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chfugal's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Ebook library
Translated swedish
Good beginning to a mystery series
Translated swedish
Good beginning to a mystery series
pollyno9's review
2.0
I'm surprised by my own inclination to only give this 2 stars. It could be I'm weary of Scandinavian Noir (maybe?), it could be that this book just didn't give me what i was hoping for.
I really enjoyed the plotline about her daughter Jenny, I thought that was fascinating and insightful. The mystery was good, maybe a touch convuluted, but perhaps I was jarred by the presence of what, in my mind, is a VERY American criminal organisation. Maybe my two stars is because that didn't feel wrapped up, but hopefully more comes of that in late books in the series, which, yes, I will give the next one a try.
I really enjoyed the plotline about her daughter Jenny, I thought that was fascinating and insightful. The mystery was good, maybe a touch convuluted, but perhaps I was jarred by the presence of what, in my mind, is a VERY American criminal organisation. Maybe my two stars is because that didn't feel wrapped up, but hopefully more comes of that in late books in the series, which, yes, I will give the next one a try.
lawyergobblesbooks's review
5.0
SO GOOD. I already ordered the rest of the series. Engrossing and complicated mystery, awesome detective. We know just enough about her personally to make her a compelling protagonist but Tursten doesn't get bogged down in a bunch of periphery drama.
jennybeastie's review
To me, the most interesting parts of the book that I read were about the day to day lives of the Inspector and her family. I found the short declarative sentence style annoying, and there were quite a few phrases that were very odd in translation, and after 50 pages I decided I just wanted to let it go.
crowyhead's review
4.0
An excellent police procedural from Sweden. Detective Inspector Irene Huss is a well-written character, a tough-minded judo blackbelt who struggles to balance her commitment to the police force with her commitment to her husband and two teenage daughters. The mystery itself, which involves the murder of a wealthy financier, is satisfying and emerges at a leisurely pace. Ocasionally, the dialog or descriptions felt a little clunky; I wasn't sure whether to blame this on the translation, or on the fact that it's Tursten's first novel.
c_bulin's review
4.0
I really liked that this book was about the police work. They canvassed, they did their due diligence, they pulled background, they had meetings. It was rare that there was a surprise finding. Some findings sent them back to re-review which was fantastic. The interpersonal relationships made sense. My only gripe was that she introduced other crimes related to the primary investigation in a Chekov's gun manner. I really appreciated that Irene had to work through her shit after being injured and also had to deal with family drama.
becca_j's review
4.0
Grade: B+. First in a series that shows promise. In truth, there were two scenes dealing with the Holocaust that brought tears to my eyes. The main character was more normal than the average detective in a police procedural series, which was a pleasant surprise. I look forward to reading the second book in the series, Night Rounds, which sounds great.
meiklejohn's review
2.0
It was okay, but I'm not rushing to read any others in the series. Hard to tell how much of the clunkiness is the fault of the translation, but clunky it was.
angrygreycatreads's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. I generally like Nordic Noir. I picked it up and attemped it multiple times over a two week period but just couldn't. At first I thought perhaps it was the translation, I have encountered other books in which the translation has made for a bad read in English but after reading other revies, I have found that this translator, Steven T. Murray, is excellent and not the cause of the issues.
1 - repetitive sentence structure, often short and choppy.
2 -confusing point of view switches at times
3 - lots of telling, little showing - as in, you find out how the investigation is progressing through the staff meetings where they discuss the investigation.
4- not much in the way of character building so there is little to care about in the characters
5- The writing has a very "freshman" feel to it - lots of adverbs
I almost never DNF but this is one that I could not justify spending any more time on. It is putting me behind on my reading challenge.
1 - repetitive sentence structure, often short and choppy.
2 -confusing point of view switches at times
3 - lots of telling, little showing - as in, you find out how the investigation is progressing through the staff meetings where they discuss the investigation.
4- not much in the way of character building so there is little to care about in the characters
5- The writing has a very "freshman" feel to it - lots of adverbs
I almost never DNF but this is one that I could not justify spending any more time on. It is putting me behind on my reading challenge.