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adrianjd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Loved this book. Layered lines of story developing steadily throughout and still managed a twist in the end which caught me unawares. Onto the remaining books in the series. Ordered them when I was half way through this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and War
cricca's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nina_rod's review against another edition
4.0
I rather liked it. It’s a book set in Finland, where my mother is from. The main character, Detective Anna Fekete has my maiden name. Anna is a Hungarian, like my father, but Anna is from the Hungarian area of Serbia. Her family immigrated to Finland after the violent break up of Yugoslavia.
The book being a Nordic Noir set in Finland initially drew me to the book. When I read that the characters last name was Fekete, it sealed the deal! And it was currently available to download at the Seattle Library. What luck!
The book is very simple and straightforward. Not the long, convoluted stories of Camilla Lackburg or Ava Larrson. The characters were a bit over the top. Anna Fekete is not a very likable character. I wanted to like her, but really couldn’t justify her choices, And her partner Esko, isn’t great either… a racist, drunk copper. Hopefully, I’ll learn to like them if I’m going to read them again for several more books.
I thought about this book a lot. I even rushed home to finish it, thinking a killer is on the loose on Finland and I just find them. I had no idea who did it. I figured the murders were so unrelated, that it was done to cover up a third murder. Spoiler… instead one of the murders was to cover up the two deaths.
I did know the text messages Anna was getting was a red herring, so I didn’t let that bother me. But the third case… about the Kurdish woman, I thought she would be the third murder. Instead, it was a completely different case and it ended so satisfying! It made me want to continue with the story, in the hopes that Anna Fekete gets her shit together!
The book being a Nordic Noir set in Finland initially drew me to the book. When I read that the characters last name was Fekete, it sealed the deal! And it was currently available to download at the Seattle Library. What luck!
The book is very simple and straightforward. Not the long, convoluted stories of Camilla Lackburg or Ava Larrson. The characters were a bit over the top. Anna Fekete is not a very likable character. I wanted to like her, but really couldn’t justify her choices, And her partner Esko, isn’t great either… a racist, drunk copper. Hopefully, I’ll learn to like them if I’m going to read them again for several more books.
I thought about this book a lot. I even rushed home to finish it, thinking a killer is on the loose on Finland and I just find them. I had no idea who did it. I figured the murders were so unrelated, that it was done to cover up a third murder. Spoiler… instead one of the murders was to cover up the two deaths.
I did know the text messages Anna was getting was a red herring, so I didn’t let that bother me. But the third case… about the Kurdish woman, I thought she would be the third murder. Instead, it was a completely different case and it ended so satisfying! It made me want to continue with the story, in the hopes that Anna Fekete gets her shit together!
chelsl's review
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
kgraham10's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good nordic noir. I like that the main character is a Serbo-Hungarian immigrant; it provides a different view of the Finnish culture.
chrispyschaller's review against another edition
4.0
Hungarian-Finnish cop joins force, wins over colleagues with her competence and grit.
secretbookcase's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
teekraenzchen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zzzrevel's review against another edition
2.0
A plodding police procedural with a fair-to-middling twist at the end. The characters are not well fleshed out in my opinion. For example, the protagonist loves to run, but then spends most of the book avoiding running and smoking cigarettes. Sheesh.
bucherca49's review against another edition
4.0
This book was hard to put down. I especially liked the twist at the very end, which I was not expecting. Anna Fekete is an interesting detective, an immigrant, who is paired with a partner, Esko, who is both racist and sexist. The plot has to do with immigrants to Finland, and Anna is herself an immigrant, who came to Finland as a young child, fleeing the wars in the Balkans.