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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Cool descriptive language, very interesting characters. Love the style. Creepy but not scary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Vomit
“I’m looking down an elk and it’s looking up at me and neither one of us is moving and in a single breath I forgive it completely. It didn’t mean to take my Dad with its own life. It didn’t want to do that, there was no plan.” p252
Dark Woods is beautifully dark, forboding and ominously captivating. Author Will Dean has captured so much of the essence of Scandi Noir in this, the first of the Tuva Moodyson series. It’s been on my TBR shelf for good couple of years and after I read the authors book, The Last Thing to Burn last year I was determined to ensure this book made it to my read shelf. And I’m glad I did.
The first thing that jumps out in Dark Woods is atmosphere and place. The opening pages are filled with an encounter with an adult elk on the edges of Utgard Forest, adjacent to a remote Swedish town, Gavrik. The elk and the forest are real yet symbolic throughout, and feature as both the source of fear and tragedy for Tuva and the very components that are a part of her redemption. I love that symbolism - tried and true - yet Will Dean handles it beautifully and respectfully.
Tuva Moodyson is an intriguing main character, journalist for a local newspaper in Gavrik.. small town, set in its ways, where everyone knows everyone. I love the way Will Dean has created Tuva as a deaf woman, losing her hearing through meningitis at a young age, dependent on hearing aids to access sound. We are given a privileged glimpse into the barriers, internal and external that Tuva endures and has endured. And along with the death of her dad and her Mums terminal illness, Tuva has a lot going on.
Dark Woods is almost like a closed room murder mystery and cold case rolled into one. The motley crew who live in Mossen village are all suspects in two gruesome murder cases that are a repeat of similar murders twenty years earlier. The woods grow darker and more menacing as Tuva uncovers the truth.
I really loved this story. There was something about the final wrap up I didn’t love.. it was kind of a let down for me.. I was waiting for a slightly different outcome that didn’t arrive.
Nevertheless 4 fat stars..
Dark Woods is beautifully dark, forboding and ominously captivating. Author Will Dean has captured so much of the essence of Scandi Noir in this, the first of the Tuva Moodyson series. It’s been on my TBR shelf for good couple of years and after I read the authors book, The Last Thing to Burn last year I was determined to ensure this book made it to my read shelf. And I’m glad I did.
The first thing that jumps out in Dark Woods is atmosphere and place. The opening pages are filled with an encounter with an adult elk on the edges of Utgard Forest, adjacent to a remote Swedish town, Gavrik. The elk and the forest are real yet symbolic throughout, and feature as both the source of fear and tragedy for Tuva and the very components that are a part of her redemption. I love that symbolism - tried and true - yet Will Dean handles it beautifully and respectfully.
Tuva Moodyson is an intriguing main character, journalist for a local newspaper in Gavrik.. small town, set in its ways, where everyone knows everyone. I love the way Will Dean has created Tuva as a deaf woman, losing her hearing through meningitis at a young age, dependent on hearing aids to access sound. We are given a privileged glimpse into the barriers, internal and external that Tuva endures and has endured. And along with the death of her dad and her Mums terminal illness, Tuva has a lot going on.
Dark Woods is almost like a closed room murder mystery and cold case rolled into one. The motley crew who live in Mossen village are all suspects in two gruesome murder cases that are a repeat of similar murders twenty years earlier. The woods grow darker and more menacing as Tuva uncovers the truth.
I really loved this story. There was something about the final wrap up I didn’t love.. it was kind of a let down for me.. I was waiting for a slightly different outcome that didn’t arrive.
Nevertheless 4 fat stars..
This is a thriller set in the picturesque Sweeden. It follows Tuva, a deaf journalist as she works to solve a case of a monstrous murderer.
What I liked
What I liked
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well the last free book I downloaded from Apple Books wasn't great so the first thing I did was try reading another...
...and this worked out much better.
Tuva is a youngish journalist working for a small town newspaper in Sweden. She's obviously destined for greater things but has ended up here for now as she wants to be near to her terminally ill mother. She's also deaf which gives a really interesting twist to the story. A series of murders that happened in the deep forest near the town in the nineties appear to have started up again, and though it doesn't start out as a straight up murder investigation by the journalist it pretty much ends up that way. Tuva has her own reasons for disliking the forest and the atmosphere of her surroundings is very well written. On the whole it's a really engaging story with a decent enough plot. I, pretty much by accident, latched onto who the murderer was early in the story but it definitely didn't spoil the story, not least because I assumed I was probably wrong and picking up on red herrings. I enjoyed it and the book didn't need a massive twisty ending to be entertaining.
A series I think I'll probably return to in the future.
...and this worked out much better.
Tuva is a youngish journalist working for a small town newspaper in Sweden. She's obviously destined for greater things but has ended up here for now as she wants to be near to her terminally ill mother. She's also deaf which gives a really interesting twist to the story. A series of murders that happened in the deep forest near the town in the nineties appear to have started up again, and though it doesn't start out as a straight up murder investigation by the journalist it pretty much ends up that way. Tuva has her own reasons for disliking the forest and the atmosphere of her surroundings is very well written. On the whole it's a really engaging story with a decent enough plot. I, pretty much by accident, latched onto who the murderer was early in the story but it definitely didn't spoil the story, not least because I assumed I was probably wrong and picking up on red herrings. I enjoyed it and the book didn't need a massive twisty ending to be entertaining.
A series I think I'll probably return to in the future.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When a body is discovered in a remote Swedish forest, it bears certainly similarities to murders dubbed Medusa from 20 years ago. Enter Tuva Moodyson, a deaf, wine gum loving journalist with a local paper who is looking for that one big story to get noticed by the national press. Told almost exclusively from the point of view of Tuva, it does suffer slightly from certain situations being too overly descriptive which seems to slow things up on occasions but that's my only real gripe as the story twists and keeps you guessing - along with the very likeable Tuva - right to the end as she does her best to anger the locals and anyone she feels knows something about the case. Overall, a pretty good read.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated