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doreeny's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first of seven mysteries set in Fjallbacka, Sweden, featuring Erica Falck and Patrik Hedstrom.
Erica is a 35-year-old biographer of female Swedish writers. During a stay at her coastal hometown, Alexandra Wijkner, a childhood friend, apparently commits suicide. Of course, it is soon determined that her death was the result of foul play. The case is investigated by Officer Patrik Hedstrom, another friend of Erica's from her childhood.
This is a mystery, but probably because it's the first in a series, there is some focus on introducing characters and establishing relationships. The budding romantic relationship between Erica and Patrik is central.
The police officers at the Tanumshede police station, other than Patrik, are unbelievably incompetent. The police chief, Bertil Mellberg, does nothing but has an exceedingly high opinion of himself. The eldest member of the force, Gosta Flygare, devotes "all his energy to doing as little as possible until retirement." The youngest, Martin Molin, is a total innocent; his naivete makes him "totally unsuitable for police work." The last member is Ernst Lundgren, a sycophant who never misses "a chance to promote himself, preferably at the expense of others."
The portrayal of life in a small town, however, is very realistic. Everyone knows everyone, and though people may try to keep secrets, gossip abounds. As the investigation continues, it soon becomes clear that secrets are never completely buried. In fact, those who remain silent seem to suffer the most.
Some tricks are played on the reader in order to create suspense. Erica, for example, withholds vital evidence from Patrik. At other times, a character discovers an important piece of information, but it is withheld from the reader.
The book is an entertaining read despite its flaws. Lackberg takes full advantage of opportunities for humour.
Please check out my blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
Erica is a 35-year-old biographer of female Swedish writers. During a stay at her coastal hometown, Alexandra Wijkner, a childhood friend, apparently commits suicide. Of course, it is soon determined that her death was the result of foul play. The case is investigated by Officer Patrik Hedstrom, another friend of Erica's from her childhood.
This is a mystery, but probably because it's the first in a series, there is some focus on introducing characters and establishing relationships. The budding romantic relationship between Erica and Patrik is central.
The police officers at the Tanumshede police station, other than Patrik, are unbelievably incompetent. The police chief, Bertil Mellberg, does nothing but has an exceedingly high opinion of himself. The eldest member of the force, Gosta Flygare, devotes "all his energy to doing as little as possible until retirement." The youngest, Martin Molin, is a total innocent; his naivete makes him "totally unsuitable for police work." The last member is Ernst Lundgren, a sycophant who never misses "a chance to promote himself, preferably at the expense of others."
The portrayal of life in a small town, however, is very realistic. Everyone knows everyone, and though people may try to keep secrets, gossip abounds. As the investigation continues, it soon becomes clear that secrets are never completely buried. In fact, those who remain silent seem to suffer the most.
Some tricks are played on the reader in order to create suspense. Erica, for example, withholds vital evidence from Patrik. At other times, a character discovers an important piece of information, but it is withheld from the reader.
The book is an entertaining read despite its flaws. Lackberg takes full advantage of opportunities for humour.
Please check out my blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
ellen_1999's review against another edition
4.0
Als Alex dood wordt gevonden in een badkuip met haar polsen doorgesneden, lijkt het op zelfmoord. Maar een dosis slaappillen verraadt dat dit geen zelfmoord kan zijn geweest. Enkele weken later wordt ook Anders dood gevonden, opgehangen. Rechercheur Patrik Hedström onderzoekt de zaken, en ook Erika Falck (schrijfster en jeugdvriendin van Alex) steekt haar neus erin. Er komen geheimen aan het licht die al meer dan 25 jaar in de doofpot zijn gestopt.
Wat ik vooral goed vond aan dit boek was hoe de personages zijn uitgewerkt. Ik kon ze echt voor me zien, de types met hun verschillende karaktereigenschappen maken het levendig. In het begin van het boek moest ik er wel in komen, maar hoe verder naar het einde ik ging hoe moeilijker ik het kon wegleggen vanwege de plottwists/geheimen die werden onthuld. Disclaimer: dit boek heeft wel heel veel personages die echt fucked-up dingen hebben gedaan en voelt daardoor wel minder realistisch.
