a light read on multiple levels and it certainly won't be for everyone, but I have to admit that I found myself caught. I needed to know how everything worked out and all the pieces fit together.

There's no doubt that this is exceptionally well written and translated; it draws you into this murky complex world and continually throws everything you thought you knew on its head. It's makes for uncomfortable reading, hurtling you into the world of child sex trafficking as well as utter psychosis and you have no choice but to try to keep your head above water. It's well worth a read, providing you have a strong enough constitution.

darcijo's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm not sure this book was worth the time it took to read it. It wasn't a bad book, but I was trying to fit it in between school work and it was the only other book I was reading for quite awhile because of the length of it.

nightshadexxx's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i dont know where to begin.
this book, or this series of books combined into this one copy, was an experience unlike any other ive ever had while reading. it took me 3 months to finish this book. not because of it's length— because when you get to the gist of it, it really doesn't take that much of a time to finish it when you get going, but because i had to put this book down over and over since it was so difficult to read it.

The first scene when most of the things about victoria's past are revealed fucking shook me to my core. it genuinely made me nauseous. I put the book down after that and I didn't really get back to reading it for a really long time, maybe a month or so, because the thought of reading that scene and catching up to the story again (since I had forgotten most of the part leading up to it) terrified me.
but being the sort of person that I am, I don't really give up on reading dark things that easily, because I like to find out how bad it can get; so I started reading it again in July and I finished it today, mid August.

Anyways, getting to the actual plot; it was amazing. I would have never guessed the twists and turns. simply because initially it made us believe that the murderer was the person whom we had gotten to know over the course of the book. but it didn't turn out to be like that. it changed like four times after that lol, but i loved that because it kept me engaged. it kept me second guessing. it had me make an effort by connecting the dots myself.

it was dark, it was twisted, it was filthy, disgusting & nauseating. every bad emotion you could feel, it ellicted that in you. it made us think about the worst of humanity.
i hated it. for what it made me feel and think and imagine. i truly did.
but ive grown to love this book a lot. it's unique, it's chilling, and the way it explores the human psyche is unmatched.
the web of characters line up so neatly. not a single thing left forgotten. no threads left unraveled.

the ending was bittersweet. i do wish jeanette and sofia/victoria ended up together. or hurtig.
but i'm glad it's more about liberating yourself of your past, starting anew. i wish madeleine got caught though. it's unfair that she's still free.
what happened with ulrika, it genuinely upset me.
it was all so- moving.
i cant describe it that well right now. maybe there will never be enough words to describe this book.
im so glad i stumbled upon a reel by crimbythebook and read her favorite nordic thriller book.
im glad i didnt heed the trigger warnings and forced myself to complete it. im glad i completed it.
im so glad.

etown_bookworm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

pocketbubblan's review against another edition

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fast-paced

1.5

kallison25's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3.75 stars - 
Ugh, this definitely started out as a 5 star book. I was hooked immediately by the extremely dark nature of all the crimes being committed but I quickly got lost in all the characters, places, and plotlines. The only story that seemed extremely relevant to the main plot line was Victoria's but it started to feel convoluted when it was revealed that Sofia IS Victoria and so are several of the other names/points of view mentioned throughout the book. There were a lot of bad people in this book and they all committed extremely heinous acts but at some point - they lost connection with each other and about halfway through the book it felt like even the author was losing track of where they wanted the story to go. Very disappointed with this one 😕