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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
The Owl Always Hunts at Night is a Nordic Noir story following the main characters of Holger Munch and Mia Kruger. Munch and Mia are detectives and their latest case is one for the books!
A local botanist comes across a body of a teenager who appears to have been part of a ritualistic killing. The body is laying on a bed of owl feathers and inside a pentagram of candles. In addition to their murder case, Munch and Mia are both battling personal dramas. Munch has come to the realization that his ex-wife is about to officially move on and remarry. Mia has recently been suspended and mentally is not in a good place, as she mourns the death of her sister, Sigrid and contemplates ending her life. Munch is able to get Mia back on his team to solve this investigation, as he knows her passion will drive her to stop at nothing to catch the killer.
Flashbacks of the past for main characters and those we are yet to meet intermingle with the present case throughout the novel. In addition to these storylines, we are also involved in following along with Munch's daughter, Miriam Munch. Recently Miriam has met a man named Ziggy and has joined in with a group of animal rights activists, which is a world she was heavily involved in before becoming a mother.
The relationship between Holger Munch and Mia Kruger is the heart of this novel and drives the reader to care for the future of both individuals. The novel struggles to maintain the momentum of solving the crime the story is centered around. Immediately you are engaged in solving the case, but somewhere throughout the middle of the story you get lost in the muck of backstories. It is not until the end that the suspense begins to build up again as they desperately try to catch the killer before he takes the life of another victim.
Some elements of the story were a bit overdone for me and not necessary to keep my interest. I also wasn't entire sold on how all of the characters ended up being connected. I had the misfortune of entering into this series on book two, so I do feel that my review may be a bit biased given this information. As a standalone, which the novel is clearly not intended to be, I was sadly unable to know the complete history of Munch and Mia, something I think would have enabled me to connect even deeper with the characters.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel and am planning on picking up the first in the series, I'm Traveling Alone.
Thank you to Penguin books, who I received early access to this galley from through their First to Read program.
A local botanist comes across a body of a teenager who appears to have been part of a ritualistic killing. The body is laying on a bed of owl feathers and inside a pentagram of candles. In addition to their murder case, Munch and Mia are both battling personal dramas. Munch has come to the realization that his ex-wife is about to officially move on and remarry. Mia has recently been suspended and mentally is not in a good place, as she mourns the death of her sister, Sigrid and contemplates ending her life. Munch is able to get Mia back on his team to solve this investigation, as he knows her passion will drive her to stop at nothing to catch the killer.
Flashbacks of the past for main characters and those we are yet to meet intermingle with the present case throughout the novel. In addition to these storylines, we are also involved in following along with Munch's daughter, Miriam Munch. Recently Miriam has met a man named Ziggy and has joined in with a group of animal rights activists, which is a world she was heavily involved in before becoming a mother.
The relationship between Holger Munch and Mia Kruger is the heart of this novel and drives the reader to care for the future of both individuals. The novel struggles to maintain the momentum of solving the crime the story is centered around. Immediately you are engaged in solving the case, but somewhere throughout the middle of the story you get lost in the muck of backstories. It is not until the end that the suspense begins to build up again as they desperately try to catch the killer before he takes the life of another victim.
Some elements of the story were a bit overdone for me and not necessary to keep my interest. I also wasn't entire sold on how all of the characters ended up being connected. I had the misfortune of entering into this series on book two, so I do feel that my review may be a bit biased given this information. As a standalone, which the novel is clearly not intended to be, I was sadly unable to know the complete history of Munch and Mia, something I think would have enabled me to connect even deeper with the characters.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel and am planning on picking up the first in the series, I'm Traveling Alone.
Thank you to Penguin books, who I received early access to this galley from through their First to Read program.
Un nou caz cutremurator pentru inspectorul Munch si Mia. Suspansul e la el acasa si in aceasta a doua parte. Sper sa gasesc si partea a treia!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 stars that ending I did not see coming! I absolutely loved the first book and now the second one is just as fantastic!
Είμαι ένας άνθρωπος που το 65% των βιβλίων που έχει διαβάσει είναι μισοτελειωμένα λόγω της ανυπομονησίας που με διακατέχει... Η σκανδιναβική αστυνομική λογοτεχνία είναι κάτι σχετικά καινούργιο! Έχω μια κάποια εμπειρία με βιβλία του Νέσμπο τα οποία ακόμα με περιμένουν στεναχωρημένα και σκονισμένα στην βιβλιοθήκη μου.
Η Κουκουβάγια ευτυχώς ήταν ένα βιβλίο που ήταν το μόνο που μπορούσα να διαβάσω εκείνη την περίοδο, οπότε το ρούφηξα μέσα σε λίγες μέρες (και με φουλ πρόγραμμα παρακαλώ)!
