Every so often, a book comes along that is written in a way that is so in tune with the way I read and delivers exactly what I need from a great read, that it really does read itself to me. It's just a joy to sit down with a book that is so far away from hard work, so easy to block out everything else and totally immerse myself into. This was one such book and I devoured it in just one sitting (plus comfort breaks!)
It also helps when I connect with the main character right from page one and, in Tuva, I almost think I've found a new friend. She is so much on my wavelength it's scary! Some of the things she says and does just had me nodding my head in absolute agreement. Especially some of the commentary about her being deaf. It actually got me thinking with something she said about total silence being something she can create whereas the majority of hearing people often have to work hard to achieve it. She's a reporter for a small, local paper but really is better than that having worked in major cities including London. She has had to return to the wilderness because her mum is real sick and really kinda resents it even though she puts on a brave face and tries to do the best for her community. She loves and has a flair for investigating as soon becomes evident to all and sundry when she embroils herself in a murder case. A hunter has been shot dead in the forest. Is this just a nasty accident, it is elk season after all, or is it connected to an old cold, unsolved case from the 90s where three people were shot and had their eyes removed; it could even be a copy cat? As the police start to release certain details, Tuva's investigative juices start to really run but is she creating trouble for herself in her investigations, and when I say trouble, I actually mean danger! Can she cut through the noise and, often strange, suspects to get to the truth before the killer strikes again; or worse, turns on her?
I've already said that I loved this book but apart from being beautifully written , well plotted, and played out by a fantastically colourful cast, I really can't put my finger on exactly why it was so brilliant. I guess like with regarding a painting, you can't always explain why you like it, you just do. In the same way, I am powerless to explain what exactly gave this book the wow factor to me; just that it did. There were so many little things that connected me to what I was reading. So much that just felt right to me. So many little observations that the author included that actually had me reading bits of the book out to my brother along the way. It's also quite funny in parts to, whether it means to be always is debatable but some parts really tickled me. 
But, you know what the very best thing about this book is? The fact that it is book one of a series. That is catnip to my reading juices and I will definitely be counting the days until I reconnect with Tuva again. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Something I‘ve come to love in books is when a murder investigation takes place through the eyes of a journalist because the main protagonist, in this case, Tuva, isn’t bound by police protocol but instead has the freedom of a journalist and that leaves the plot wide open.

Tuva is a wonderful character, who I liked instantly; she’s tasked with reporting on the latest murders to hit the small town of Gavrik, not only does this mean venturing into the woods, which, understandably, she finds terrifying, but she also has to deal with the hostility from the local folk who believe her story will give the town a bad name. But Tuva is concerned with the truth, and she’ll be damned if she isn’t going to find it! I applaud Dean for, what felt to me like, an accurate and insightful portrayal of a character who is deaf; prior to reading this novel, I had no idea, for example, about the static that could interfere with hearing aids.

Dark Pines is set in a small-town and conveys that small town atmosphere very well, in the sense of everyone knowing everyone. And what an odd set of residents this town has, from the weird taxi driver to the woodcarving sisters, just about anyone could be responsible for these murders.

I did enjoy this novel, but I’m slightly torn about my overall opinion of it – there’s no denying it has all the right ingredients to make a fantastic read: small-town, dark woods, creepy characters, cold climate, murder mystery, but something was just missing in this one for me. It just didn’t carry that moody atmosphere I crave in Nordic Noir, that beauty wrapped in darkness, it’s hard to explain but it feels like I read this book at surface level, and was never really able to immerse myself fully in the novel the way I would have liked and is usually a given when I read Nordic Noir. While I recognise all that’s good about this book, I just struggled to connect with it in the way I would have liked.

Dark Pines is more than just a crime thriller, it’s a story full of quirky characters with depth set in an atmospheric and creepy surrounding.

