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pinkvogue's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
che77's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
stefaniefrei's review against another edition
5.0
„Du bist niemand ohne den Blick des anderen“ S. 374
„Kriminalkommissarin Sara Campos, Abteilung für Kriminalverbrechen. Dürfen wir reinkommen?“ S. 25 Ein Auto liegt verunglückt in der Schlucht nahe des einsamen Bergdorfes Monteperdido, mit einem toten Mann darin. Fünf Jahre nach ihrem Verschwinden wird Ana bei diesem Fahrzeug gefunden. Aber die damals elfjährige verschwand nicht allein, sondern mit Lucía, der gleichaltrigen Nachbarstochter, ihrer besten Freundin. Doch wo ist Lucía und was ist passiert?
„Jede Erklärung war eine Rechtfertigung, und das Letzte, was jemand hören wollte, der einen geliebten Menschen verloren hatte, war eine Rechtfertigung. Es gab keine Begründung, die das Leid aufwog. Diese Entschuldigungen anzunehmen bedeutete, dass es keinen Schuldigen gab. Als könnte das Leid des Mörders das Leid des Opfers aufwiegen.“ S. 53
Zwei verschwundene sehr junge Mädchen, von denen eines im Auto eines Mannes wieder auftaucht –so einfach ist das hier nicht, und das ist noch untertrieben. Dadurch eignet sich dieser Krimi meines Erachtens auch für die Leser, die nichts von Sadisten lesen möchten – ein „Cozy Krimi“ ist das hier jedoch bei weitem nicht und „normal“ wird zu einem dehnbaren Begriff. Nichts ist hier so, wie es auf den ersten Blick scheint. „Dieses Kaff ist wie ein gottverdammtes schwarzes Loch.“ S.405 bemerkt Polizistin Sara frustriert einmal. Gleichzeitig hat mich der Erzählstil aber auch stark beeindruckt, besonders bezüglich der Charaktere. Gut oder Böse? Geschenkt. Fast jeder hat seine Geheimnisse, die möglichst verborgen bleiben sollen – ungut nur, wenn dadurch noch ganz andere Dinge verborgen oder auch, oft fälschlich, vermutet werden. Beschädigte Ermittler? Das Klischee braucht der Erzähler nicht, hier sind fast alle irgendwie „verletzt“, ohne dass das überzogen wirkt, es scheint vielmehr als unvermeidbar im Verlauf des Lebens.
Begeistert bin ich von der psychologischen Komponente der Erzählung – der Autor psychologisiert nicht, er erklärt Gefühle und Handlungen nicht ausschweifend, er wirft da einfach nur Sätze hin, die es genau auf den Punkt bringen. So lässt er Quim, den älteren Bruder der weiterhin verschwundenen Lucía bemerken: „Seit so vielen Jahren duckte er sich vor dem Frust seines Vaters. Dabei wusste er, dass sein Vater weniger darunter litt, dass seine Tochter verschwunden war, sondern vor allem damit haderte, dass er nicht in der Lage war, sie zu finden.“ S. 365
„Monteperdido“ erzählt zeitlich und räumlich begrenzt, springt dabei aber in der Perspektive teils sehr schnell und kurzfristig zwischen mehreren Personen, bleibt jedoch in der Distanz der dritten Person. Das treibt die Erzählung voran. Autor Augstín Martínez nutzt die Enge des düsteren abgelegenen Pyrenäenortes Monteperdido, um sein Romandebüt fast wie ein Kammerspiel zu gestalten, bei dem die Enge, die Landschaft und die Härte der Natur in den Bergen wie ein weiterer Akteur wirken – der Autor ist bislang als Drehbuchautor tätig; kaum ein Wunder, wie gut ich das Buch visualisieren konnte.
Leseempfehlung! Und einen Film fände ich auch toll...
