The True Deceiver … a review

I picked up another Scandi noir, this time, set in Norway. Really, their harsh winter landscapes with piles and piles of snow make for such good murder mystery backgrounds. I’m struggling with a blurb here, so I’ve lifted this straight from Goodreads:

“Snow has been falling on the village all winter long. It covers windows and piles up in front of doors. The sun rises late and sets early, and even during the day there is little to do but trade tales. This year everybody’s talking about Katri Kling and Anna Aemelin. Katri is a yellow-eyed outcast who lives with her simpleminded brother and a dog she refuses to name. She has no use for the white lies that smooth social intercourse, and she can see straight to the core of any problem. Anna, an elderly children’s book illustrator, appears to be Katri’s opposite: a respected member of the village, if an aloof one. Anna lives in a large empty house, venturing out in the spring to paint exquisitely detailed forest scenes. But Anna has something Katri wants, and to get it Katri will take control of Anna’s life and livelihood. By the time spring arrives, the two women are caught in a conflict of ideals that threatens to strip them of their most cherished illusions.”

I am not very sure what I felt about this book. It is a very well-written book. So much so that as a reader I was hooked even if no action was taking place. The descriptions of Anna’s ‘rabbit house’ of the dog with no name and of the boat ties the parts in quite effortlessly. Katri reminded me of Mrs Danvers, and that’s never a bad thing. But I was a little disappointed in the climax appearing almost at the very end. Then again, it is not a very long book. So it wasn’t like I had to wait ages for it. I finished the book in two evenings of reading so overall, I would recommend it as a trialling of this new author I haven’t read before.

Death of a Demon … a review

So once the Fringe was done, I was itching to get back to reading. I have read a ridiculously low number of books this year and am hoping to remedy that in the colder months. So, to get myself in the zone, I needed something fast paced and light. So, I turned to Scandi noir and picked up an author I hadn’t read before. Possibly because I didn’t think Anne was a Scandinavian name (my bad).

So this book ticked all the boxes for me… when the murder happens two chapters in, I’m very pleased. A foster home carer is murdered and a disturbed child has escaped – the obvious is obviously not true and detective inspector Hanne is on the case. She has baggage of her own, as does the murdered lady, as we find out. The eventual homing in on the murderer is approached very well – with a combination of clues and chance and charm..

I enjoyed this. It is not the greatest murder thriller of all time. But if you’re looking for a good commute read or a snuggle in bed on a cold day read, go for this lady’s books. Good stuff.