Title: Red Snow
Expected publication: 10 January 2019
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
all the stars!
Book Description:
TWO BODIES
One suicide. One cold-blooded murder. Are they connected?
And who’s really pulling the strings in the small Swedish town of Gavrik?
TWO COINS
Black Grimberg liquorice coins cover the murdered man's
eyes. The hashtag #Ferryman starts to trend as local people stock up on
ammunition.
TWO WEEKS
Tuva Moodyson, deaf reporter at the local paper, has a
fortnight to investigate the deaths before she starts her new job in the south.
A blizzard moves in. Residents, already terrified, feel increasingly
cut-off. Tuva must go deep inside the Grimberg factory to stop the
killer before she leaves town for good. But who’s to say the Ferryman will
let her go?
My musings:
Dark Pines was one of my favourite books of 2017, so I did a
very merry happy dance when I received an ARC of Will Dean’s latest book, Red
Snow, which was a must-read for me before I even knew of its existence. I
absolutely adored Tuva Moodyson, the journalist who starred in Dark Pines and
makes her comeback here, getting drawn into yet another dark and sinister crime
story in the small town of Gavrik in Sweden’s north.
After the death of her mother and the events that unfolded
in Dark Pines, Tuva has come to the decision that small town living is not for
her, and secured a new job in Malmoe, in the South of Sweden. Her decision is
being reinforced by the inclement weather, the bone-chilling cold that keeps
people indoors, the masses of snow that make roads impassable, and the
permanent gloom of February that has people seeking out the comfort of their heated
homes and UV lamps to beat their dose of seasonal affective disorder. Inside
the Grimberg liquorice factory, Gavrik’s biggest employer, business goes on as
usual, until one of its owners plunges to his death from one of the factory’s
chimneys in front of dozens of workers. Was it suicide or has someone driven
him to commit this terrible act? This was going to be Tuva’s last story, until
more bodies start piling up and it seems that someone has a serious grudge
against the Grimberg’s.
Like in Dark Pines, Will Dean has done a fantastic job is
creating a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere brimming with weird and wonderful
characters that made this an unputdownable read for me. I loved the fact that a
lot of the characters from Dark Pines make a comeback here: there are the
woodcarving sisters, the cooking ghostwriter and the creepy taxi driver, but
there also is the wonderful Tammy and Tuva’s colleagues, who have supported her
during her time in Gavrik. However, nothing compares to the strange family
dynamics of the Grimberg family! These people were so weird and so intriguing
that I had no idea where this would all lead. I am not exaggerating when I say
that these are some of the best characters I have encountered in a mystery in a
long, long time. The skill here is that Dean offers just the right amount of
information at exactly the right time to keep the mystery tense and
suspenseful, but never over the top or requiring the suspension of disbelief.
With the amount of psychological thriller I read, I know that this is a fine
art that not everyone can achieve, and I savoured it like the rare and
wonderful treat it was.
Armchair travellers will be happy to hear that this is a
trip to a wintry northern Sweden they are not likely to forget in a hurry. Some
of the scenes had me shivering right next to Tuva, trapped in a blizzard in her
old car. And the old factory was deliciously creepy, a very unique setting for
a suspenseful read that worked a treat for me. And Dean knows just how to add
small details to step up the tension – like the addition of the snow skulls suddenly
appearing everywhere (who ever knew that such things existed!).
Summary:
I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but
will sum it all up in just four words: I LOVED this book. I really, really hope
that this will not be the last we see of Tuva, but that she will make a
comeback in a future novel (please, pretty please!). If you love atmospheric Scandinavian
mysteries with unforgettable characters that will stay with you long after the
last page has been turned, then this one is a must-read!
Thank
you to Netgalley and Oneworld Publications for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment