Reviews

A Hora das Sombras by Johan Theorin

Only show reviews with written explanations

aika1801's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

therhinelady's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

emily_brekker's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious sad tense

3.0

3.0/5
After reading the first few pages of the book, I was already wondering what I had got myself into. A child's POV of the day it disappeared - scary and frightening. An early murder suspect, who was responsible for his little brother's drowning - psychopathic behaviour. Fortunately, the book became a little bit less scary later on, which is connected to the slow pace of this thriller. Nevertheless, I still wanted to know what happened to little Jens and hoped that his mother would find closure. The mystery itself was told in past and present tense, switching from numerous point of views. I had already a suspicion regarding one character, but could not solve the whole mystery on my own.

SPOILER:
The ending did not satisfy me because of the tragic death of Jens that should not even have happened. Moreover, I can hardly imagine how his mother must feel...

pelargonia's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.75

marco5599's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Solid mystery about a child that went missing some twenty years ago. Today's #1 suspect has a strong alibi though; he was already dead when little Jens disappeared. The past is full of deep and dark secrets, as mom (Julia) and her dad (Gerlof) are soon to find out. Enough to keep the attention, but the woeful, monotonous atmosphere had something of a numbing effect on me. Julia too; a tiresome character. Gerlof has more fire than her. And he's 79 years old. And rheumatic.

findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

I never would've picked this one on my own, but our book club picked it after reading an article about other Scandinavian mystery writers besides you-know-who. I actually didn't even finish it; all of the mystery was out in the open at the beginning and the rest of the book was filling in the blanks, and I realized that I just didn't care! I'm sure there was some twist at the end but it wasn't worth reading the rest to get to.