Μου άρεσε που υπήρχαν πολλοί χαρακτήρες, υπήρχε μια ατμόσφαιρα αστυνομικού σίριαλ. Βέβαια θα πρέπει να πω πως ο συγγραφέας δε μπήκε και πολύ στον κόπο να μιλήσει για τον κάθε χαρακτήρα ξεχωριστά. Αφήνει να εννοηθεί πως θα υπάρξει σίκουελ, όμως εμένα μου άφησε μία πίκρα. Οι περισσότεροι χαρακτήρες δεν είχαν βάθος, σε κάποιους έλειπε η προσωπικότητα και κάποιοι άλλοι δεν είχαν καν λόγο ύπαρξης..
Ένα πράγμα που με κούρασε ήταν η συνεχή αλλαγή του δράστη. Εκεί που είσαι σίγουρος πως ξέρεις
ποιος το έχει κάνει (με άλλα λόγια ο συγγραφέας σε έχει πείσει) το αλλάζει.. Αν γίνει μια, δύο φορές μπορεί να λειτουργήσει και ως καλός παράγοντας που τραβάει τον αναγνώστη αλλά όταν γίνεται παραπάνω από δύο φορές γίνεται απλά κουραστικό..
Ένα ακόμα αρνητικό είναι πως μερικές φορές ένιωθα αμήχανα διαβάζοντας κάποια κομμάτια. "Η όμορφη μελαχρινή αστυνομικός" δε με πείθει, καλύτερα να αναφέρεις πέντε φορές στην σειρά το όνομά της.
(Και φτάνει με το μοντγκόμερι!! έφτασα σε σημείο να το θεωρώ επιπλέον χαρακτήρα κάθε φορά που το ανέφερε!)
Πέρα από τα αρνητικά που ανέφερα η υπόθεση μου φάνηκε πολύ ενδιαφέρον! θα μπορούσε να είναι ένα πολύ καλό επεισόδιο στο Κρίμιναλ Μάιντς!
Another amazing book from this author! Already anticipating Book 3 in the series.
The writing is fine and the story is ok. But I don’t know what is it just feels odd and over the top and just trying to hard to be a real grim hard hitting crime novel with REAL people dealing with REAL lives. I found some of the policemen’s lives way too over the top. Ugh I am getting sick to death with all family members getting either hurt or attacked or kidnapped it’s a bit ludicrous.
I did enjoy this, although not quite as much as the first book in the series. The book kept me hooked until the end (the crime was zany enough where I had no clue what was going on until the reveal slowly played out). However, it was a bit more slowly paced than the first book in the series.
I’m not going to lie, I had been waiting to read The Owl… since I turned the last page in I’m Travelling Alone as it was one of my favourite reads of 2015. Something about the authors writing really captured my attention with the first book, so I was really hoping that they would be able to do the same with the second in the series.
In The Owl… we’re back with Holger and Mia. When the body of a troubled teen runaway is found posed on a bed of feathers in the forest, Holger and Mia are called in to investigate the apparently ritualistic killing. What follows takes the whole team off down a very dangerous path.
In this book, Mia is very troubled. Still struggling with her demons after the events in book one, she throws herself into this case in a bid to get herself back on track. Burying herself in solving the case seems to be the only way Mia is able to expend all of her nervous energy. Thanks to this manic energy, she manages to spot vital clues throughout the investigation.
Holger is also having a bit of personal trouble in this one, yet he still manages to keep the investigation moving forward. His daughter, Miriam, also features prominently in The Owl… She has met an activist and seems to be veering away from her marriage towards something that she does’t understand. It turns out to be bigger than anyone could have anticipated.
The Owl Always Hunts at Night is a suspenseful and gripping slice of Scandinavian crime fiction. Packed with creepy and unusual ritualistic elements, with a very dark undertone, it is a crcking follow-up to I’m Travelling Alone.
Highly recommended!
In The Owl… we’re back with Holger and Mia. When the body of a troubled teen runaway is found posed on a bed of feathers in the forest, Holger and Mia are called in to investigate the apparently ritualistic killing. What follows takes the whole team off down a very dangerous path.
In this book, Mia is very troubled. Still struggling with her demons after the events in book one, she throws herself into this case in a bid to get herself back on track. Burying herself in solving the case seems to be the only way Mia is able to expend all of her nervous energy. Thanks to this manic energy, she manages to spot vital clues throughout the investigation.
Holger is also having a bit of personal trouble in this one, yet he still manages to keep the investigation moving forward. His daughter, Miriam, also features prominently in The Owl… She has met an activist and seems to be veering away from her marriage towards something that she does’t understand. It turns out to be bigger than anyone could have anticipated.
The Owl Always Hunts at Night is a suspenseful and gripping slice of Scandinavian crime fiction. Packed with creepy and unusual ritualistic elements, with a very dark undertone, it is a crcking follow-up to I’m Travelling Alone.
Highly recommended!