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A review by rrkreads
The Reckoning by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This series is addictive. I loved this novel too. Though the legacy (book 1) is my favorite, this one was not bad at all. While the plot and story is different in this one, the author continues to develop the relationships from the first one. There's a tiny love triangle kind of a situation going on and am not sure where this is all leading upto.
This story also talks about the situations faced by children and how adults instead of helping them usually aggravate their suffering.
As in the first book, there are some pretty gruesome murders in this one too.
The author seems to follow a kind of formula in her books.
1. A heartwrenching murder/disappearance/incident involving a child - from the past timeline
2. Police running helter skelter finding any clues at all regarding the recent murders - present timeline
3. Minimal number of suspects and zero proof thus causing immense confusion in readers and the characters in the story
4. Somehow all the threads are woven together and the full picture is revealed in the oh-so-satisfying climax.
I realized that Iceland is perceived to be a land of very minimal crime. So the attitude of the law enforcement as depicted in the book is very telling. Usually in the American crime stories everything is aggrandized, the emotions, the urgency, the gore etc. everything has this sense of being too technicolor whereas Iceland mystery is very bleak, grey and like its winters muted. That's not to say it's not sharp or as impactful but it's so different from the usual run-of-the-mill US based thrillers that it's very refreshing to read despite the morbid subject matter.
I love the writing style, the translation, the audio narration, the chill characters, and the occasional humour. A new character Saga was introduced in this novel and I can't wait to see if she makes an appearance in the next novel in the series as well. Despite her perma-scowl :) I love her.
Overall,
RRKReads Objective Grading: Invest grade - Book worth buying and adding to your collection
RRKReads Subjective Rating: 4 🌟s
#TheReckoning #YrsaSigurdardottir #mysterythriller #crimethriller #policeprocedurals #bookreview #IcelandRep #TranslatedNovels #Book2 #ChildrensHouseSeries #audiobooks #storytel
This story also talks about the situations faced by children and how adults instead of helping them usually aggravate their suffering.
As in the first book, there are some pretty gruesome murders in this one too.
The author seems to follow a kind of formula in her books.
1. A heartwrenching murder/disappearance/incident involving a child - from the past timeline
2. Police running helter skelter finding any clues at all regarding the recent murders - present timeline
3. Minimal number of suspects and zero proof thus causing immense confusion in readers and the characters in the story
4. Somehow all the threads are woven together and the full picture is revealed in the oh-so-satisfying climax.
I realized that Iceland is perceived to be a land of very minimal crime. So the attitude of the law enforcement as depicted in the book is very telling. Usually in the American crime stories everything is aggrandized, the emotions, the urgency, the gore etc. everything has this sense of being too technicolor whereas Iceland mystery is very bleak, grey and like its winters muted. That's not to say it's not sharp or as impactful but it's so different from the usual run-of-the-mill US based thrillers that it's very refreshing to read despite the morbid subject matter.
I love the writing style, the translation, the audio narration, the chill characters, and the occasional humour. A new character Saga was introduced in this novel and I can't wait to see if she makes an appearance in the next novel in the series as well. Despite her perma-scowl :) I love her.
Overall,
RRKReads Objective Grading: Invest grade - Book worth buying and adding to your collection
RRKReads Subjective Rating: 4 🌟s
#TheReckoning #YrsaSigurdardottir #mysterythriller #crimethriller #policeprocedurals #bookreview #IcelandRep #TranslatedNovels #Book2 #ChildrensHouseSeries #audiobooks #storytel