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maryqueenofbooks's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
4.0
My two cents: Blessed Are those Who Thirst is a compelling mystery that leaves the reader wondering what she would do in a similar situation.
Setting: Oslo in the early 1990s is not that different from anywhere else. It's hot in the city and the police are overwhelmed dealing with a crime wave.
Characters: Hanne Wilhelmsen is a strong woman, intelligent and the best investigator on the force. She's also a private woman, rarely sharing bits of her personal life with her colleagues, much to the annoyance of her female partner, Cecile. This is the second in the series and I would imagine that Hanne and those she works with are developed more both in the first book and later in the series. For me, though, aside from the victims, she is the only one who really grabbed my attention.
Plot: Hanne is convinced that the "blood baths" and the rape are connected. She is determined, in this case, to find the rapist, to protect women in the future, to punish him, and to save the victim and her father from committing a crime themselves.
Kristine, the rape victim, and her father are broken by the rape. Neither is capable of fully dealing with life in the aftermath, but they each independently discover the identity of the rapist and Hanna sympathizes with the father's desire to take justice into his own hands. The father's and daughter's actions, along with a pointed question Hanne asks Cecile, makes the reader realize that "justice" is not always black and white, question what they would do in the same situation.
It's a tight mystery in that we see both the police investigation and the father's search. Early one we get a look at the world through the killer's eyes, but we don't know who exactly he is. He's on of those killers who has a degree of power and abuses it.
The story moves quickly, Hanne has a deadline and races to beat it. I listened to most of it on a drive home from the lake and back and I have to say that the usually long ride felt short.
Reader: I like listening to "foreign" mysteries on audio rather than reading them in print. Reading's pronunciations of names and places were way better than what I would have come up with. She also did a good job imbuing the characters voices with a distinct personality.
Recommendation: Grab this one!
Warnings: While not overly graphic, this is not a cozy. I thought the rape scene was intense, not one I'd want my daughter to read.
Setting: Oslo in the early 1990s is not that different from anywhere else. It's hot in the city and the police are overwhelmed dealing with a crime wave.
Characters: Hanne Wilhelmsen is a strong woman, intelligent and the best investigator on the force. She's also a private woman, rarely sharing bits of her personal life with her colleagues, much to the annoyance of her female partner, Cecile. This is the second in the series and I would imagine that Hanne and those she works with are developed more both in the first book and later in the series. For me, though, aside from the victims, she is the only one who really grabbed my attention.
Plot: Hanne is convinced that the "blood baths" and the rape are connected. She is determined, in this case, to find the rapist, to protect women in the future, to punish him, and to save the victim and her father from committing a crime themselves.
Kristine, the rape victim, and her father are broken by the rape. Neither is capable of fully dealing with life in the aftermath, but they each independently discover the identity of the rapist and Hanna sympathizes with the father's desire to take justice into his own hands. The father's and daughter's actions, along with a pointed question Hanne asks Cecile, makes the reader realize that "justice" is not always black and white, question what they would do in the same situation.
It's a tight mystery in that we see both the police investigation and the father's search. Early one we get a look at the world through the killer's eyes, but we don't know who exactly he is. He's on of those killers who has a degree of power and abuses it.
The story moves quickly, Hanne has a deadline and races to beat it. I listened to most of it on a drive home from the lake and back and I have to say that the usually long ride felt short.
Reader: I like listening to "foreign" mysteries on audio rather than reading them in print. Reading's pronunciations of names and places were way better than what I would have come up with. She also did a good job imbuing the characters voices with a distinct personality.
Recommendation: Grab this one!
Warnings: While not overly graphic, this is not a cozy. I thought the rape scene was intense, not one I'd want my daughter to read.
jennoctavia's review
1.0
The story flow was written better than the first book but it could have been better.
The characters are not well developed, hope I can get to know them better in the next book.
The characters are not well developed, hope I can get to know them better in the next book.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Era atât de devreme, încât nici diavolul nu-și încălțase încă potcoavele ca să umble prin lume. La apus, cerul etala acea culoare intensă cu care numai un cer scandinav, primăvara, e binecuvântat – albastru-regal la orizont și mai deschis spre meridian, înainte de a se dizolva într-un roz ca puful de eider, acolo unde soarele încă lenevea la răsărit. Aerul era înviorător, netulburat de ivirea zorilor, cu acea uluitoare transparență pe care o au diminețile însorite de primăvară la aproape șaizeci de grade latitudine nordică. Deși temperatura rămânea în cifre unice, totul sugera că avea să fie o altă zi călduroasă de mai în Oslo.