„Kriminalkommissarin Sara Campos, Abteilung für Kriminalverbrechen. Dürfen wir reinkommen?“ S. 25 Ein Auto liegt verunglückt in der Schlucht nahe des einsamen Bergdorfes Monteperdido, mit einem toten Mann darin. Fünf Jahre nach ihrem Verschwinden wird Ana bei diesem Fahrzeug gefunden. Aber die damals elfjährige verschwand nicht allein, sondern mit Lucía, der gleichaltrigen Nachbarstochter, ihrer besten Freundin. Doch wo ist Lucía und was ist passiert?
„Jede Erklärung war eine Rechtfertigung, und das Letzte, was jemand hören wollte, der einen geliebten Menschen verloren hatte, war eine Rechtfertigung. Es gab keine Begründung, die das Leid aufwog. Diese Entschuldigungen anzunehmen bedeutete, dass es keinen Schuldigen gab. Als könnte das Leid des Mörders das Leid des Opfers aufwiegen.“ S. 53
Zwei verschwundene sehr junge Mädchen, von denen eines im Auto eines Mannes wieder auftaucht –so einfach ist das hier nicht, und das ist noch untertrieben. Dadurch eignet sich dieser Krimi meines Erachtens auch für die Leser, die nichts von Sadisten lesen möchten – ein „Cozy Krimi“ ist das hier jedoch bei weitem nicht und „normal“ wird zu einem dehnbaren Begriff. Nichts ist hier so, wie es auf den ersten Blick scheint. „Dieses Kaff ist wie ein gottverdammtes schwarzes Loch.“ S.405 bemerkt Polizistin Sara frustriert einmal. Gleichzeitig hat mich der Erzählstil aber auch stark beeindruckt, besonders bezüglich der Charaktere. Gut oder Böse? Geschenkt. Fast jeder hat seine Geheimnisse, die möglichst verborgen bleiben sollen – ungut nur, wenn dadurch noch ganz andere Dinge verborgen oder auch, oft fälschlich, vermutet werden. Beschädigte Ermittler? Das Klischee braucht der Erzähler nicht, hier sind fast alle irgendwie „verletzt“, ohne dass das überzogen wirkt, es scheint vielmehr als unvermeidbar im Verlauf des Lebens.
Begeistert bin ich von der psychologischen Komponente der Erzählung – der Autor psychologisiert nicht, er erklärt Gefühle und Handlungen nicht ausschweifend, er wirft da einfach nur Sätze hin, die es genau auf den Punkt bringen. So lässt er Quim, den älteren Bruder der weiterhin verschwundenen Lucía bemerken: „Seit so vielen Jahren duckte er sich vor dem Frust seines Vaters. Dabei wusste er, dass sein Vater weniger darunter litt, dass seine Tochter verschwunden war, sondern vor allem damit haderte, dass er nicht in der Lage war, sie zu finden.“ S. 365
„Monteperdido“ erzählt zeitlich und räumlich begrenzt, springt dabei aber in der Perspektive teils sehr schnell und kurzfristig zwischen mehreren Personen, bleibt jedoch in der Distanz der dritten Person. Das treibt die Erzählung voran. Autor Augstín Martínez nutzt die Enge des düsteren abgelegenen Pyrenäenortes Monteperdido, um sein Romandebüt fast wie ein Kammerspiel zu gestalten, bei dem die Enge, die Landschaft und die Härte der Natur in den Bergen wie ein weiterer Akteur wirken – der Autor ist bislang als Drehbuchautor tätig; kaum ein Wunder, wie gut ich das Buch visualisieren konnte.
Leseempfehlung! Und einen Film fände ich auch toll...
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
3.0
Visit the locations in the book here
Village of the Lost Girls, Agustin Martinez. Set in a village in the Pyrenees, this is a police procedural with a difference. The disappearance of two young girls is not going to be an easy topic to read about but it makes for a compelling tale. Even more so, when one of them returns after many years ‘missing’.
Monteperdido is the remote and rural setting. Not your usual setting for a crime novel and police procedural but this made it all the more compelling. It gives a sense of loss to the novel, a sense of the impossibility of finding the other girl in such a vast landscape. But it also shows the miracle return of the other girl. She seems to have appeared from nowhere.
