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yenthemaria's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It took me quite a while to get into this book. The beginning wasn’t very exciting and made it easy to put the book away. Until I got to somewhere in the middle, then it got exciting. In the end I just couldn’t put it down anymore.
gunhild's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
lying_awake_in_bed's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
kgraham10's review against another edition
4.0
Second Deadly Sin. Contrary to appearance, I am not reading this in Swedish. Why doesn't Goodreads show this book with the English title?
This is the fifth in the series about Rebecka Martinsson. I love this series. I can't wait to finish but I am dreading it because this is the last one available....
This is the fifth in the series about Rebecka Martinsson. I love this series. I can't wait to finish but I am dreading it because this is the last one available....
kiramke's review against another edition
4.0
I've really enjoyed this series and the author's characterization, but I'm vaguely depressed by how realistic I find these terrible, terrible men.
perednia's review against another edition
1.0
The Rebecka Martinsson mysteries written by Asa Larsson were among the top reasons Scandinavian crime fiction became a favorite of mystery readers years before Steig Larsson's books were published. They are dark, with insights into souls whose lives were far from perfect but who carried on until the day or night they could not.
The series also has always been as much about Rebecka Martinsson's search for herself after she left a succssful law practice in Stockholm and returned to her rural roots. Over the course of the books, she has become a little bit more comfortable about herself and has become closer to other people, especially to some who are as damaged on the outside as she thinks herself to be on the inside. That is one of the most interesting aspects of this series -- Martinsson thinks she deserves the worst, yet in earlier books readers don't see the validity of that opinion.
But now, Martinsson has been maneuvered by her creator into performing a terrible deed in the climax of a murder investigation, apparently to make it more believable why she would seek comfort from a corner where she should have sought it long ago. That the source of that comfort does something out of the kindness of his heart that looks cruel and ridiculous on the outside -- as two scandal-seeking reporters prove -- doesn't make this manipulation any more fitting.
Until that happens, however, and after a graphic opening involving a hunting dog and a bear, The Second Deadly Sin is an interesting investigative novel. A neighbor of Martinsson's is found dead one day, killed and marked as a whore, a reference to old gossip. The grandson she was caring for is missing. Martinsson and her friends are first on the scene, and the story is suspenseful, tighty written and as good as any thriller. Because it is also character-based as much as plot-based, it provides a highly satisfying reading experience.
Martinsson is taken off the case by her prosecutor boss out of the jealousy of a colleague, who is portrayed as well as any other power-hungry, egotistical character who gets in the way of a crime fiction leading character. This one, however, refers to Martinsson and a female police officer as "little [n-word] boys", which is one of the most egregious use of that hate word seen in quite some time. A white male character does not have to refer to two white women as that word to be shown as a clueless jerk; there were plenty of other examples. Whether the author originally used this hate word in her work or whether it was used by the translator, "inappropriate" is about as calm a description as can be used.
That word choice and violence against animals tip the balance against recommending this book, because the main story is as good as the earlier Martinsson novels. The story of the murder victim and her family, including passages from the past in which the unfortunate family tree originated, are fascinating and well-written.
This is a series I shall miss.
The series also has always been as much about Rebecka Martinsson's search for herself after she left a succssful law practice in Stockholm and returned to her rural roots. Over the course of the books, she has become a little bit more comfortable about herself and has become closer to other people, especially to some who are as damaged on the outside as she thinks herself to be on the inside. That is one of the most interesting aspects of this series -- Martinsson thinks she deserves the worst, yet in earlier books readers don't see the validity of that opinion.
But now, Martinsson has been maneuvered by her creator into performing a terrible deed in the climax of a murder investigation, apparently to make it more believable why she would seek comfort from a corner where she should have sought it long ago. That the source of that comfort does something out of the kindness of his heart that looks cruel and ridiculous on the outside -- as two scandal-seeking reporters prove -- doesn't make this manipulation any more fitting.
Until that happens, however, and after a graphic opening involving a hunting dog and a bear, The Second Deadly Sin is an interesting investigative novel. A neighbor of Martinsson's is found dead one day, killed and marked as a whore, a reference to old gossip. The grandson she was caring for is missing. Martinsson and her friends are first on the scene, and the story is suspenseful, tighty written and as good as any thriller. Because it is also character-based as much as plot-based, it provides a highly satisfying reading experience.
