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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
I admit, I am always a bit nervous when sitting down to start a new crime thriller. I'm afraid it won't be thrilling enough, or compelling enough, or shocking enough. I am especially nervous when reading an author I haven't read before. However, with The Owl Always Hunts At Night, those nerves were unnecessary.
From the very first chapter, I was sucked in. This book kept me on my toes the entire time I read it. As soon as I thought I had a grasp on the plot, or a character, I would be proven wrong, again and again. Which I thought was absolutely brilliant.
One of my pet peeves in crime thrillers is how neatly things fall into place. Clues are conveniently uncovered by a brilliant detective. Sure there are missteps, but in the end the crime is solved and justice prevailed. What I really enjoyed about this book, is that the unfolding of the crime investigation felt very real. The detectives are flawed people, struggling with their own demons while attempting to solve this crime. Sure, they are brilliant, but it wasn't one particular lead investigator taking charge and saving the day. It took the entire team to hunt down the murderer and take them down.
The way the investigation unfolded felt very real too. The false starts and dead end leads. It seemed like every new development faced a surprising obstacle, and that too felt real to me. Rarely do we uncover all the facts in life at the breakneck speed of fiction. The reader wants to be compelled into reading more, and dead end cases don't make for good fiction. There is art in the way Bjork weaves the frustration of the investigation in a way that makes the reader want to continue turning the pages. When all the pieces finally did move together, the tragic twist felt even more real.
Throughout the entire novel, the sense of realism was maintained. I didn't feel any standard plot tricks or cliched characters in order to move the story forward. The flow, the pace, the twists and turns, all were believable, even if they were disturbing. That sense of realism, of being able to lose yourself entirely to the novel without a sentence or quirk forcing you out, is very important to me, and was exceptionally done here.
In all, this novel was brilliantly done. My only complaint is that the end wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. I was left, shocked and reeling with no real sense of closure. I was given an ending, but there were details left vague and obscure, that I felt a few paragraphs could have easily summed up.
I give this 4/5 stars and would recommend the book and the series to anyone who enjoys crime fiction, thrillers, suspense, mystery or police procedurals.
I received this book from Penguin as part of the First Reads program.
From the very first chapter, I was sucked in. This book kept me on my toes the entire time I read it. As soon as I thought I had a grasp on the plot, or a character, I would be proven wrong, again and again. Which I thought was absolutely brilliant.
One of my pet peeves in crime thrillers is how neatly things fall into place. Clues are conveniently uncovered by a brilliant detective. Sure there are missteps, but in the end the crime is solved and justice prevailed. What I really enjoyed about this book, is that the unfolding of the crime investigation felt very real. The detectives are flawed people, struggling with their own demons while attempting to solve this crime. Sure, they are brilliant, but it wasn't one particular lead investigator taking charge and saving the day. It took the entire team to hunt down the murderer and take them down.
The way the investigation unfolded felt very real too. The false starts and dead end leads. It seemed like every new development faced a surprising obstacle, and that too felt real to me. Rarely do we uncover all the facts in life at the breakneck speed of fiction. The reader wants to be compelled into reading more, and dead end cases don't make for good fiction. There is art in the way Bjork weaves the frustration of the investigation in a way that makes the reader want to continue turning the pages. When all the pieces finally did move together, the tragic twist felt even more real.
Throughout the entire novel, the sense of realism was maintained. I didn't feel any standard plot tricks or cliched characters in order to move the story forward. The flow, the pace, the twists and turns, all were believable, even if they were disturbing. That sense of realism, of being able to lose yourself entirely to the novel without a sentence or quirk forcing you out, is very important to me, and was exceptionally done here.
In all, this novel was brilliantly done. My only complaint is that the end wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. I was left, shocked and reeling with no real sense of closure. I was given an ending, but there were details left vague and obscure, that I felt a few paragraphs could have easily summed up.
I give this 4/5 stars and would recommend the book and the series to anyone who enjoys crime fiction, thrillers, suspense, mystery or police procedurals.
I received this book from Penguin as part of the First Reads program.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
---------------------------------------------
Information:
- Library book & Storytel audiobook
- Series TBR
---------------------------------------------
Review:
Not as good as book 1. Some things really annoyed me.
---------------------------------------------
Review previously placed on my blog:
Review previously placed on my blog:
I'm currently reading The owl always hunts at night by Samuel Bjork. This is the second book in the Holger Munch & Mia Krüger series. I'm listening to the Dutch audiobook and reading a copy from the library.
I'm not really enjoying this one so far. Probably because the author has repeated sentences (exact ones I feel like) from the first book and I just really dislike that with series. The story itself is okay so far. I think I will enjoy it more when I have read more.
In the end it became a little better, but there were too many things that bothered me about this. I really hope some changes will be made in the next book concerning the main characters.
---------------------------------------------
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An excellent follow on from the first book, <The owl always hunts at night> is a chilling tale about the twisted mind and how that may not always be just in the prosecuted and often times in the culture they involve themselves in.
Mia's tale in this book was a little trying for me. I found it hard to sympathise with her, and often irritated by the way both her and Munch treat her condition/problems. Like they can be brushed aside because a case exists. Nobody's health is worth that.
But other than that this is an excellent book and a quick read. I read her on the plane home from London and it was an excellent way to spend my time.
Mia's tale in this book was a little trying for me. I found it hard to sympathise with her, and often irritated by the way both her and Munch treat her condition/problems. Like they can be brushed aside because a case exists. Nobody's health is worth that.
But other than that this is an excellent book and a quick read. I read her on the plane home from London and it was an excellent way to spend my time.
dark
mysterious
tense
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Audio library
I just didn't care. I found it predictable and a replica of the first book without any character development or team building for the murder squad. And why, once again, the involvement of the main Detective family?
I just didn't care. I found it predictable and a replica of the first book without any character development or team building for the murder squad. And why, once again, the involvement of the main Detective family?