Wat ik vooral goed vond aan dit boek was hoe de personages zijn uitgewerkt. Ik kon ze echt voor me zien, de types met hun verschillende karaktereigenschappen maken het levendig. In het begin van het boek moest ik er wel in komen, maar hoe verder naar het einde ik ging hoe moeilijker ik het kon wegleggen vanwege de plottwists/geheimen die werden onthuld. Disclaimer: dit boek heeft wel heel veel personages die echt fucked-up dingen hebben gedaan en voelt daardoor wel minder realistisch.
_witchpony's review against another edition
1.0
I read this book in Spanish.
It took me forever to write this review, because this book was so terrible that I couldn't force myself to do it. Calling this book "a pain in the ass" would be the understatement of the century.
This book tells the story of Erica, a writer, who, after losing her parents in an accident, has to move to her old house to figure it out what to do with the belongings of the deceased. In the small town where she grew up a murder happens, the dead is Alex, Erica's childhood friend and she is the one who discovers the body.
I don't even know where to start with everything that is wrong with this book.
The delicate subjects that the book deals with, it tackles them in such a poor and bland way, with no empathy. By the way, this book needs a lot of trigger warnings for the topics it addresses: domestic violence, child rape, alcoholism and substance abuse, sex, abortion, etc. (Leaving aside that it is a novel with a murder, it does not seem to me that the author gives it the necessary importance). There is also the issue of how this book treats weight and people's eating habits and I say, maybe at the time all that could have made some sense, but in 2021 it did not, so I can assure you that this book did not age well at all.
The word “breasts” is repeated so many times that I wanted someone to take pity on me and tear out my eyes.
There are only two types of men in this book: the very bad bad guys and the very good guys; they have no more depth, no more purpose than to make their life revolve around female characters.
The murderer, because there is a murderer, although this story seems more like a romance (and sex) novel where by chance the love interest of the protagonist (purely by coincidence) is the policeman who leads the murder case. Anyway, the killer is almost caricature, even the Scooby-Doo villains have more depth than the killer in this novel.
The way the author gives us "clues" is incredibly stupid and maddening. Because she does not reveal to you what the protagonist or her love interest found until you forget that they had found it in the first place. As a law student, I can assure you that all the evidence found in the case would be discarded by both the public prosecutor and the judge because of the unprofessional way in which it is treated (wear gloves and equipment, shit!) And because of the very unprofessional way in which it is found (violating more than one procedural right).
Lastly, and I doubt this is a spoiler, but just in case: SPOILER ALERT! If your childhood friend has just died, the first thing that comes to mind is to write a novel about her life and how she was murdered? How stupid does the main character have to be?
Needless to say, I hated this book with all my soul.
It took me forever to write this review, because this book was so terrible that I couldn't force myself to do it. Calling this book "a pain in the ass" would be the understatement of the century.
This book tells the story of Erica, a writer, who, after losing her parents in an accident, has to move to her old house to figure it out what to do with the belongings of the deceased. In the small town where she grew up a murder happens, the dead is Alex, Erica's childhood friend and she is the one who discovers the body.
I don't even know where to start with everything that is wrong with this book.
The delicate subjects that the book deals with, it tackles them in such a poor and bland way, with no empathy. By the way, this book needs a lot of trigger warnings for the topics it addresses: domestic violence, child rape, alcoholism and substance abuse, sex, abortion, etc. (Leaving aside that it is a novel with a murder, it does not seem to me that the author gives it the necessary importance). There is also the issue of how this book treats weight and people's eating habits and I say, maybe at the time all that could have made some sense, but in 2021 it did not, so I can assure you that this book did not age well at all.
The word “breasts” is repeated so many times that I wanted someone to take pity on me and tear out my eyes.
There are only two types of men in this book: the very bad bad guys and the very good guys; they have no more depth, no more purpose than to make their life revolve around female characters.
The murderer, because there is a murderer, although this story seems more like a romance (and sex) novel where by chance the love interest of the protagonist (purely by coincidence) is the policeman who leads the murder case. Anyway, the killer is almost caricature, even the Scooby-Doo villains have more depth than the killer in this novel.
The way the author gives us "clues" is incredibly stupid and maddening. Because she does not reveal to you what the protagonist or her love interest found until you forget that they had found it in the first place. As a law student, I can assure you that all the evidence found in the case would be discarded by both the public prosecutor and the judge because of the unprofessional way in which it is treated (wear gloves and equipment, shit!) And because of the very unprofessional way in which it is found (violating more than one procedural right).