Martinsson is taken off the case by her prosecutor boss out of the jealousy of a colleague, who is portrayed as well as any other power-hungry, egotistical character who gets in the way of a crime fiction leading character. This one, however, refers to Martinsson and a female police officer as "little [n-word] boys", which is one of the most egregious use of that hate word seen in quite some time. A white male character does not have to refer to two white women as that word to be shown as a clueless jerk; there were plenty of other examples. Whether the author originally used this hate word in her work or whether it was used by the translator, "inappropriate" is about as calm a description as can be used.
That word choice and violence against animals tip the balance against recommending this book, because the main story is as good as the earlier Martinsson novels. The story of the murder victim and her family, including passages from the past in which the unfortunate family tree originated, are fascinating and well-written.
This is a series I shall miss.
jennaorava's review against another edition
5.0
Väldigt spännande bok och jag älskar att man även fick läsa om både nutid och 1900-talet. Den näst bästa boken i serien, bara för att jag älskade boken innan ännu mer.
jennifer_c_s's review against another edition
4.0
‘How can a dog possibly scream like that?’
The story opens in northern Sweden with a hunt for a wounded bear: a bear that has killed Samuel Johansson's dog. The bear is tracked, and then killed. Human remains are found in its stomach. In the nearby town of Kiruna, Sol-Britt Uusitalo has been brutally murdered, and her seven year old grandson Marcus is missing. What is the connection between these events?
Prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson is initially assigned to the murder investigation, until one of her colleagues (Carl von Post) contrives to have her removed. He takes over the investigation and Martinsson takes leave. But she doesn't stop thinking about the case, or looking into it.
There's a second older story woven through the novel. One hundred years earlier when Kiruna was a new town, Elina Pettersson, a young school teacher arrives determined to make a new life for herself. She falls in love, is betrayed and then brutally murdered. The story of who betrayed Elina and who murdered her and why makes sad reading.
The story moves between the contemporary investigations into Sol-Britt Uusitalo's murder, the fate of her grandson Marcus, and the story of Elina Pettersson. The connections between the stories gradually become clearer as does the motive for murder. Rebecka Martinsson has to make a number of choices, and one of them tore at her heart (and mine).
This is my first Åsa Larsson novel, and I'll be looking to read the others. Rebecka Martinsson is an intriguing character, as are some of the others who people the novel. Dogs are also important in this story, with one in particular being a hero. It's black and bleak, but there's hope as well - for some. I found this novel challenging and while I recommend it, it's not for the squeamish.
`The moon is like a cold white goddess in the black sky.'
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The story opens in northern Sweden with a hunt for a wounded bear: a bear that has killed Samuel Johansson's dog. The bear is tracked, and then killed. Human remains are found in its stomach. In the nearby town of Kiruna, Sol-Britt Uusitalo has been brutally murdered, and her seven year old grandson Marcus is missing. What is the connection between these events?
Prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson is initially assigned to the murder investigation, until one of her colleagues (Carl von Post) contrives to have her removed. He takes over the investigation and Martinsson takes leave. But she doesn't stop thinking about the case, or looking into it.
There's a second older story woven through the novel. One hundred years earlier when Kiruna was a new town, Elina Pettersson, a young school teacher arrives determined to make a new life for herself. She falls in love, is betrayed and then brutally murdered. The story of who betrayed Elina and who murdered her and why makes sad reading.
The story moves between the contemporary investigations into Sol-Britt Uusitalo's murder, the fate of her grandson Marcus, and the story of Elina Pettersson. The connections between the stories gradually become clearer as does the motive for murder. Rebecka Martinsson has to make a number of choices, and one of them tore at her heart (and mine).
This is my first Åsa Larsson novel, and I'll be looking to read the others. Rebecka Martinsson is an intriguing character, as are some of the others who people the novel. Dogs are also important in this story, with one in particular being a hero. It's black and bleak, but there's hope as well - for some. I found this novel challenging and while I recommend it, it's not for the squeamish.
`The moon is like a cold white goddess in the black sky.'
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
tetrollet's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.5