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erebus53's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I read this as part of the 52 book challenge as a Nordic Noir. It's an Icelandic police procedural coldcase book, about a woman who is about to retire from the police force.
Exploring the themes of the book it discusses how being a woman in the police can be lonely, but later in the book it starts to nuance that stance by suggesting that maybe this woman was deliberately isolating herself from co-workers, and that maybe if she had just tried harder then she wouldn't have felt so alone in the job.. which feels a bit minimising and gaslighty? But it could be just chalked up to her insecurity and double guessing herself.
It's supposed to be a hard story.. with grit and dark themes. We have to asylum seeking refugees, or are they really secret prostitutes who are overstayers,.. we have people trying to scrape by and make a living, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, pedophilia, and of course, missing girls, sexual assault, murder... etc.
The ending is not exactly guaranteed to be happy.
I think I would have felt a bit better about this all if it had been emotionally resonant, or given me more puzzle solving to indulge in.
Exploring the themes of the book it discusses how being a woman in the police can be lonely, but later in the book it starts to nuance that stance by suggesting that maybe this woman was deliberately isolating herself from co-workers, and that maybe if she had just tried harder then she wouldn't have felt so alone in the job.. which feels a bit minimising and gaslighty? But it could be just chalked up to her insecurity and double guessing herself.
It's supposed to be a hard story.. with grit and dark themes. We have to asylum seeking refugees, or are they really secret prostitutes who are overstayers,.. we have people trying to scrape by and make a living, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, pedophilia, and of course, missing girls, sexual assault, murder... etc.
The ending is not exactly guaranteed to be happy.
I think I would have felt a bit better about this all if it had been emotionally resonant, or given me more puzzle solving to indulge in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicide, Car accident, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexism, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Classism and Blood
ekmoore11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, and Trafficking
redsshelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
curatoriallyyours's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Things I liked about this book: the Icelandic setting, the hidden depths of the central character, the unfolding mystery. It didn't seem like an obvious set up - I didn't suspect the culprit until a very short time before the revelation (but murder mysteries are not a huge part of my usual reading list so regular mystery buffs might have seen it coming sooner) and the ending was a surprise also.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Trafficking
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