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Juliet F. (Clarendon Hills, IL)
Excellent! Da Vinci Code-esque, but much smarter and darker
I really enjoyed this book! It was very suspenseful and fun to read. The plot lines span Norway in the 1500's to modern-day Norway and Richmond, Virginia. Eventually the lines weave together, revealing an intriguing tale of serial killing in the setting of rare, historical book collecting.
I especially liked the cast of characters. It was interesting that as the plot got more twisted and dire, the two main characters experience sort of re-birth out of prior personal traumas. It made for a more uplifting and hopeful tone than I usually expect from a Scandinavian author. Very good book!
Joe S. (Port Orange, FL)
An exciting and enjoyable read.
As an avid reader of Scandinavian mysteries, I looked forward to reading this book and found it to be an enjoyable read and hard to put down. The book switches from the sixteenth century to the present and back but the changes are well handled and were not at all confusing to me. Historically, the book has been well researched. The characters are interesting and well developed but a little too complex. Every one of them has a troubled past. The The American and Norwegian detectives obviously connect from their first meeting but the intensity of the relationship appears to increase too rapidly for the short time
…more that they are together. Overall, I enjoyed the book and hope to see more from this author. (less)There are a lot of layers to this mystery that spans centuries and continents. We get to know several characters, both in the present and past. While is seemed that this might be the second in the series, all the pertinent information was slowly revealed about the characters' backstories. In a sense this is a mystery on several levels - the good guys, the bad guys, the history, the old and new murders, and the motives. Once it is all pieced together, the puzzle is a gruesome one!
Colleen L. (Casco, ME)
Excellent Debut...
"Where Monsters Dwell" is an solid debut from Norwegian author Jorgen Brekke. Two gruesome murders occur - one in Richmond, VA and the other in Trondheim, Norway. Both of them are linked; although, it does take a while before investigators tumble to that fact.
I really enjoyed the novel. The author does a good job keeping you guessing as to whom the culprit is. What I enjoyed more, however, was the historical information presented pertaining to 15th Century dissections. The author jumps between historical perspectives which makes the story more interesting and enables the reader to gain a clearer perspective of
…more the famous Johannes Book. It did get a bit confusing at times when it jumped back into Felicia's background and then into present which is why I didn't mark the book higher.
All in all, though, this is a book that captures your attention. Once you start reading, it is difficult to stop. You find yourself saying "just one more chapter" as you get closer to finding out who the killer is.
I hope this author continues to write other books as he has an excellent first start. (less)Two gruesome murders of an almost identical nature that occur almost simultaneously would normally lead a good investigator to the belief that only one killer is responsible, but what happens when the two murders occur in two vastly different locations? Can the same killer be responsible for both? This is the premise of Where Monsters Dwell by Jorgen Brekke.
Homicide detective Felicia Stone from Virgina and Odd Singsaker from Trondheim, Norway, eventually come together to unravel the mystery of the murders and find not only similarities in the killings, but a common theme to both murders involving a rare book
…more from the 1500's.
The novel is written in two different narratives, one set in the 1500's and one set in the current time and the reader moves back and forth between circumstances in the 1500's that shed light on why these murders may be connected now.
The first part of the book was a little hard to get through for me but about a third of the way in, the story picked up and moved easily from there.
Characters are well formed, if a little clunky, and the story is well thought out. I think the translation was commendable and helped keep the storyline flowing well between periods.
There are lots of red herrings but I think it's pretty easy to figure out "who done it", maybe not so easy to figure out why. Overall, this is a solid mystery with a solid plotline and likeable characters. I hope detectives Stone and Singsaker continue to work together in future novels. On a side note, if 1/2 stars were available, I would rate this book at 3 and a 1/2 stars. (less)I was unimpressed by this book. I found it to be far more macabre than suspenseful. Much of the dialogue was very unnatural and the language was very redundant - words like, laugh or laughter must have been used well over 500 times and the subject was not in the least funny. I didn't care for the characters, especially the females, Felicia, and Silvia - they were not believable characters. And the crime committed against the murder's wife didn't seem possible to execute (literally) based on the logistics of the setting where the crime was committed. Although I thought this was a very mediocre book, it might
…more appeal to those who enjoyed "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" - it is not as compelling of a story but it would may be of interest to those who like suspenseful novels. I would not recommend it for my book club to read - it was not that thought provoking. (less)I really was eager to read this book because the premise of related historical/contemporary crimes is one of my favorite narrative devices, and to have it revolve around a book was like hot fudge on top of a sundae. Things seemed very promising since the book starts with one of the most exciting openings that I have read in the recent past. However, the narrative is extremely choppy with two contemporary story lines as well as the historical one, and there are time shifts within each of the 3 narrative lines. The pacing of the book is also uneven, slow and drawn-out in the first 200 pages or so, then rushed in
…more the last parts. Characters are presented rather than developed; the most interesting character is peripheral to the narrative. Some good ideas, but clearly a first time author in terms of execution. (less)
Lee M. (Creve Coeur, MO)
A Tale of Evil
Two intriguing mysteries, seperated by centuries, but connected. Grisly descriptions. Author employes far too many 'tricks of the trade,' like skipping back and forth from character to character, century to century, end before beginning, when the stories were more than adequate to capture readers. I awarded the one star for the breadth of the undertaking rather than the execution.
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