Inspectoarea de poliție Hanne Wilhelmsen nu se gândea la vreme. Stătea complet nemișcată, întrebându-se ce ar trebui să facă. Era sânge peste tot. Pe podea. Pe pereți. Chiar și pe tavan, în stropi negri care semănau cu desenele abstracte din testele acelea psihologice. Își lăsă capul într-o parte și studie o pată aflată drept deasupra ei. Arăta ca un taur purpuriu cu trei coarne și cu picioarele din spate diforme. Stătea nemișcată – un semn de indecizie, dar și un indiciu al fricii sale de a nu aluneca pe podeaua năclăită.
— Nu atinge! avertiză ea brusc când un coleg mai tânăr, care avea părul de aceeași culoare cu a sângelui, dădu să pună degetul pe unul din pereți.
Inspectoarea de poliție Hanne Wilhelmsen nu se gândea la vreme. Stătea complet nemișcată, întrebându-se ce ar trebui să facă. Era sânge peste tot. Pe podea. Pe pereți. Chiar și pe tavan, în stropi negri care semănau cu desenele abstracte din testele acelea psihologice. Își lăsă capul într-o parte și studie o pată aflată drept deasupra ei. Arăta ca un taur purpuriu cu trei coarne și cu picioarele din spate diforme. Stătea nemișcată – un semn de indecizie, dar și un indiciu al fricii sale de a nu aluneca pe podeaua năclăită.
— Nu atinge! avertiză ea brusc când un coleg mai tânăr, care avea părul de aceeași culoare cu a sângelui, dădu să pună degetul pe unul din pereți.
jlmb's review
2.0
Meh. I went to the library & checked out the first two books in this series based on the Jo Nesbo blurb on the front of the books. I don't think I'll be reading any more of them. The main characters are ok, I guess. I don't get why Hanne is so freaked out over hiding the fact she is gay - the author never explains it. The book is set in the 1990's, not the 1950s. It seems like a mountain being made out of a molehill.
The mystery/crime starts off strong but then fizzles out. There are several unexplained elements. It's like the author got sick of writing the book and just quit. What was the killer's motivation? Why did he set up the blood rooms? What was the point? How did he actually do it? Who were the other 3 victims? Why would he rape the one Norwegian victim - it doesn't mesh with his overall plan? Why couldn't the Norwegian victim & her dad talk about anything? Why not plan revenge together? What does the title of the book refer to? Seriously, I could go on & on.
The one interesting bit of the book was learning about how rapes are investigated and prosecuted in Norway - at least how they were twenty years ago. Man, I sure hope it's improved since then. The cops were very lackadaisical about the whole thing - "Oh rapes, they are so hard to investigate." Really? With dna & fingerprints & hair & a living victim able to tell you details about the crime? It seems like murder is a much harder crime to investigate. And everyone kept saying rapists get like a year in jail, if that. Huh. Not that the USA does a bang up job of prosecuting rape but I'm pretty sure some sentences are longer than a year. What got to me the most was when one cop mentions how the rape at the beginning of the book was not a "self-inflicted" rape. Say what??? That means a rape where the woman "deserved" it because of where she was or how she was dressed or whether she was drunk. WOW. I mean, obviously that blaming the victim happens here too but the term "self-inflicted" really stood out to me.
On the whole, not a total waste of time but very *shrugs shoulders* eh.
The mystery/crime starts off strong but then fizzles out. There are several unexplained elements. It's like the author got sick of writing the book and just quit. What was the killer's motivation? Why did he set up the blood rooms? What was the point? How did he actually do it? Who were the other 3 victims? Why would he rape the one Norwegian victim - it doesn't mesh with his overall plan? Why couldn't the Norwegian victim & her dad talk about anything? Why not plan revenge together? What does the title of the book refer to? Seriously, I could go on & on.
The one interesting bit of the book was learning about how rapes are investigated and prosecuted in Norway - at least how they were twenty years ago. Man, I sure hope it's improved since then. The cops were very lackadaisical about the whole thing - "Oh rapes, they are so hard to investigate." Really? With dna & fingerprints & hair & a living victim able to tell you details about the crime? It seems like murder is a much harder crime to investigate. And everyone kept saying rapists get like a year in jail, if that. Huh. Not that the USA does a bang up job of prosecuting rape but I'm pretty sure some sentences are longer than a year. What got to me the most was when one cop mentions how the rape at the beginning of the book was not a "self-inflicted" rape. Say what??? That means a rape where the woman "deserved" it because of where she was or how she was dressed or whether she was drunk. WOW. I mean, obviously that blaming the victim happens here too but the term "self-inflicted" really stood out to me.
On the whole, not a total waste of time but very *shrugs shoulders* eh.
jennyanydots's review against another edition
4.0
2nd book in this Norwegian detective series. I find Hanne a really enjoyable lead, and like the plotting of the mystery element.
jooniperd's review against another edition
3.0
this series definitely scratches the nordic noir itch... though i have not yet been wowed through the first two books (i was led to believe i'd be wowed! heh!), i am finding them interesting and atmospheric.
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