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This week appears to be Thomas Enger week on my blog as I just reviewed Pierced (book 2) on Monday and today the spotlight shines on his new novel Cursed. I have to say I couldn't be happier to highlight such a fantastic author and his books, I would highly encourage all of you reading this to put him at the very top of your must read lists...you won't be sorry!!
Cursed starts off with a prologue that left me breathless! Thomas Enger propels us into the story with an event that I wasn't quite prepared for, but was an absolute zinger of a way to start off the novel. We are then introduced to Nora, an investigative journalist who works for Aftenposten and is also Henning Juul's ex-wife. If you've read any of Enger's previous books you know Henning Juul is also an investigative journalist working for 123News and that he and Nora split up after their son was killed in an arson fire (meant to kill Henning) while staying with Henning at his flat. If you haven't read the previous novels (I've only read Pierced) fear not because Enger does an amazing job of cluing readers in on the backstory of Henning and his ongoing investigation into who set fire to his flat, killing his son.
The story moves forward at breakneck pace, alternating between Nora's perspective as she investigates Hedda Hellberg's disappearance and Henning's as he delves further into his investigation of the possible parties responsible for the death of his son. Both Henning and Nora will come to find that their own lives are at risk as they uncover long buried secrets and lies that have led certain people to kill to keep buried....and who will undoubtedly kill again to make sure they stay buried.
What Enger does flawlessly is put the reader into the hearts and minds of Henning and Nora by immersing us into each and every scene with such precise, vivid prose and dialogue that we can't help but feel a connection to these characters. I was deeply invested in both Nora and Henning's investigations and felt compelled to keep turning the pages as quickly as possible because I could sense the imminent danger surrounding each of them. The use of short chapters also helped to create additional tension. Little by little, the threads of each investigation start to entangle and what is left is nothing short of a masterfully plotted web of deceit, betrayals and murder.
I'm going to be honest here...my detective skills are nowhere near the level needed to have accurately put together this jigsaw puzzle of a plot and I can't tell you how happy that made me! Thomas Enger is at the TOP of his storytelling game with this novel. Not since reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series have I felt so riveted by characters and plot...until now. And the ending...utter perfection! Needless to say, I will be anxiously awaiting 2018 and book 5; in the meantime, I'll be going back and reading Burned (book 1) and finishing Scarred (book 3).
This week appears to be Thomas Enger week on my blog as I just reviewed Pierced (book 2) on Monday and today the spotlight shines on his new novel Cursed. I have to say I couldn't be happier to highlight such a fantastic author and his books, I would highly encourage all of you reading this to put him at the very top of your must read lists...you won't be sorry!!
Cursed starts off with a prologue that left me breathless! Thomas Enger propels us into the story with an event that I wasn't quite prepared for, but was an absolute zinger of a way to start off the novel. We are then introduced to Nora, an investigative journalist who works for Aftenposten and is also Henning Juul's ex-wife. If you've read any of Enger's previous books you know Henning Juul is also an investigative journalist working for 123News and that he and Nora split up after their son was killed in an arson fire (meant to kill Henning) while staying with Henning at his flat. If you haven't read the previous novels (I've only read Pierced) fear not because Enger does an amazing job of cluing readers in on the backstory of Henning and his ongoing investigation into who set fire to his flat, killing his son.
The story moves forward at breakneck pace, alternating between Nora's perspective as she investigates Hedda Hellberg's disappearance and Henning's as he delves further into his investigation of the possible parties responsible for the death of his son. Both Henning and Nora will come to find that their own lives are at risk as they uncover long buried secrets and lies that have led certain people to kill to keep buried....and who will undoubtedly kill again to make sure they stay buried.
What Enger does flawlessly is put the reader into the hearts and minds of Henning and Nora by immersing us into each and every scene with such precise, vivid prose and dialogue that we can't help but feel a connection to these characters. I was deeply invested in both Nora and Henning's investigations and felt compelled to keep turning the pages as quickly as possible because I could sense the imminent danger surrounding each of them. The use of short chapters also helped to create additional tension. Little by little, the threads of each investigation start to entangle and what is left is nothing short of a masterfully plotted web of deceit, betrayals and murder.
I'm going to be honest here...my detective skills are nowhere near the level needed to have accurately put together this jigsaw puzzle of a plot and I can't tell you how happy that made me! Thomas Enger is at the TOP of his storytelling game with this novel. Not since reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series have I felt so riveted by characters and plot...until now. And the ending...utter perfection! Needless to say, I will be anxiously awaiting 2018 and book 5; in the meantime, I'll be going back and reading Burned (book 1) and finishing Scarred (book 3).