Reviews

Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, Johana Gustawsson

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bigkazzac's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

pryorlee's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

inkreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Yule Island is a gut-wrenching thriller that is unique in its almpst lyrical prose.

Storholmen, Sweden, an island with an unsolved mystery. A while past, a young women was found deceased, hanging from a tree with scissors afixed around her neck. A symbol deeply steeped in folklore, and a crime never solved

Emma Lindahl is has the opportunity to appraise antiques in the home of the wealthiest family on the island. She is fully aware of the unsolved crime and as sush, when she makes a discovery while working through her appraisals, she decides to investigate

At the same time, Det. Karl Rosen is called to a deceased young woman in the water that has echoes of the past crime that he was unable to solve. Rosen and Lindahl team up to uncover the secrets behind both crimes and open a deep, dark pandora's box of Swedens past

The writing is stunning, captivating and utterly chilling. The prose is brilliant and the storyline meticulously constructed. Truly brilliant.

Thank you to Netgalley, Independent Publishers Group | Orenda Books and the author Johana Gustawsson for this gripping ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

bookguyinva2022's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

spiritrider1101's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The book that I read recently had a gripping crime story set in Sweden. The plot revolves around a mysterious crime scene from the past where a young girl was found dead, hanging from a tree with a pair of scissors around her neck. The incident was never solved and remains a mystery to this day.

The story takes on a new dimension with the arrival of Emma, the protagonist, who travels to Sweden to undertake an appraisal assignment of the Gussmans' collection. However, her arrival coincides with the discovery of another young girl, dead and hanging from a tree in the same fashion as the previous incident. This discovery sparks off a chain of events that bring the unsolved case back into the public consciousness, and the mystery deepens. The question arises, is it a copycat, or has the original killer resurfaced?

The author, Johana Gustawsson, has demonstrated remarkable skill and ingenuity in crafting an intriguing storyline that keeps the reader engrossed till the end. The book features numerous unexpected twists and turns, and the ending is rife with unpredictability. Although the middle section of the book may appear to drag a bit, the overall experience is highly engaging, and the work is a must-read for lovers of crime fiction.

I just reviewed Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson. #YuleIsland #NetGalley

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

Finished reading: April 19th 2024

"Oh, how we all complain about the sleepless nights when our kids are little. But when the monsters under the bed turn out to be real, we're the ones who have nightmares."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Orenda Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I've been a fan of Johana Gustawsson's writing ever since I started reading the Emily Roy & Alexis Castells series. All three books blew me away, and I've been looking forward to read more of her books ever since. Add the fact that I have a weak spot for a gothic thriller with a remote and spooky setting, and I've been highly anticipating my time with Yule Island. To say that this story didn't let me down is probably the understatement of the year... It's a gloriously atmospheric read with a set of twists that hit me with a sledgehammer. WHAT a read!

I'm going to keep this review short, because Yule Island is one of those books where it's best to go in blind and let the author take you on a journey. Johana Gustawsson is a master at crafting the most intricate plot that will completely lead you astray, only to hit you with twists that will make your jaw drop to the floor. The 'holy guacamole' is most definitely back! There was a certain point at the 70% mark or so that had me literally staring at the page, unable to believe what I had just read. I love it when an author is able to completely turn the plot on its head and make me doubt everything I thought was true about a story!

If you like a well written and atmospheric setting, you are definitely in for a treat with the Storholmen island. The remoteness, the mansion and its secrets, the brutal crime that happened right outside... It's such a perfect backdrop for a gothic thriller, and its descriptions truly enhanced the reading experience for me. I also loved the incorporation of Norse mythology and references to Viking culture, which is an element I can always appreciate and it was fascinating how it was woven into the plot.

Yule Island uses a multiple POV structure, but it is easy enough to keep them all apart and follow their stories. The characters are all flawed and have their secrets, but somehow it is still quite easy to warm up to them or at least be intrigued by what they are hiding. The way the plot is woven together is simply sublime, and it's impressive just how successfully the author is able to completely mislead the reader along the way. Especially the second half is explosive and simply impossible to put down, and I loved every single moment of the journey.

It comes as no surprise when I say that I have no doubt that Yule Island will appear on my list of 2024 favorites, and I can highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys highly atmospheric and cleverly constructed gothic thrillers. A word of thanks to David Warriner is also in order for the flawless translation, enabling me to read this French masterpiece.

Content Warnings

twicomb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Recipe For a Dark Holiday Read: take this book on winter vacation in a snowy cabin in the woods, and read with a big mug of steaming coffee and a plate of crispy Swedish vaniljkakor (vanilla cookies).

It's a twisty whodunnit set on a remote island of Sweden, where the answers that art appraiser Emma Lindahl is searching for may be closer than she realizes. But on Storholmen, nothing is at it seems, and as the nights grow longer and the snow grows deeper, she's going to discover that her sister's long-ago death on this very same island is at the center of a bloodcurdling series of murders that are still going on today.

I'm a fan of great thriller novels. I like them confusing, mysterious, and not too gory. This title does a good job of satisfying on all those counts. It did get a little *too* twisty in some places...I found myself getting confused a few times while trying to follow all the events, keep track of varying timelines, and multiple characters. It doesn't help that these are often presented without clarifying information about the dates or locations (in order to keep twists more of a surprise when revealed), but until you get to those twists, you just find yourself a bit muddled as to what's going on. But the overall pace of the book kept moving along well enough for me to remain interested. The ultimate reveal was...without going into spoilers, I'll just say that I would have liked more "why" behind what happened. Why was this thing done? Why did that person make that decision? We find out the Who, What, Where, and When...but never really the Why. That irked me a little since if you're going to read an entire book about a series of terrible murders, you expect there to be some payoff explaining why it all happened. But nonetheless, I enjoyed the journey and the twisty turns along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

Content Warnings