kory_is's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wordnerdy's review
3.0
I think this was part of a series I've never read, b/c there were lots of references to people that never actually showed up in the story. Anyway, it's about some rich ex-cop woman who goes to Seattle to investigate some weirdness with real estate holdings and has to deal with the weird goings-on at a movie set. It's categorized as a mystery but the tension level was really low. Meanwhile, the protagonist is flashing back to a self-defense course she taught (the author used to teach self-defense--thoguh I think the method I learned for eye-gouging is more efficient than hers) and the problems it caused. The protagonist was likable enough but this may have been a little too formulaic for me (lots of falling in love at the drop of a hat with a local caterer). B.
ajcousins's review
4.0
Not *quite as brilliant as the first two Aud Torvingen novels, this was still a great read. Two plot lines alternate chapters, one following a flashback of Aud's teaching a women's self defense class, with bloody results, and the other following her visit to Seattle, where sabotage, attempted murder, Norwegian family values and the magic of film-making all mix together in a gorgeous mess. If you like six foot tall, cropped hair, Norwegian ex-cop lesbians who can kick the shit out of you and then carve you an oak rocking chair, you'll love Aud. ;)
hissingpotatoes's review
4.0
There was a bit of a different, looser feel to this book compared to the first two, possibly because it was written so many years after them. But I absolutely love Aud and Dornan's friendship and the lessons of the self-defense class throughout the book. Griffith's to-the-point writing intermixed with beautiful nature descriptions continued to amaze.
cheriekg's review
2.0
What a sad way to end this series. Not that the end was sad, but that this slow, broken-up, meandering story really brought down what had been taut, compelling reads. I sometimes dreaded the violence of Aud, but it turns out that Aud without violence is...kinda boring and whiny.
erinys's review
5.0
Just finished this one, so I thought I'd make a quick post.
This novel was the last of book of a trilogy about Aud Torvingen, the Norwegian ex-cop. It's another great story about a great character, and I really couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to an arc about healing, feeling, and real personal growth.
As an #ownvoices work, I should note that this novel also introduces another aspect of Griffith's life experience, in that there is a well-written character with MS.
I think that ultimately what I love about these novels is the fact that while Aud is never "fixed"--her PTSD is as real and vibrant at the end of the series as it was at the beginning--that by the end of her arc, she has learned to cope, and to embrace real life and real change. This is a luxury that is almost never afforded to the male protagonists in noir fiction, who seldom get happy endings and are usually defined by their vices and failed relationships rather than by their ability to grow, or the desire to have a real positive impact on the world around them.
I don't particularly want to spoil this book or any other of the trilogy, but I will say that it takes incredible skill to write three novels that are incredibly, realistically violent, and very noir, and still give the heroine an ending that embodies healing and maturity in a believable, humane way.
This is me, applauding. And even though these books contain no vampires or spaceships, and thus are usually outside my wheelhouse--I definitely think these are wonderful lesbian characters and great stories. I'm very glad I stepped outside my comfort zone to read them.
This novel was the last of book of a trilogy about Aud Torvingen, the Norwegian ex-cop. It's another great story about a great character, and I really couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to an arc about healing, feeling, and real personal growth.
As an #ownvoices work, I should note that this novel also introduces another aspect of Griffith's life experience, in that there is a well-written character with MS.
I think that ultimately what I love about these novels is the fact that while Aud is never "fixed"--her PTSD is as real and vibrant at the end of the series as it was at the beginning--that by the end of her arc, she has learned to cope, and to embrace real life and real change. This is a luxury that is almost never afforded to the male protagonists in noir fiction, who seldom get happy endings and are usually defined by their vices and failed relationships rather than by their ability to grow, or the desire to have a real positive impact on the world around them.
I don't particularly want to spoil this book or any other of the trilogy, but I will say that it takes incredible skill to write three novels that are incredibly, realistically violent, and very noir, and still give the heroine an ending that embodies healing and maturity in a believable, humane way.
This is me, applauding. And even though these books contain no vampires or spaceships, and thus are usually outside my wheelhouse--I definitely think these are wonderful lesbian characters and great stories. I'm very glad I stepped outside my comfort zone to read them.
tyrostone's review
3.0
I didn't like this as much as Slow River, but it was still enjoyable enough. The book seemed to strangely personal, I got the impression it was semi-autobiographical, and that made it too self-indulgent for my tastes.
I liked it more than most suspense novels I've read, but at times it felt like a screenplay (which was also kind of hilarious because a main plot point had to do with filming a movie). Also, it was too long, Lastly, I did not enjoy most of the information in the self-defense class sections of the book (especially at the beginning) which felt too self-conscious and a little bit like radical, militant feminism, which I try to avoid at all costs.
Goodreads, you are being glitchy when I try to write reviews. I cannot go back and edit the text I just wrote. I am annoyed with this. Doesn't impact my rating of the book, though.
I liked it more than most suspense novels I've read, but at times it felt like a screenplay (which was also kind of hilarious because a main plot point had to do with filming a movie). Also, it was too long, Lastly, I did not enjoy most of the information in the self-defense class sections of the book (especially at the beginning) which felt too self-conscious and a little bit like radical, militant feminism, which I try to avoid at all costs.
Goodreads, you are being glitchy when I try to write reviews. I cannot go back and edit the text I just wrote. I am annoyed with this. Doesn't impact my rating of the book, though.
survivalisinsufficient's review
3.0
I thought I was getting the first in the series (since I accidentally read the second one without knowing there was a first), but instead I got the third. Oh well. Still pretty decent. A little too self-defense soapboxy, but Aud (the protagonist, a private investigator and general bad-ass) is interesting.
mfred's review
Loved the first, put down the second and didn't finish, could not get half way through this one. Skimmed the end and was dissatisfied.
Each chapter skips between Atlanta and Seattle, and with each Atlanta chapter I feel more and more like I am attending a seminar on violence against women. I know from the fore-shadowing in the Seattle chapters that something violent and disturbing happens in the self-defense class and by the third or fourth meeting of that group, I'm fairly certain who it is and what she does.
Aside from seeing her mother, I never quite buy what the hell Aud is doing in Seattle, and then she's conveniently poisoned. Kick is a shadow of a character and the physical attraction Aud feels isn't enough to sell me on the relationship.
About half way through, I skim the end, confirm the who did what in Atlanta, and put the book down for good.
Each chapter skips between Atlanta and Seattle, and with each Atlanta chapter I feel more and more like I am attending a seminar on violence against women. I know from the fore-shadowing in the Seattle chapters that something violent and disturbing happens in the self-defense class and by the third or fourth meeting of that group, I'm fairly certain who it is and what she does.
Aside from seeing her mother, I never quite buy what the hell Aud is doing in Seattle, and then she's conveniently poisoned. Kick is a shadow of a character and the physical attraction Aud feels isn't enough to sell me on the relationship.
About half way through, I skim the end, confirm the who did what in Atlanta, and put the book down for good.