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rita_reads_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
3.5
cransuz's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
chelseaterrisscott's review
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wonderful sense of place! I adored the detailed character and setting descriptions, so evocative of Icelandic society and culture.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
jules_july's review against another edition
4.25
Mord und Geheimnisse
In "Verborgen" von Eva Björg Ægisdóttir kehren wir zurück nach Akranes. Dort begegnen wir alten Bekannten und vielen neuen Gesichtern. Diese werden im Verlauf der Geschichte immer vielschichtiger und sorgen für interessante Wendungen.
Im Grunde ist auch dieser Band so aufgebaut wie seine Vorgänger, nur das die Geschichte eine andere ist. Man springt zurück in die Vergangenheit, nur um dann wieder in die Gegenwart zu kommen. Man verfolgt die unterschiedlichen Protagonisten und bekommt so tiefere Einblicke in die Handlungen.
Auch in diesem Buch hilft das Personenverzeichnis, besonders zu beginn, sehr.
Es kann überfordernd sein, wenn man mit so vielen Namen überhäuft wird. Durch den Schreibstil und die mit Absätzen gegliederten Kapitel, kann man trotzdem recht schnell erkennen, wer mit wem wie zusammenhängt.
Zudem hat es mir ein bisschen Freude bereitet herauszufinden, wie alle Protagonisten miteinander zusammenhängen.
Allerdings gab es einen Handlungsstrang, der neben der Haupthandlung verlaufen ist, der mir nicht ganz so gut gefallen hat. Diesen nenne ich hier aber nicht, aufgrund von Spoilern.
Des Weiteren gab es, besonders in der Mitte des Buches immer wieder ein paar Längen, die den Schwung rausgenommen haben.
Nichtsdestotrotz hat mir die Reise zurück nach Island sehr gut gefallen und es hat mich immens gefreut Elma und Saevar wieder zu treffen. Die beiden sind mir doch ein Stück weit ans Herz gewachsen.
Eva Björg Ægisdóttir schafft es einfach authentische Protagonisten zu erschaffen und für eine spannende und undurchsichtige Atmosphäre zu sorgen.
Deswegen ist auch dieser Band wieder eine Empfehlung für alle, die gute Krimis mögen, bei denen Wert auf den psychologischen Aspekt gelegt wird.
Es ist aber empfehlenswert die anderen Bände vorher gelesen zu haben. So kennt man viele Protagonisten schon und ist direkt im Geschehen verankert.
booksbybindu's review
5.0
‘Night Shadows’ is the third in the Forbidden Iceland series and is the best of the bunch so far. It was a slow burn of a story, as we got to know the various characters but wow towards the end I was getting ready to hurl my book away in anger! The tension was immense, my heart is still racing now. It was a tightly plotted story with hidden clues and prompts and lots of twists and turns. I had forgotten one of them entirely until the end! As I said this is the third book in the series after ‘A Creak on the Stairs’ and ‘Girls Who Lie’ but you can read this as a standalone very easily. I would advise reading the series though as all the books are brilliant and Eva is emerging as one of the best new writers coming out of Iceland.
Arkanes is rocked by a fire and when a body is discovered and it is deemed the fire was caused by arson, the police need to find out if Marino was alive before the fire was lit. Detective Elma and her partner Saevar investigate and they soon realise that this case is not going to be easy to solve. Before Marino died he was looking at how to hide a body on the internet but the police only have his body and no missing persons…
‘Night Shadow’ was an engrossing story and manages to maintain a reader's attention with its short chapters and beautiful writing. Eva managed to capture the allure of Iceland through its poetic language and credit is due to a brilliant translation by Victoria Cribb. I loved the characterisation of the main players in this case from the interactions and dynamics between the group of young people who have been friends since high school to the portrayal of a damaged marriage. All felt very realistic and as their stories began to emerge you become aware of how complex they were as social units. Everyone of them had different strands to them and when they all began to merge and intertwine it soon becomes clear what is happening…or is it?!
Now I'm going to sit here patiently and wait for book four to be published!
Arkanes is rocked by a fire and when a body is discovered and it is deemed the fire was caused by arson, the police need to find out if Marino was alive before the fire was lit. Detective Elma and her partner Saevar investigate and they soon realise that this case is not going to be easy to solve. Before Marino died he was looking at how to hide a body on the internet but the police only have his body and no missing persons…
‘Night Shadow’ was an engrossing story and manages to maintain a reader's attention with its short chapters and beautiful writing. Eva managed to capture the allure of Iceland through its poetic language and credit is due to a brilliant translation by Victoria Cribb. I loved the characterisation of the main players in this case from the interactions and dynamics between the group of young people who have been friends since high school to the portrayal of a damaged marriage. All felt very realistic and as their stories began to emerge you become aware of how complex they were as social units. Everyone of them had different strands to them and when they all began to merge and intertwine it soon becomes clear what is happening…or is it?!
