Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Chestnut Man

So after reading this book one would think that apparently all the men are pervs and can’t see a woman without thinking of cheating on his wife with that new woman..nope, this left a bad taste in my mouth. The mystery itself was cool, but not good overall imo. And the reasons why the women were being killed also didn’t convince me.

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cosyskog's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I honestly thought I hated this book. After reading the first 125 pages, it felt like the story was crawling along even though I recognised this was to give a broader depth to the characters and their relationships. So I gave myself a break and put the book down for a month.

When I picked it back up, I read the last 400 pages in 2 nights as I was invested in how the mystery unravelled itself.

A few brief parts describing the women characters,especially as viewed by others, are written from the perspective of the male gaze and didn't seem to really add value to the characters. Unless the purpose was to call out one of the underlying themes of misogyny throughout the book.

The story does remind me why I love a good mystery though.

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horizonous's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

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crs1384's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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deezy's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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n_asyikin_'s review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CW: blood & gore; some ableist language; mentions of rape (as fantasy); mentions of racist & misogynist views

A mystery/thriller at its best! The cast of characters were far from perfect, but they were compelling, pushing the storyline at a steady speed, perfectly absorbing. I thought that having told through various perspectives, Sveistrup added depth to the element of mystery by leaving the readers guessing whether the truth/observation was sound or biased in some ways. There were also scenes that have left me with goosebumps; the atmospheric writing built up the suspence, an eerieness brought about by the knowledge that someone or something evil was at present. I just loved the balance of intellectual deduction involving the case with the evocative, blockbuster-like descriptions involving the atmosphere.

The book also highlighted some systemic issues & individual flaws without trying to solve, or overcomplicate them. But the almost matter-of-fact way they were imbued into the plot added a touch of realness to me.

I'd love to read more of Sveistrup's work! Would love to see more of Thulin & Hess, if possible. Regardless, definitely a must read for any fan of a good old detective story!

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tomato_bisque's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

I'm kinda tired of reading modern day thrillers where the killer is always someone close to the protagonist. I'll start the book and predict who it is going to be. I'll keep reading them anyways though so maybe that says more about me.

Overall, I thought the book was fun and fast-paced. It does get into over-the-top territory on occasion though. The two detectives were not that interesting but the book is more about the plot than anything, so it does not take away from the story all that much. I will probably be reading the next thing this author writes.

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unread_shelves's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

It took a about 100-150 pages for me to start to feel invested and not want to put this book down. Honestly, this could be the product of police procedural type of books not really doing it for me anymore (but we don’t have to get into that here).

However, the more the plot thickens and we weren’t provided very many obvious clues, the more invested and intrigued I become. I flew through the second half of this book. And I’m proud to say my guess was wrong and that I did not see this coming. When I’ve been guessing many endings, this was a refreshing twist for me.

That being said, this book is only receiving 3.5 stars from me. This book was FILLED with misogyny, sexism, racism, child abuse, pedophilia. The murders and kidnapping (jacket copy) were the least disturbing elements. Because of these elements, I was unable to feel comfortable with a higher rating.

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