With a wonderful main character, Tuva Moodyson, a deaf, bi-sexual reporter who has found herself relocated from London to Gavrik (Toytown) to be near her dying mother and working on a small local newspaper when a body is discovered deep in the forest in the middle of hunting season with the same signature as a serial killer from the 90’s.  Determined to solve the crime herself, Tuva decides to investigate despite hating nature, elks, the forest, the dark, insects and small towns.

Dark Pines is my first Nordic Noir and boy did I pop my cherry on a good’un!   Atmospheric, creepy, tense, dark, descriptive, gripping and beautifully written.

"Something just died. I don't know how I know this but I do. The air has changed around me."

I really enjoy thrillers that are reliant on their setting. I recently read The Dry (review to come) and the harsh and arid landscape is integral to the plot. Dark Pines is the same, but with a completely different environment. A small Swedish town on the edge of a mighty pine forest, where stepping off the path can be deadly, yet most inhabitant's livelihood depends around the forest.

It's an ideal place to set a murder mystery and Will Dean does this brilliantly in Dark Pines (which is also a perfect name for the book). You really feel the forest setting the whole way through, and it just wouldn't be the same if it was set somewhere else. It's intensely claustrophobic yet there is a power and energy both in the setting and the story.

I think the wild setting in Dark Pines is so pronounced because of the feelings of protagonist and city girl Tuva Moodyson. She doesn't want to be in Gavrik and hates the forest, yet as a reporter she has to investigate the murders, which means entering the woods everyday.

I think Moodyson is a great invention. She stands out, not just because she is deaf, though this is unique in my reading, but because she is funny, independent and determined. She's got her own demons but she's not the usual grissled detective that we usually follow in thrillers.

The cast of characters on the whole is excellent, including a varied and believable cast, though some are downright bizarre, like the Sørlie sisters, who are disgustingly wonderful and original. I would love to know if they were drawn from real life.

The story itself is a little slow moving and doesn't roll along as easily as some thrillers I've read, but it was still page turning.

However, that's a little niggle, overall I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Pines and felt it was atmospheric and thrilling.

My Rating: 4 Stars

I received a copy of Dark Pines, via NetGalley, in return for an honest review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

Dark Pines is just my kind of book. Dark, atmospheric, suspenseful and with a protagonist you very quickly come to adore, I read this book all the way through without pausing for breath.This is Nordic noir at its finest. Contemporary drama that grabs you and doesn’t let go until, panting for breath, you lie wrung out on the floor.

Tuva Moodyson is a journalist on the local paper in the very small town of Gavrik. She has left a good job as a London journalist to come to Sweden to be close to her dying mother. Theirs is not an especially close relationship, but they are all the family each other has and Tuva is determined to be there for her mum.

In Gavrik she churns out the usual local paper stories; the start of elk hunting season; church notes, how the paper mill is doing, how the local sports teams are faring. She knows she is blessed by having in Lena a good editor who recognises the quality of her writing and is prepared to let her work through the bigger stories.

Gavrik is surrounded by dark pine forests, eerie, forbidding spaces it is far too easy to get lost in and full of biting insects, rotting vegetation and carcasses and both cold and damp. When, in the midst of elk hunting season, a dead body is discovered with gunshot wounds to the chest and the eyes gouged out, it is not long before local people start to speculate about the relationship between this death and the so-called Medusa murders some 20 years ago in the same town.

Tuva is responsible for writing up what will be the papers main focus for many weeks and to do so she has to really get into the lives and attitudes of the people connected to the story. What a cast of characters she meets as she investigates. From the reclusive David Holmqvist with his peculiar culinary habits to Alice and Cornelia Sorlie, carvers of specialised figures to the head of the main  hunting team, Hannes  Carlsson and Viggo the local taxi driver. These and other characters are all put under Tuva’s spotlight as she bravely tries to overcome her very real fear of the forest and the creatures that live in it in order to get to the heart of her story.

Along the way she also has to grapple with a growing hostility from the town’s business people, concerned that Tuva’s writing may be giving the town a bad name.

I love Tuva’s complex character. She is brave and feisty, has absolutely no idea of how to take care of herself and I want to know more about her and her life.

Will Dean’s writing is tense, well- crafted and full of very creepy moments. The plot is taut and fast-moving with plenty of false leads and twists. Writing in the first person really works for Tuva’s character and I loved her best friend Tammy, also an outsider to the town, whose perception of the challenges she faces is hard hitting and in your face.

I really loved this book and hope there will be more of Tuva (and Tammy) to come.

Dark Pines is one of those novels that I’d heard a lot about months before it’s publication, and when it became available on Netgalley I knew I had to read it.

SEE NO EVIL
Eyes missing, two bodies lie deep in the forest near a small Swedish town.
HEAR NO EVIL
Tuva Moodyson, a deaf reporter on a small-time local paper, is looking for the story that could make her career.
SPEAK NO EVIL
A web of secrets. And an unsolved murder from twenty years ago.
Can Tuva outwit the killer before she becomes the final victim? She'd like to think so. But first she must face her demons and venture far into the deep, dark woods if she wants to stand any chance of getting the hell out of small-time Gavrik.

When a hunter is found in the woods under circumstances that are similar to a previous, unsolved, spate of killings, journalist Tuva Moodyson is sent to investigate.  Tuva is relatively new to Gavrik, having moved there to be near her mother, and keeps to herself beyond the few friendships that she has developed in her time there.  I think that Tuva is a wonderfully unique heroine – she’s strong and capable, and I loved her quirkiness and her attitude to reporting the facts accurately in her newspaper articles – she is particularly aware of the impact that misreported facts can have, and this felt particularly relevant given the recent occurrences of "fake news".

The plot moves quickly, and has plenty of potential suspects and red herrings thrown into the mix.  I found Tuva’s investigation to be thoroughly absorbing – this was a novel that I wanted to read nonstop to find out who was behind the murders!  And I enjoyed that the reader saw the investigation from the perspective of someone who isn’t on the police force, and without the same resources or information available to them, although Tuva does have her contacts there, and does manage to glean a few hints along the way.  By the time of the big reveal, I had several theories, and whilst one of them did prove to be correct in terms of who (more guesswork than intuition on my part), I enjoyed the revelation of that person’s motive.

If you like a small-town mystery, then I highly recommend this novel.  Dean perfectly captures the small-town vibe, where everyone knows each other and where residents are, more often than not, related to each other by marriage if not by blood.  There are some wonderfully idiosyncratic characters in the small town of Gavrik – I won’t be forgetting the Sørlie sisters in a hurry! – and everyone has their secrets, loyalties, and grudges which make it so difficult to solve a crime, particularly for someone who is an outsider. 

I really hope that Dean plans to return to Tuva and Gavrik in future novels – I’d love to see what she gets up to next, and I think that there are avenues left to explore from this novel. 

Dark Pines will be published on 4 January by Point Blank.  Many thanks to Will Dean, the publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I wanted to like this book more than I eventually did - I'd heard rave reviews from other people but sadly for me it fell short. Show not tell was lacking in extreme, every move made by our heroine was over described and under delivered. I've never read a book so obsessed with Fruit Pastilles in my life, and those asides and additions did nothing to further the story or the immersion for me.

While the plot is an interesting one, I wanted more unease and less timeline minutia.

This is a  dark and  atmospheric crime noir, set in a remote town, Gavrik, in Sweden.

Gavrik is small, everyone knows one another, everyone owns a gun and everyone hunts. 

An unsolved murder case known as the  Medusa Murders, has come back to haunt the residents as another hunter has been killed in the same way.