Now I'm going to sit here patiently and wait for book four to be published!
underdarkrivers's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
JUMPSCARE: the characters who did not really want to date in the last book are now dating. How did we find out, even though we're in a character's head? It was just dropped onto us halfway through the book. Shittiest way a relationship has been revealed, especially with a more character-driven crimi.
booksbybindu's review against another edition
5.0
‘Night Shadows’ is the third in the Forbidden Iceland series and is the best of the bunch so far. It was a slow burn of a story, as we got to know the various characters but wow towards the end I was getting ready to hurl my book away in anger! The tension was immense, my heart is still racing now. It was a tightly plotted story with hidden clues and prompts and lots of twists and turns. I had forgotten one of them entirely until the end! As I said this is the third book in the series after ‘A Creak on the Stairs’ and ‘Girls Who Lie’ but you can read this as a standalone very easily. I would advise reading the series though as all the books are brilliant and Eva is emerging as one of the best new writers coming out of Iceland.
Arkanes is rocked by a fire and when a body is discovered and it is deemed the fire was caused by arson, the police need to find out if Marino was alive before the fire was lit. Detective Elma and her partner Saevar investigate and they soon realise that this case is not going to be easy to solve. Before Marino died he was looking at how to hide a body on the internet but the police only have his body and no missing persons…
‘Night Shadow’ was an engrossing story and manages to maintain a reader's attention with its short chapters and beautiful writing. Eva managed to capture the allure of Iceland through its poetic language and credit is due to a brilliant translation by Victoria Cribb. I loved the characterisation of the main players in this case from the interactions and dynamics between the group of young people who have been friends since high school to the portrayal of a damaged marriage. All felt very realistic and as their stories began to emerge you become aware of how complex they were as social units. Everyone of them had different strands to them and when they all began to merge and intertwine it soon becomes clear what is happening…or is it?!
Now I'm going to sit here patiently and wait for book four to be published!
Arkanes is rocked by a fire and when a body is discovered and it is deemed the fire was caused by arson, the police need to find out if Marino was alive before the fire was lit. Detective Elma and her partner Saevar investigate and they soon realise that this case is not going to be easy to solve. Before Marino died he was looking at how to hide a body on the internet but the police only have his body and no missing persons…
‘Night Shadow’ was an engrossing story and manages to maintain a reader's attention with its short chapters and beautiful writing. Eva managed to capture the allure of Iceland through its poetic language and credit is due to a brilliant translation by Victoria Cribb. I loved the characterisation of the main players in this case from the interactions and dynamics between the group of young people who have been friends since high school to the portrayal of a damaged marriage. All felt very realistic and as their stories began to emerge you become aware of how complex they were as social units. Everyone of them had different strands to them and when they all began to merge and intertwine it soon becomes clear what is happening…or is it?!
Now I'm going to sit here patiently and wait for book four to be published!
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
4.0
Night Shadows is the third Forbidden Iceland thriller / police procedural after The Creak on the Stairs and Girls Who Lie. If you really want to, I do believe you can jump into the series here, just know you’d be missing out on two fantastic thrillers. I’ve been with this series from the start and it was such a pleasure to head back to Iceland and visit Elma again.
Night Shadows finds Elma dealing with some personal stuff, and a particularly tough case to boot. There’s been a fire in which a young man died and before long, the police find out it was arson and the victim might have been murdered. The investigation leads to a seemingly unrelated family and their Dutch au pair.
If you decide to read Night Shadows, which I recommend you do, I would suggest you don’t try to figure things out. Seriously, I tried and it did my head in! You know you’re reading a great police procedural and you’re fully invested in the proceedings when you stop reading after every other paragraph to discuss the case with yourself. Maybe it was so and so? But surely that’s too obvious? Ooh! Maybe X did Y and then Z happened? Do things add up then though?
Night Shadows finds Elma dealing with some personal stuff, and a particularly tough case to boot. There’s been a fire in which a young man died and before long, the police find out it was arson and the victim might have been murdered. The investigation leads to a seemingly unrelated family and their Dutch au pair.
If you decide to read Night Shadows, which I recommend you do, I would suggest you don’t try to figure things out. Seriously, I tried and it did my head in! You know you’re reading a great police procedural and you’re fully invested in the proceedings when you stop reading after every other paragraph to discuss the case with yourself. Maybe it was so and so? But surely that’s too obvious? Ooh! Maybe X did Y and then Z happened? Do things add up then though?
bookguyinva2022's review against another edition
4.0
A riveting story of a dysfunctional family and everything that could go wrong, and does. 4* because it kind of went off the rails, but still an edge of the seat thriller. I'm invested in the main characters and will wait patiently for the next installment of the series.