Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I love the Scandivanian crime sub genre even despite their tendency to feel heavy. Perfect fiction for cold winters though. And this one does not disappoint. I like the fact the book is told from the point of abductor, the abducted and investigator. Not entirely sure I will read the rest of the series but this is a good read if this is your type of genre
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping
Și tavanul a fost albastru. Omul de la magazin susținea că o culoare închisă ar fi făcut ca încăperea să pară mai mică. Se înșela. Dimpotrivă, tavanul se înălța, aproape că dispărea. Așa cum dorisem eu însumi, când eram mic: o boltă întunecată, spuzită de stele, ca fundal pentru un crai-nou subțirel, răsărit chiar deasupra ferestrei. Pe vremea aia, pentru mine, alegea Buni. Buni și mami. O cameră de băiețel, zugrăvită în galben și alb.
Fericirea este un lucru de care abia dacă-mi pot aminti, ca o atingere fugară într-un grup de necunoscuți: dispărută mai înainte de a apuca eu să mă întorc. Când camera a fost aranjată și n-au mai rămas decât două zile până să vină el, în sfârșit, m-am simțit mulțumit. Fericirea este un lucru copilăresc, iar eu mă apropii de treizeci și patru de ani, nu trebuie să uităm. Dar eram mulțumit, de bună seamă. Mă bucuram.
Camera era gata. Pe lună, stătea călare un puști. Blond, ținând o undiță, o vargă de bambus prevăzută cu fir și flotor; și jos de tot – agățată de cârligul undiței –, o stea. O picătură de vopsea galbenă se prelingea spre colțul ferestrei, ca și cum cerul începuse să se topească.
Fiul meu putea, în sfârșit, să sosească.
Fericirea este un lucru de care abia dacă-mi pot aminti, ca o atingere fugară într-un grup de necunoscuți: dispărută mai înainte de a apuca eu să mă întorc. Când camera a fost aranjată și n-au mai rămas decât două zile până să vină el, în sfârșit, m-am simțit mulțumit. Fericirea este un lucru copilăresc, iar eu mă apropii de treizeci și patru de ani, nu trebuie să uităm. Dar eram mulțumit, de bună seamă. Mă bucuram.
Camera era gata. Pe lună, stătea călare un puști. Blond, ținând o undiță, o vargă de bambus prevăzută cu fir și flotor; și jos de tot – agățată de cârligul undiței –, o stea. O picătură de vopsea galbenă se prelingea spre colțul ferestrei, ca și cum cerul începuse să se topească.
Fiul meu putea, în sfârșit, să sosească.
A series of abductions of children soon end up as murders, sending parents and police in a tizzy. The detective Adam Stubo is stumped and seeks out the expertise of Johanne Vik. Vik, in the meantime, dragged into a decades old mystery that might well be a stupendous miscarriage of justice. We know that the two cases will most probably link up, but when it does happen, it is a bit of a surprise anyway.
This is the first of the Vik/Stubo series and I was a little sceptical since I found the first Hanne Wilhelmsen a bit of a drag. However, Punishment is suspenseful and a gripping read. I give it three stars because I wasn't convinced with the way the two threads linked up. However, I loved the quirky Johanne Vik and will definitely read more of this series.
This is the first of the Vik/Stubo series and I was a little sceptical since I found the first Hanne Wilhelmsen a bit of a drag. However, Punishment is suspenseful and a gripping read. I give it three stars because I wasn't convinced with the way the two threads linked up. However, I loved the quirky Johanne Vik and will definitely read more of this series.
Although I find hard to read these sort of books because of the names and infrastructure, I remember reading this book on a weekend and I've finished it from friday to saturday so it must have been pretty good.
mysterious
medium-paced
It took me a few chapters to really get into this book but when it caught me I couldn't put it down.
It's addictive with a good paced rhythm and an interesting concept. The story is fascinating. I'll be coming back for me and soon.
It's addictive with a good paced rhythm and an interesting concept. The story is fascinating. I'll be coming back for me and soon.
Un libro perverso como la mayoría de los hechos por autores nórdicos pero que pose un final inesperado y una cantidad de ternura que endulza las paginas duras que llenan esta novela. Sin lugar a dudas es muy recomendable.
This decidedly creepy thriller is based on the abduction of a series of children and goes back and forth between perspectives: abductor, abductee, investigator... Holt paints a chillingly normal portrait of all the characters - the villain, reluctant hero, police, children are all just normal folk. Their motivations and ultimate actions are occasionally shocking, but the characters feel like someone you know.
Although there are strands of many stories woven expertly in this novel, the main thread concerns an academic who is a reluctant expert on psychological profiling. Johanne's sought out by the Oslo policeman Adam Stubo to help him find the man who has abducted several children and delivered two of them dead to their parents, while finding the motivation for the crimes. Johanne reluctantly joins the investigation and a multi-level partnership begins between her and Stubo. The richness in the story, though comes from the emotional outpourings from characters in several of the side stories: the man who was falsely accused of child abuse many years earlier, the elderly woman who tried to clear his name, a mother with a painful secret about her son. Each character is believably drawn.
Although there are strands of many stories woven expertly in this novel, the main thread concerns an academic who is a reluctant expert on psychological profiling. Johanne's sought out by the Oslo policeman Adam Stubo to help him find the man who has abducted several children and delivered two of them dead to their parents, while finding the motivation for the crimes. Johanne reluctantly joins the investigation and a multi-level partnership begins between her and Stubo. The richness in the story, though comes from the emotional outpourings from characters in several of the side stories: the man who was falsely accused of child abuse many years earlier, the elderly woman who tried to clear his name, a mother with a painful secret about her son. Each character is believably drawn.