Lastly, and I doubt this is a spoiler, but just in case: SPOILER ALERT! If your childhood friend has just died, the first thing that comes to mind is to write a novel about her life and how she was murdered? How stupid does the main character have to be?
Needless to say, I hated this book with all my soul.
xanabertolo's review against another edition
4.0
Foi a minha estreia com a autora, e adorei a forma como escreve... Estive até quase ao fim sem saber quem era o assassino!!
Quero ler mais :)
Quero ler mais :)
alexkmort's review against another edition
2.0
So this was a huge waste of my time. It read so slow but I powered through hoping for a redeeming quality. I definitely second the reviews that are annoyed by the, "Ah! I found a clue. Let me tuck it in my pocket and NOT TELL ANYONE!" aspect of the book.
schinn4's review against another edition
4.0
Really liked this book. A nice debut novel and I'm looking forward to reading more from her. Started off with the discovery of the body and spent much of the novel with character development, including the character of the locale in Sweden. The author left clues as to who committed the murder, but I never figured it out until the very end, and their were shocking twists throughout. The characters were believable and interesting and the book flowed. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good Scandinavian mystery.
lizzyc81's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. I was a little worried since it was another Swedish author, but it was much easier to read than The Millenium Series, which just got so complicated with the names of people and cities that it was difficult to read.
soraboo's review against another edition
5.0
¡Reseña en Español al final del Inglés!
I was windblown by this book.I don't know if it's because I've been to Sweden twice, or because I know how tough winters can be and that helps the whole mystery... but I loved it. I forced myself to read it a pace slower than I'm used to, to enjoy it and make it last longer.
Even though it was kind of weird to see women so... so sexist, I'd say? I see that the book was originally written in 2003, so I can kinda forgive the way it is. I liked the characters, and the plot twists that I didn't expect for the most part. I didn't have a clue about who the murderer was unttil the last couple pages!
I enjoyed this book a lot. I definitely recommend it!
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Este libro me voló la cabeza. No se si es porque Suecia es un país que ya visité dos veces, o porque se lo crudos que son los inviernos y eso ayuda al misterio... pero me encantó. Me obligué a leerlo más despacio de lo usual, para disfrutarlo y que me dure más.
Si bien fue un poco raro ver a las mujeres tan... cómo decirlo, ¿tan poco feministas? Veo que el libro fue escrito en el 2003, por lo que de alguna forma perdono que sea así. Los personajes me gustaron, y las idas y vueltas del plot fueron geniales. Hasta las últimas páginas no me imaginé quién era el asesino.
¡Sin dudas lo recomiendo muchísimo! Muy buen libro de su género.
I was windblown by this book.I don't know if it's because I've been to Sweden twice, or because I know how tough winters can be and that helps the whole mystery... but I loved it. I forced myself to read it a pace slower than I'm used to, to enjoy it and make it last longer.
Even though it was kind of weird to see women so... so sexist, I'd say? I see that the book was originally written in 2003, so I can kinda forgive the way it is. I liked the characters, and the plot twists that I didn't expect for the most part. I didn't have a clue about who the murderer was unttil the last couple pages!
I enjoyed this book a lot. I definitely recommend it!
-----------------------------------
Este libro me voló la cabeza. No se si es porque Suecia es un país que ya visité dos veces, o porque se lo crudos que son los inviernos y eso ayuda al misterio... pero me encantó. Me obligué a leerlo más despacio de lo usual, para disfrutarlo y que me dure más.
Si bien fue un poco raro ver a las mujeres tan... cómo decirlo, ¿tan poco feministas? Veo que el libro fue escrito en el 2003, por lo que de alguna forma perdono que sea así. Los personajes me gustaron, y las idas y vueltas del plot fueron geniales. Hasta las últimas páginas no me imaginé quién era el asesino.
¡Sin dudas lo recomiendo muchísimo! Muy buen libro de su género.
sternyblossom's review against another edition
4.0
Life happens and it took way longer to finish this than I would normally. I love murder mysteries and I really enjoy Swedish ones. I have Henning Mankell to thank for that. Anyway, it was enjoyable. I was able to guess part of it, so pat on the back for that.
natopotato's review against another edition
4.0
Me copó, me enganchó y no saqué a la primera el culpable (si lo saqué antes que el libro me lo revele, punto para mi). Muy entretenido y ameno a la lectura, no es pesado para nada, se me hizo hasta corto! Es el primer libro que leo de Camilla y pienso seguir leyendo el resto :D