Inspector Sara Campos comes to Monteperdido and together with her boss Santiago, starts to investigate the disappearance and the search . Local people are in two minds about whether this is a good thing – opening up a can of worms. This case seems odd to them. One girl still missing and the other an enigma. Lucia’s father is a lone and emotional figure trying to grab on to any chance there is of getting his daughter back.
He is not the only troubled figure however as there is added tension with Sara. As leader of the investigation, she has to remain impartial, but she finds out that the case is rather close to home. She begins to fall apart and it’s an interesting story line. Will she manage to keep going or will the valley swallow her up too?
I think this might have been more of a straight forward crime novel but the location takes it to another level. The sense of space, remoteness, claustrophobia and the vast void which makes up the setting create a fascinating background which soon becomes a character in itself.
thebooktrail88's review
3.0
Visit the locations in the novel
Village of the Lost Girls, Agustin Martinez. Set in the fictional village of Monteperdido in the Pyrenees, this is a police procedural with a difference. The disappearance of two young girls is not going to be an easy topic to read about but it makes for a compelling tale. Even more so, when one of them returns after many years ‘missing’.
Monteperdido is the remote and rural setting. Not your usual setting for a crime novel and police procedural but this made it all the more compelling. It gives a sense of loss to the novel, a sense of the impossibility of finding the other girl in such a vast landscape. But it also shows the miracle return of the other girl. She seems to have appeared from nowhere.
Inspector Sara Campos comes to Monteperdido and together with her boss Santiago, starts to investigate the disappearance and the search . Local people are in two minds about whether this is a good thing – opening up a can of worms. This case seems odd to them. One girl still missing and the other an enigma. Lucia’s father is a lone and emotional figure trying to grab on to any chance there is of getting his daughter back.
He is not the only troubled figure however as there is added tension with Sara. As leader of the investigation, she has to remain impartial, but she finds out that the case is rather close to home. She begins to fall apart and it’s an interesting story line. Will she manage to keep going or will the valley swallow her up too?
I think this might have been more of a straight forward crime novel but the location takes it to another level. The sense of space, remoteness, claustrophobia and the vast void which makes up the setting create a fascinating background which soon becomes a character in itself.
The novel was good but it could have done with sharper, shorter chapters. Translation was excellent though and it read well overall. It was definitely the location which made this stand out for me.
bibliobethreads's review
4.0
This review comes with a big thank you to Quercus Books who drew my attention to this book when they hosted a bloggers event just before Christmas that showcased some of the works they were most excited about for 2019. Now I'm a big fan of thrillers, especially those with a literary edge like Village Of The Lost Girls but I'm also constantly hungry to read novels that are set outside the countries that I normally associate with thrillers i.e. Scandinavian/Nordic and Tartan Noir or even those set in Germany, America and my home country of Great Britain. As a result, this novel left me with a wonderful sense of place for the remote village set in the Pyrenees with all the drama, tension and politics that living in a small community can offer, especially with a potential kidnapper in their midst.
As with all good mysteries, it's best to go into this novel knowing as little as possible so I'm afraid I'm going to keep the remainder of this review annoyingly vague and just let you know my thoughts about the story. To be perfectly honest, I don't think it's going to be a book for everyone, especially if you prefer a faster paced plot. Village Of The Lost Girls is very much a slow burner of a read and instead, appears to focus much more on the study of various different characters within the community rather than what happened to the two missing girls. There is still an investigation of course, and we hear much more from specific characters like our lead female protagonist, Sara Campos and the parents of the missing girls but events occur much more slowly and deliberately than you might expect when compared to your average thriller. This isn't a bad thing at all. In fact, I feel like if you enjoy novels by Tana French, you're really going to enjoy this but on the other hand, if you prefer your plots fast and furious, you might get a little frustrated with the pacing of this one.
