Reviews

Ciche kroki na schodach by Wiesław Marcysiak, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Only show reviews with written explanations

atlas_shruggs's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Þetta er það sem ég býst við þegar fólk lofar íslenskar glæpasögur. Persónurnar voru skemmtilegar og vel skrifaðar og ég skemmti mér vel við að fylgja Elmu og rannsókn hennar. Það fór samt í taugarnar á mér að Sævar væri farinn að daðra við Elmu þegar hann var ennþá í sambandi, persónulega er ég orðinn rosalega þreyttur á því að sjá framhjáhald eða eitthvað nálægt því í íslenskum bókmenntum.
Mér fannst Eva Björg einnig nota Ísland rosalega vel sem sögusvið. Sagan snéri svo mikið um smábæjar leyndarmál og orðspor sem mér fannst vera rosalega vel gert. Það fór einnig í taugarnar á mér hve óviljugur Hörður var til að rannsaka bæjarbúa almennilega en það var raunsætt svo ég get ekki kvartað. Endir sögunnar var örlítið fyrirsjáanlegur en ég skemmti mér þrátt fyrir það og hlakka til að halda áfram að lesa um Elmu.

mariandy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.5

delton215's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kathleenes's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I listened to the audio for this book and felt like I could only follow the story 50% of the time, which I think is disappointing because I think it would be a good book other wise. There were two many characters and points of view and it was just hard to follow. Maybe it’s better as a physical book?

litwithleigh's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

One sentence review: Honda Civic Reliable Nordic Noir

SYNOPSIS

Chief Investigating Officer Elma has returned to Arkanes after her long-term relationship ended, and her first case is a doozy! A woman who fled Arkanes after a harrowing childhood turns up dead as a doorknob at one of the city's lighthouses. Why did she come back? And who wanted her gone for good?

MY OPINION

I saw fellow Goodreader Mai raving about this series and since books 1 & 2 were $0.99 on Kindle I was like YOLO. I love my Nordic Noir, and I've accepted that it is not for everyone. The translation can be a bit clunky (also it's often British translators, so there's lots of British slang lol). One of my fave "lost in translation" quotes was: "I see it's silly season for the police" LOL. Adding "silly season" to my arsenal asap.

Anyways, I call this Honda Civic Reliable in the context of the genre. Nordic Noir is one of my faves because they have a way of incorporating mental illness into the baddie's motivations that is quite startling. And they have a way of writing subtle relationship dynamics that are quite thought-provoking. But unfortunately these elements were missing from this book. Also, the police work also seemed a little questionable at times, but I guess that's small towns for you?

The flashbacks were the strongest part of this book. You really had to feel for lil Elisabet. The author did a great job with showing not telling how a child's trauma can manifest into "scary" behaviour. While the psychological insights were quite good in this regard, it didn't touch on how the other victim (a prevalent character) felt. And also I didn't really understand the baddie's motivations... they were obviously angry AF, but they didn't seem very motivated to get revenge until the object of their hatred just happened to waltz back into town.

All in all, this book was not BAD, it just didn't meet the banger alert requirements for this genre. However, the reveal at the end about Elam's personal life was heart-wrenching. Really nicely done.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: juicy case, pretty fast paced for a Nordic Noir

Cons: missing that je ne sais quoi that makes Nordic Noirs so bangerlicious, some questionable police work