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karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this because of the descriptions of the baltic Island and enjoyed the pace of the book, but I think my favorite Scandinavian Noir mysteries are the Icelandic ones for Indridason.
magyklyxdelish's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This story revolves around a little boy who went missing 20 years prior and a notorious killer who died years before the boy was born. Somehow they are connected.
This was an extremely slow burn. Especially through the first half. It was hard to pick up after putting it down. One of the main characters, Gerlof, is always beating around the bush which makes it go even slower for me.
I will say that I enjoyed the author’s writing style. He’s very descriptive and I loved the atmosphere of Oland. The plot itself was interesting and there was even a twist I didn’t see coming which is always welcome.
If it wasn’t such a slow burn I would have rated higher so the low score is purely just based on my own preference.
This story revolves around a little boy who went missing 20 years prior and a notorious killer who died years before the boy was born. Somehow they are connected.
This was an extremely slow burn. Especially through the first half. It was hard to pick up after putting it down. One of the main characters, Gerlof, is always beating around the bush which makes it go even slower for me.
I will say that I enjoyed the author’s writing style. He’s very descriptive and I loved the atmosphere of Oland. The plot itself was interesting and there was even a twist I didn’t see coming which is always welcome.
If it wasn’t such a slow burn I would have rated higher so the low score is purely just based on my own preference.
enboknagrakopparte's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
krobart's review against another edition
5.0
Echoes from the Dead is another terrific book by Johan Theorin. It is his first book, and reading it explained a few minor points about The Darkest Room, which I read first. This novel is not as atmospheric as The Darkest Room, but it is full of characters that you begin to know. The plot is complex, interleaved with the story of what actually happened to Nils Kant back in the past.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/echoes-from-the-dead/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/echoes-from-the-dead/
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
3.0
The popularity of Henning Mankell has opened the English speaking world to Scandinavian Mystery novels and we are much the richer for it. Translate all of them, please!
Echoes from the Dead concerns a young boy, missing for twenty years when the story opens, and the catastrophic effect his disappearance on an isolated Swedish island has had on his family, especially his mother, Julia, who never recovered and lives a sort of twilight life. Her father receives a boy's sandal in the mail and begins to look for answers, calling his daughter back to the island. What follows is a tautly-written thriller where no one is as they seem and secrets run deep.
Echoes from the Dead is well-written and well-plotted and well worth reading.
Echoes from the Dead concerns a young boy, missing for twenty years when the story opens, and the catastrophic effect his disappearance on an isolated Swedish island has had on his family, especially his mother, Julia, who never recovered and lives a sort of twilight life. Her father receives a boy's sandal in the mail and begins to look for answers, calling his daughter back to the island. What follows is a tautly-written thriller where no one is as they seem and secrets run deep.
Echoes from the Dead is well-written and well-plotted and well worth reading.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
This book is just classic Swedish / Scandinavian crime fiction. Slow, involved, intricate, revealing and complex, ECHOES FROM THE DEAD concentrates very much on Julia, and her father, and their slow and careful repairing of a relationship which was torn apart at the time that Julia's son disappeared.
Julia hasn't coped at all since her son's disappearance and she's at a particularly low ebb in life when her father calls her back to the small, closed in island on which the boy disappeared. Julia's father, Gerlof, lives in a home now, but he's still connected with the island and the people. And that's the other thing that this book draws out beautifully - connections. Much of the solution to the disappearance of the little boy relies on the connection that only time can bring. Gerlof and his cronies are islanders from way back, and the little tweaks of memory, knowing who to ask about what, and where to look for information is part of the reason that Gerlof and Julia are finally able to get to the bottom of the boy's loss. Guilt and revenge also play their own part, as does stupidity and a momentary loss of control which leads to an even greater loss in years to come. As does suspicion. The character of Nils is particularly poignant - guilty perhaps, but not of everything, it's easy to make an outsider / somebody who is perhaps not quite "all there" responsible for everything. It's really really easy to jump to conclusions and get things wrapped up all neat and tidy.
It's undoubtedly a slow book, but slow is exactly what you want in this instance. You're pulled into this tiny little community. You're pulled into the profound grief and total loss of Julia, you're pulled into the way that Gerlof tries to put things right with his own daughter. But none of these things - after all those years - can be resolved quickly, and the book doesn't push you through, but quietly, understatedly allows the events to pull you to them. It's a character study at the same time as it's an investigation. The resolution is complicated and messy and untidy and maybe a bit unsatisfactory if you're into things nicely all tied up and done and dusted - but that's exactly as it so often is.
And that's what makes it classic Scandinavian crime fiction for this reader, nothing is easy, often things can't be wrapped up and ticked off, people make decisions that have profound long-term effects and violence is never going to be the solution.
Julia hasn't coped at all since her son's disappearance and she's at a particularly low ebb in life when her father calls her back to the small, closed in island on which the boy disappeared. Julia's father, Gerlof, lives in a home now, but he's still connected with the island and the people. And that's the other thing that this book draws out beautifully - connections. Much of the solution to the disappearance of the little boy relies on the connection that only time can bring. Gerlof and his cronies are islanders from way back, and the little tweaks of memory, knowing who to ask about what, and where to look for information is part of the reason that Gerlof and Julia are finally able to get to the bottom of the boy's loss. Guilt and revenge also play their own part, as does stupidity and a momentary loss of control which leads to an even greater loss in years to come. As does suspicion. The character of Nils is particularly poignant - guilty perhaps, but not of everything, it's easy to make an outsider / somebody who is perhaps not quite "all there" responsible for everything. It's really really easy to jump to conclusions and get things wrapped up all neat and tidy.
It's undoubtedly a slow book, but slow is exactly what you want in this instance. You're pulled into this tiny little community. You're pulled into the profound grief and total loss of Julia, you're pulled into the way that Gerlof tries to put things right with his own daughter. But none of these things - after all those years - can be resolved quickly, and the book doesn't push you through, but quietly, understatedly allows the events to pull you to them. It's a character study at the same time as it's an investigation. The resolution is complicated and messy and untidy and maybe a bit unsatisfactory if you're into things nicely all tied up and done and dusted - but that's exactly as it so often is.
And that's what makes it classic Scandinavian crime fiction for this reader, nothing is easy, often things can't be wrapped up and ticked off, people make decisions that have profound long-term effects and violence is never going to be the solution.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I can't remember the last time I read a book in Swedish, it was weird. But I would never read a translation when I can read the real thing so off I went.
Was it awesome? No, but it had me so curious that I had to read more.
It is a about a missing child, and decades later there is a shoe in the mail. Whaaat? Who sent it? The grandfather, in his old age, tries to investigate. The mother comes and what I liked here is that her story was more about letting go and not holding her grief as a way to shut away the world.
A body that was never found. A story about someone sinister who used to live nearby. What happened?
Oh it had me guessing until the end. I do like that. So for that I quite enjoyed it
Was it awesome? No, but it had me so curious that I had to read more.
It is a about a missing child, and decades later there is a shoe in the mail. Whaaat? Who sent it? The grandfather, in his old age, tries to investigate. The mother comes and what I liked here is that her story was more about letting go and not holding her grief as a way to shut away the world.
A body that was never found. A story about someone sinister who used to live nearby. What happened?
Oh it had me guessing until the end. I do like that. So for that I quite enjoyed it
caro_readsalot's review against another edition
2.0
Heb 159 pagina's gelezen en het kon me nog totaal niet pakken of boeien.... Ik heb het neergelegd... Heel jammer dan ga ik er niet nog meer tijd in steken.