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daelynbiendarra's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
It is spring in northern Sweden, when a body is found hidden in a fishing ark, on the frozen lake of Torneträsk. She’s dressed for running, not for fishing in icy conditions, yet she’s wearing make-up. Whilst inspectors Mella and Stålnacke think it’s probably another case of a husband killing his wife, the soon realise she has been tortured. When Mella discovers a link between the dead woman and Kallis Mining, she asks newly appointed special prosecutor, Rebecka Martinsson, to help find out more about one of Sweden’s seemingly most successful mining companies. Will they find corruption beneath the respectable façade?
It starts with Rebecka’s release from St. Göran’s psychiatric unit and her decision to leave her life in Stockholm for her rural home town of Kurravaara near Kiruna. This is the third book in the series of which I have only read the fourth, Until Thy Wrath Be Past, but as she is starting again after a traumatic experience, it’s a reasonable place to pick up the plot. I just had to remember that some things hadn’t happened yet!
There’s a large cast of characters and at times there doesn’t seem much point to all of them. Whilst they slow the pace down a bit, by the end, they all have their place in the plot. The family background of Kallis explains not only his rise from nowhere but his mother’s mental illness goes some of the way to explaining Ester’s behaviour at the end. The head of security is there to add some context to the situation in Uganda and Diddi’s wife has her worries about financial security. It does create a wide range of suspects but there’s not a lot of time for developing the on-going series characters.
Each character has their moment though and I really like the little moments that Åsa Larsson writes into their stories. Stålnacke and his lost cat, Ester’s painting and Rebecka’s worrying over the man she left behind. And the climax is one of the most gripping scenes I’ve read in a long time.
It starts with Rebecka’s release from St. Göran’s psychiatric unit and her decision to leave her life in Stockholm for her rural home town of Kurravaara near Kiruna. This is the third book in the series of which I have only read the fourth, Until Thy Wrath Be Past, but as she is starting again after a traumatic experience, it’s a reasonable place to pick up the plot. I just had to remember that some things hadn’t happened yet!
There’s a large cast of characters and at times there doesn’t seem much point to all of them. Whilst they slow the pace down a bit, by the end, they all have their place in the plot. The family background of Kallis explains not only his rise from nowhere but his mother’s mental illness goes some of the way to explaining Ester’s behaviour at the end. The head of security is there to add some context to the situation in Uganda and Diddi’s wife has her worries about financial security. It does create a wide range of suspects but there’s not a lot of time for developing the on-going series characters.
Each character has their moment though and I really like the little moments that Åsa Larsson writes into their stories. Stålnacke and his lost cat, Ester’s painting and Rebecka’s worrying over the man she left behind. And the climax is one of the most gripping scenes I’ve read in a long time.
braddy7's review
3.0
After reading the reviews. I wonder if this book loses something in translation. I feel like I am peaking into a world that I don’t really understand. I did like how all the pieces came together at the end.
nina_rod's review
3.0
I'm so invested in the characters... Rebecka, Anna-Marie and Sven-Erik. I was not feeling some of the minor characters in this mystery that I found myself skimming. It's a bit irritating that she incorporates the supernatural in her mysteries because I try to approach things logically and distracted when things don't fit! I was disappointed with the story... But I immediately went to Overdrive to borrow the next book in the series so I could see what happened to the main trio next.
I was disturbed by the story of how rich individuals (in this case foreign white investors operating mines in Africa) can be responsible for political unrest and instability in Africa that brings about child soldiers and prostitution. My liberal heart bleeds for the injustices in the world.
I was disturbed by the story of how rich individuals (in this case foreign white investors operating mines in Africa) can be responsible for political unrest and instability in Africa that brings about child soldiers and prostitution. My liberal heart bleeds for the injustices in the world.
kcfromaustcrime's review
4.0
THE BLACK PATH is the sort of book that you need to read with your preconceptions and expectations firmly locked in a drawer. Having not read the second book in the series yet, I know something happened to Rebecka in that book, but the details aren't important to understanding, from the start of THE BLACK PATH, that she has been through a traumatic experience and she's struggling back into normal life.
But one thing you will find with THE BLACK PATH is that Rebecka, or Anna-Maria or any of the other characters that either reoccur from earlier books, or step forward into the limelight in this book, won't necessarily remain as the focus of the book. This isn't a book that's specifically about a single person's journey through the events that lead up to a crime (perhaps with the exception of the victim herself), but a story about the swirling circumstances of lives lived. That's not to say that the book has an unfocused or messy feel to it, rather the opposite. But it does give the way the story unfolds a fascinating, sort of ephermeral feel to it, as the focus moves around, and the events that somebody - but not everybody - are involved in, all lead to a resolution.
I have to say, that for me, there was a strong sense of Swedish about this book. But this was a combination of things. The weather, the environment, the sensibility of the people, the way that the supernatural interwove with the mundane facts of life. The book also incorporates some glimpses into Sami culture which were absolutely fascinating.
As with the first of this series that I read, I still find Rebecka and Anna-Maria slightly offputting as characters. Don't know why, but they just are. Having said that, they are fascinating, and people I'm interested in and care about slightly from afar. There's some real skill in writing a story with characters like these that keeps you so involved. But I was also very taken with the lack of predictable styling of the book - I liked the way that the story evolved without the need to ensure series characters got their alloted page space.
But one thing you will find with THE BLACK PATH is that Rebecka, or Anna-Maria or any of the other characters that either reoccur from earlier books, or step forward into the limelight in this book, won't necessarily remain as the focus of the book. This isn't a book that's specifically about a single person's journey through the events that lead up to a crime (perhaps with the exception of the victim herself), but a story about the swirling circumstances of lives lived. That's not to say that the book has an unfocused or messy feel to it, rather the opposite. But it does give the way the story unfolds a fascinating, sort of ephermeral feel to it, as the focus moves around, and the events that somebody - but not everybody - are involved in, all lead to a resolution.
I have to say, that for me, there was a strong sense of Swedish about this book. But this was a combination of things. The weather, the environment, the sensibility of the people, the way that the supernatural interwove with the mundane facts of life. The book also incorporates some glimpses into Sami culture which were absolutely fascinating.
As with the first of this series that I read, I still find Rebecka and Anna-Maria slightly offputting as characters. Don't know why, but they just are. Having said that, they are fascinating, and people I'm interested in and care about slightly from afar. There's some real skill in writing a story with characters like these that keeps you so involved. But I was also very taken with the lack of predictable styling of the book - I liked the way that the story evolved without the need to ensure series characters got their alloted page space.
soederbacka's review against another edition
3.0
Ljudbok. Helt klart seriens hittills starkaste. Jag undrar hur länge Larsson kan ha pengar som motiv, men det är ju väldigt verklighetstroget.
read247_instyle_inca's review
5.0
Wonderful mystery writer! Along the lines of Ruth Rendell. Can't wait for the next one!
hea321's review against another edition
4.0
Just finished listening to this on audible.com. Loved it as it explores/continues Rebecka's healing and gives us that detailed aura of the landscape/region.
stemo1988's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
saltycorpse's review
3.0
Too many subplots attempted, making the novel as a whole fragmented and at times difficult to get through.