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A review by mcastello13
Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is more like 4.5 stars - and it was going to be 5 stars until the ending, which brought it down a bit for me.
This book continues a so-far fantastic series that I am enjoying immensely. It features really smartly-drawn, realistic characters - both those commuting the crimes and the detectives trying to solve the cases - in a beautifully pared-back, emotionally-evocative way. There’s great psychological complexity and the community of Akranes, along with the Icelandic weather, culture, and atmosphere, is brought to life so vividly while still allowing the case at the center of the novel to shine though and captivate the reader. And I especially loved how the relationships between Elma and various people in her life were developed further in this one.
That all said, as I mentioned, the ending was a little frustrating for a few reasons:
1) I felt it a little carelessly reinforced a dangerous, generally untrue stereotype about rape cases
2) we never actually get full closure with the case (although maybe that will be ironed out in the following book)
3) what is happening with Elma and Sævar??? (I’m not actually complaining about this one, more dying of curiosity to see where this plot line goes. The way it was left off was wonderfully cruel and I’m even more desperate now to get my hands on the next in the series!!)
This book continues a so-far fantastic series that I am enjoying immensely. It features really smartly-drawn, realistic characters - both those commuting the crimes and the detectives trying to solve the cases - in a beautifully pared-back, emotionally-evocative way. There’s great psychological complexity and the community of Akranes, along with the Icelandic weather, culture, and atmosphere, is brought to life so vividly while still allowing the case at the center of the novel to shine though and captivate the reader. And I especially loved how the relationships between Elma and various people in her life were developed further in this one.
That all said, as I mentioned, the ending was a little frustrating for a few reasons:
1) I felt it a little carelessly reinforced a dangerous, generally untrue stereotype about rape cases
2) we never actually get full closure with the case (although maybe that will be ironed out in the following book)
3) what is happening with Elma and Sævar??? (I’m not actually complaining about this one, more dying of curiosity to see where this plot line goes. The way it was left off was wonderfully cruel and I’m even more desperate now to get my hands on the next in the series!!)