Where do I sit with this novel? Somewhere firmly in the middle. There were parts of the narrative and characters that I absolutely loved and just wanted more from. Sara and Ana were particular favourites of mine and I was quite impressed at how well they were written from a male point of view. However, this story does involve a vast array of different characters, some of whom we learn a lot about, others appear sporadically. Normally, I enjoy a large cast of individuals in a novel but for some reason, in this story, I found it at times to be a bit too overwhelming and slightly confusing. Perhaps it was just me! As a result, I found becoming fully invested in the story as a whole a bit difficult as I constantly had to keep reminding myself who was who in the grand scheme of things.
Saying that, I really cannot fault the author's writing style or ability to create such a stunning setting for his story just by using words. The forests, mountains and desolate environment play such a huge part in this novel and are almost characters themselves in their own right. Gradually, piece by piece, the puzzle begins to make sense but it's not until the very end that you finally find out exactly what has been going on. I was delighted that I didn't guess the person responsible but strangely enough, it wasn't as big a shock as I would have hoped for. Nevertheless, there is one surprising incident that I wasn't expecting so I was pleased that Martinez managed to pull the rug from out under me in that respect. Would I read another book by this author? Yes, I think I would for the descriptive writing style alone and additionally, I would be much better prepared in the future for a larger cast of characters.
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
As with all good mysteries, it's best to go into this novel knowing as little as possible so I'm afraid I'm going to keep the remainder of this review annoyingly vague and just let you know my thoughts about the story. To be perfectly honest, I don't think it's going to be a book for everyone, especially if you prefer a faster paced plot. Village Of The Lost Girls is very much a slow burner of a read and instead, appears to focus much more on the study of various different characters within the community rather than what happened to the two missing girls. There is still an investigation of course, and we hear much more from specific characters like our lead female protagonist, Sara Campos and the parents of the missing girls but events occur much more slowly and deliberately than you might expect when compared to your average thriller. This isn't a bad thing at all. In fact, I feel like if you enjoy novels by Tana French, you're really going to enjoy this but on the other hand, if you prefer your plots fast and furious, you might get a little frustrated with the pacing of this one.
Where do I sit with this novel? Somewhere firmly in the middle. There were parts of the narrative and characters that I absolutely loved and just wanted more from. Sara and Ana were particular favourites of mine and I was quite impressed at how well they were written from a male point of view. However, this story does involve a vast array of different characters, some of whom we learn a lot about, others appear sporadically. Normally, I enjoy a large cast of individuals in a novel but for some reason, in this story, I found it at times to be a bit too overwhelming and slightly confusing. Perhaps it was just me! As a result, I found becoming fully invested in the story as a whole a bit difficult as I constantly had to keep reminding myself who was who in the grand scheme of things.
Saying that, I really cannot fault the author's writing style or ability to create such a stunning setting for his story just by using words. The forests, mountains and desolate environment play such a huge part in this novel and are almost characters themselves in their own right. Gradually, piece by piece, the puzzle begins to make sense but it's not until the very end that you finally find out exactly what has been going on. I was delighted that I didn't guess the person responsible but strangely enough, it wasn't as big a shock as I would have hoped for. Nevertheless, there is one surprising incident that I wasn't expecting so I was pleased that Martinez managed to pull the rug from out under me in that respect. Would I read another book by this author? Yes, I think I would for the descriptive writing style alone and additionally, I would be much better prepared in the future for a larger cast of characters.
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
tangeriney's review against another edition
4.0
very very good…. for some reason i struggled with the names but i still had a good enough grasp to understand who was doing what… some things i predicted but i was shocked a few times as well
entazis's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
In the end, I feel like this was a waste of my time.
There were some interesting moments that kept me hooked for the mystery, but also, unfortunately, there were times in this book I felt the focus was slipping, resulting in a very bloated book. Ending was, for me personally, hugely dissapointing, and made me feel like I read a whole lot of pages for nothing.
There were some interesting moments that kept me hooked for the mystery, but also, unfortunately, there were times in this book I felt the focus was slipping, resulting in a very bloated book. Ending was, for me personally, hugely dissapointing, and made me feel like I read a whole lot of pages for nothing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Incest, Grief, and Child death