yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
Finished reading: May 21st 2022
"You can stand in the sea with water up to your knees and tell yourself you'll stay where you are, even if a giant wave comes toward you. But no matter how strong you are, that wave will knock you over."
I'm determined to finish the Henning Juul series before the end of 2022, and Scarred is already book number three following the life of the reporter Henning Juul. What I like of this series that it gives us a different angle to a crime story than your usual detective thriller, although we have plenty of that POV as well in Scarred. In fact, this story uses a multiple POV structure and not only has many different voices, but also three separate storylines. On the one hand we have the murder investigation with both the detective angle and Henning Juul looking for input for this articles. Then we have Henning's sister Trine being accused of sexually harassing a young male politician... And last but not least, Henning is still looking into the fire in his flat that resulted in the death of his son. This might seem like a lot and the story could have been a tad sharper in points, but as a whole the different POVs and storylines make sense and switching between them only adds to the suspense. There are many hints made at Henning's past that will make you want to pick up the next book even more... And that is definitely what I will be doing soon myself. All in all Scarred turned out to be another successful Nordic noir sequel that provides you with a journalism angle as well as a political scandal on top of your dose of detective thriller.
markhoh's review
4.0
Scarred is the third instalment in the Henning Juul series by Norwegian author, Thomas Enger. The series centres around an investigative journalist, Henning Juul, who plays a role in the resolution of a range of crimes through his capacity to dig deeply into the stories that he is following in the course of his work.
Thomas Enger has essentially created a tragic character in Juul, who is plagued by the loss of his son, Jonas, in a house fire, working through the resultant deep grief coupled with the suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire. The thread of this story continues to play out in each of Enger’s books in this series and the reader is provided with cumulative clues as to the events surrounding this tragedy.
Scarred essentially has two storylines running parallel throughout. There is a major story line around Juul’s sister, Trine, and a serial killer dealing with his own vengeance and revenge and unresolved neglect. These two storyline’s do intersect by the end of the story in a way that was a bit cliche for me. Juul’s sister’s involvement in this story pave the way for some further family secrets to be exposed in book number 4.
The aspect of this read that holds it together for me is Juul himself. I like the way Enger enables me to feel his grief. This is real and believable and not overdone. It’s a 3.5 star read for me which I round to 4 based on this character.
Thomas Enger has essentially created a tragic character in Juul, who is plagued by the loss of his son, Jonas, in a house fire, working through the resultant deep grief coupled with the suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire. The thread of this story continues to play out in each of Enger’s books in this series and the reader is provided with cumulative clues as to the events surrounding this tragedy.
Scarred essentially has two storylines running parallel throughout. There is a major story line around Juul’s sister, Trine, and a serial killer dealing with his own vengeance and revenge and unresolved neglect. These two storyline’s do intersect by the end of the story in a way that was a bit cliche for me. Juul’s sister’s involvement in this story pave the way for some further family secrets to be exposed in book number 4.
The aspect of this read that holds it together for me is Juul himself. I like the way Enger enables me to feel his grief. This is real and believable and not overdone. It’s a 3.5 star read for me which I round to 4 based on this character.
marite's review against another edition
4.0
Det hadde nok vært en fordel om jeg hadde lest de de første bøkene i serien, for det er en del tilbakeblikk i denne som nok hadde blitt klarere om jeg hadde lest de to foregående. Absolutt spennende historier, både mordhistorien og den om Henning Juuls søster, justisministeren. Det er faktisk den siste som er mest interessant, etter min mening. Her retter forfatteren søkelyset mot ulveflokkmentaliteten i presse og befolkning når man får ferten av en skandale. Ett eneste lite hjertesukk: hvorfor må alltid heltene i krimbøker ha så uendelig mange personlige problemer? Her er det bare alt for mye av det onde.
raven88's review
5.0
Okay so we’ve been Burned and Pierced so now prepare to be Scarred by the latest instalment in Thomas Enger’s superlative Henning Juul series. Focussing on our dogged, emotionally and physically damaged reporter, Juul, Enger has carved out an exceptional niche in the current Scandinavian crime fiction market. In this book in particular, there is more than a nod to the Borgen phenomena, as Juul’s estranged sister Trine, Norway’s Secretary of State becomes the focus of some unwelcome press attention…
I thoroughly enjoyed the way that this book in particular changed the direction of the series somewhat with the aforementioned development of Juul’s sister Trine in the overall plot. She is a complicated and layered character, as is Juul, and the tentative re-establishment of contact between the two in the wake of their previous estrangement, is handled with a deft touch and delicacy by Enger. Trine’s life is spiralling out of control with a malicious sex scandal story, in much the same way as Juul’s did in the wake of the events and his personal loss of the previous books, and Enger is pitch perfect in his depiction of the baying wolves of the press and her fellow politicians as her political career unravels. What unfolds is not only a brutally honest tale of political intrigue, but how the bonds of family can sometimes be an enormous burden and source of sadness to those involved, as events of the past sometimes refuse to rest in peace as Henning and Trine discover.
In a parallel story, regular police protagonist Inspector Bjarne Brogeland, is investigating a particularly brutal murder at an old people’s home of a curmudgeonly ex-schoolteacher. Having recently had an operation on my eye, I extend a note of thanks to Enger for highlighting the use of knitting pins and orbital crevices! Anyway, I digress, so, the collective intelligence of Brogeland, and by extension his professional relationship with Henning Juul forms the crux of this investigation, and there is normal bandiage and grudging professional respect between them once more in evidence. I enjoyed the way this plotline played out and the use of misdirection and red herrings that Enger employs. Set against the political storyline, there was a good balance throughout, and both plots were of equal interest and emotional intensity to hold my attention throughout.
I think it is a testament to the strength of Enger’s writing that all three of his books to date, have been incredibly enjoyable. He seems to combine the very best aspects of the current Scandinavian crime table in terms of characterisation and plot as well as his razor sharp eye on the social and political trends at work in Norway, thus providing an added layer of interest to his crime fiction. A great read, and I would urge you to try the whole series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way that this book in particular changed the direction of the series somewhat with the aforementioned development of Juul’s sister Trine in the overall plot. She is a complicated and layered character, as is Juul, and the tentative re-establishment of contact between the two in the wake of their previous estrangement, is handled with a deft touch and delicacy by Enger. Trine’s life is spiralling out of control with a malicious sex scandal story, in much the same way as Juul’s did in the wake of the events and his personal loss of the previous books, and Enger is pitch perfect in his depiction of the baying wolves of the press and her fellow politicians as her political career unravels. What unfolds is not only a brutally honest tale of political intrigue, but how the bonds of family can sometimes be an enormous burden and source of sadness to those involved, as events of the past sometimes refuse to rest in peace as Henning and Trine discover.
In a parallel story, regular police protagonist Inspector Bjarne Brogeland, is investigating a particularly brutal murder at an old people’s home of a curmudgeonly ex-schoolteacher. Having recently had an operation on my eye, I extend a note of thanks to Enger for highlighting the use of knitting pins and orbital crevices! Anyway, I digress, so, the collective intelligence of Brogeland, and by extension his professional relationship with Henning Juul forms the crux of this investigation, and there is normal bandiage and grudging professional respect between them once more in evidence. I enjoyed the way this plotline played out and the use of misdirection and red herrings that Enger employs. Set against the political storyline, there was a good balance throughout, and both plots were of equal interest and emotional intensity to hold my attention throughout.
I think it is a testament to the strength of Enger’s writing that all three of his books to date, have been incredibly enjoyable. He seems to combine the very best aspects of the current Scandinavian crime table in terms of characterisation and plot as well as his razor sharp eye on the social and political trends at work in Norway, thus providing an added layer of interest to his crime fiction. A great read, and I would urge you to try the whole series.
thequietgeordie's review
4.0
This is the third book in the Henning Juul series, but only the second I've read. Whilst it works fine as a standalone, there is a thread which carries between the whole series so I'd recommend starting at the beginning.
I enjoyed the two main stories - the death of a pensioner, and the political scandal, but was left a little disappointed in the ending of the political scandal.
As ever, I loved the character of Henning Juul.
I did find that the story occasionally dragged, and felt it could have done with being a little shorter.
I enjoyed the two main stories - the death of a pensioner, and the political scandal, but was left a little disappointed in the ending of the political scandal.
As ever, I loved the character of Henning Juul.
I did find that the story occasionally dragged, and felt it could have done with being a little shorter.
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