cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
5.0
Recommended by Connie
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clara_hedman's review against another edition
3.0
The ending for this book was so confusing and mixed that it sort of ruined the entire story for me looking back. Too many unanswered questions left me frustrated.
kiramke's review against another edition
3.0
I like the way the books are tied together. The balance here could've been better, the time spent on the historical plotline doesn't pay off in the present.
__karen__'s review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as the 1st two Nina Borg novels. I hope there will be more -- they're suspenseful and thought provoking stories with relatable characters.
ladulcinella's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book full of unpleasant events. The horror of starvation in Oekraine (by Stalin) combined with refugees, death and the fate of children living in desperate circonstances, does not give a light lecture. It is good and worth the read, but very somber.
martyfried's review against another edition
5.0
Another winner from Lene Kaaberbol - great book, and well-done audiobook.
The Nina Borg series is exceptional in the way the author weaves together several stories from different parts of the world that are seemingly unrelated, but all come together in unexpected ways.
Nina Borg is a nurse, but a lot more. Her main flaw is that she can't refuse to help people in need, much to the detriment of her life and those around her, especially her husband and children. Her problem is that she helps those who nobody else wants to have anything to do with, such as refugees from Ukraine, etc. Unfortunately, sometimes these people are refugees because someone is looking to harm them and anyone in the way.
This book is really a continuation from the previous one, so it would be a good idea to read it first, but it's probably not necessary. But you should read them all, so might as well start from the beginning. :-)
The Nina Borg series is exceptional in the way the author weaves together several stories from different parts of the world that are seemingly unrelated, but all come together in unexpected ways.
Nina Borg is a nurse, but a lot more. Her main flaw is that she can't refuse to help people in need, much to the detriment of her life and those around her, especially her husband and children. Her problem is that she helps those who nobody else wants to have anything to do with, such as refugees from Ukraine, etc. Unfortunately, sometimes these people are refugees because someone is looking to harm them and anyone in the way.
This book is really a continuation from the previous one, so it would be a good idea to read it first, but it's probably not necessary. But you should read them all, so might as well start from the beginning. :-)
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
t can be difficult to jump into an ongoing crime/mystery series. The main character in this series, Nina Borg, was introduced in the book "The Boy In The Suitcase," and another book followed. This is the third.
The books take place in Denmark which, like many other Western European Countries, has been faced with an influx of Eastern European refugees trying to find a better life. Nina is now divorced, has a mild case of OCD, is not the most personable of people, but she cares desperately.
The narrative opens with Natasha, a Ukrainian refugee who has been accused of murdering her fiance. Apparently she IS guilty although for good reason: the man had not only been physically abusive with her, but also had tried to molest her daughter. The police are moving her, and she sees the chance to escape and find her daughter, Katerina.
Katerina is still in the Coal House Camp which houses refugees from all over the world. However, shadowy figures from the Ukraine are also searching for Natasha after having murdered her Ukrainian husband, Pavel, a journalist in Kiev. In between the modern story are chapters of a story that takes place in the early 1930's in the Ukraine, a time of terrible famine and cruel Soviet repression.
Like other examples of the Scandinavian crime genre, the book is written in a spare and lucid style, but it's NOT simple. Human emotions - love, despair, anger, hatred - are all here and are blended in a skillful and interesting manner with a little dose of history. I've found yet another series to follow!
The books take place in Denmark which, like many other Western European Countries, has been faced with an influx of Eastern European refugees trying to find a better life. Nina is now divorced, has a mild case of OCD, is not the most personable of people, but she cares desperately.
The narrative opens with Natasha, a Ukrainian refugee who has been accused of murdering her fiance. Apparently she IS guilty although for good reason: the man had not only been physically abusive with her, but also had tried to molest her daughter. The police are moving her, and she sees the chance to escape and find her daughter, Katerina.
Katerina is still in the Coal House Camp which houses refugees from all over the world. However, shadowy figures from the Ukraine are also searching for Natasha after having murdered her Ukrainian husband, Pavel, a journalist in Kiev. In between the modern story are chapters of a story that takes place in the early 1930's in the Ukraine, a time of terrible famine and cruel Soviet repression.
Like other examples of the Scandinavian crime genre, the book is written in a spare and lucid style, but it's NOT simple. Human emotions - love, despair, anger, hatred - are all here and are blended in a skillful and interesting manner with a little dose of history. I've found yet another series to follow!
attytheresa's review against another edition
4.0
Really good suspenseful entry in the Nordic Noir genre. Had interesting and diverse characters, some of whom end up surprising you. Great series of twists in the end. A fast and exciting read but not an easy read - it is classified as noir for a reason; it is filled with dark disturbing deeds and betrayals. The story involves a young woman with a questionable past, her young daughter, the nurse trying to help them, and a bevy of characters who may - or may not - be other than they appear in present day Denmark. There is murder and attempted murder. But there are also flashbacks to earlier events and murders that we slowly realize influenced, indeed directly lead to, the present day ones, both in the near past of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution at the beginning of this century, and during the rule of Stalin over the Ukraine in 1934/35.
I loved the 'play' the authors made of the word 'nightingale.' All its definitions and symbolism appear in the story, even the role the nightingale plays in folklore and fairytale. I applaud the authors and their translators for so ably intertwining the nightingale in all its glory throughout the plot, thus adding to the richness of the reading experience.
It is the third in the authors' series featuring nurse Nina Børg, yet it easily read as a stand alone. Sufficient information about the personal troubles and prior events of the series characters is provided, but not so much that the prior stories are ruined. I do not feel reading it out of sequence poses any problem.
I am only superficially familiar with the history and politics covered by this story, and if the plot has a weakness, it is that it doesn't really provide enough information on either. But then I am not the target audience as it was written originally in Danish for a Danish audience I would presume is far more familiar with the historic eras covered.
Takes place in Denmark, translated from Danish, thus it fits as a book that was translated into English for 2016 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge. a friend gave this to me one Christmas. I will definitely read the rest in the series.
I loved the 'play' the authors made of the word 'nightingale.' All its definitions and symbolism appear in the story, even the role the nightingale plays in folklore and fairytale. I applaud the authors and their translators for so ably intertwining the nightingale in all its glory throughout the plot, thus adding to the richness of the reading experience.
It is the third in the authors' series featuring nurse Nina Børg, yet it easily read as a stand alone. Sufficient information about the personal troubles and prior events of the series characters is provided, but not so much that the prior stories are ruined. I do not feel reading it out of sequence poses any problem.
I am only superficially familiar with the history and politics covered by this story, and if the plot has a weakness, it is that it doesn't really provide enough information on either. But then I am not the target audience as it was written originally in Danish for a Danish audience I would presume is far more familiar with the historic eras covered.
Takes place in Denmark, translated from Danish, thus it fits as a book that was translated into English for 2016 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge. a friend gave this to me one Christmas. I will definitely read the rest in the series.
marystevens's review against another edition
2.0
This the third in a best selling Danish mystery series, but I have to say the first, The Boy In The Suitcase, is the best. If you like flawed protagonists you'll like Nina Borg, the Red Cross nurse with a savior complex and a divorce to her credit. This story weaves together two plot lines, a starving family in Stalinist Ukraine and a Ukrainian refugee trying to escape the SBU (new KGB) with her asthmatic daughter seventy years later. The chapters about the famine are hard to get down but the story in present day Copenhagen is a well plotted and enjoyable read. The stories are brought together at the end, but on the whole key parts of the resolution beggar belief.