This is a brilliant read,  it is beautifully set and amazingly written. I was literally in awe of the authors style and I cannot wait for the next book

Without question, one of my favourite reads of the year. Dark, twisted, urgent and desperately atmospheric - so much so that if I shut my eyes I'll somehow smell pine, mud and blood. One of those books that will live with you long after reading not just because it was excellent, but because it's so far under your skin you can't possibly hope to get it out. Outstanding.

Will Dean’s Dark Pines is an excellent, well-paced and intriguing mystery. It’s got an eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere, a great protagonist and interesting characters. While I do think the writing needs some more editing and the ending could be more fleshed out, I really love this book.
Our narrator is reporter Tuva Moodyson who has moved to the tiny and isolated town of Gavrik to be closer to her dying mother. She’s also looking for the story that could make her career. She gets her chance when two eyeless hunters are found murdered in the forest. Are these new deaths connected to the mysterious Medusa killings which happened twenty years earlier? While investigating the mystery, Tuva unearths numerous secrets about the claustrophobic tightly-knit town. As she digs deeper, she angers the town’s residents who are worried about the way she’s depicting the town in the newspaper. She has run-ins with some creepy characters and someone may be following her...   
Tuva is an interesting and well-written protagonist. She is extremely relatable as she tries to cope with her father’s death and her mother’s slow deterioration. Her strained relationship with her mother is particularly poignant. Tuva is also deaf and bisexual and I greatly welcome the diversity because her uniqueness is not a throwaway feature. Instead, it adds an interesting and new dimension to the character and novel. She is also resourceful and brave and although she is scared of nature, she is determined to venture into the forest to investigate. 
I also really like the novel’s other fascinating well-written characters which include an eccentric ghost-writer and a pair of sisters who create trolls from their own body parts. They all seem like plausible suspects and they perfectly add to the creepy atmosphere permeating the book. I also love Tuva’s supportive best friend, Tammy, and I wish she had a bigger role. She is Asian, and Dean realistically and unflinchingly presents the racism she experiences in this small Swedish town. 
I did guess the murderer’s identity halfway through the book. However, the gruesome mystery is well-crafted and captivating. The plot is taut and fast-paced with some nice twists and red herrings. However, the big reveal and the aftermath feels a little rushed while the killer’s motives are also a little cliché. I would really like some more explanation on certain aspects of the mystery. 
Although the writing is sometimes too abrupt and the transitions are a little choppy, I love the tense and eerie feeling of the novel. Dean’s descriptions are so vivid and realistic that everything, especially the forest, really comes to life and I truly feel as isolated and claustrophobic as Tuva does. 
Dark Pines is an engaging mystery with a perfectly tense atmosphere and well-crafted characters. This book is definitely worth the hype because it’s a well-written and satisfying read. I hope that Will Dean writes more books starring Tuva because I will definitely read them. Thank you to NetGalley and Oneworld Publications for this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can't quite explain where my recent fascination with Scandi-Noir comes from. For one, I absolutely hate cold weather and the mere mention of freezing temperatures and snow makes me want to run for the hills. And yet, when one of my dearest blogging friends couldn't stop raving about Dark Pines, I dived right in and didn't look back.

Tuva Moodyson is a journalist, working for the local newspaper in the tiny town of Gavrik. When a body is found in the forest, Tuva sets out to investigate the story that could make her career. But there is a fine line between telling the story truthfully and not alienating the community you live in. On top of that, Tuva must face her biggest fears and head deep into the dark woods.

There's an incredibly threatening and claustrophobic vibe running throughout this entire story. It doesn't just come from the small town feeling, but also the forest, which is almost a character all on its own, and the residents themselves. Each and every one of them is a suspect in this murder and I probably pointed my finger at all of them. From the massively creepy woodcarving sisters, to the ghostwriter in his fancy house, to the taxi driver with his slightly odd son, each and every one of them displays a certain level of eccentricity that made me eye them in the most suspicious way. I can't even begin to explain how much I love it when an author can keep me guessing.

Everything in Dark Pines works like a charm. The atmospheric setting, the weather and our main character being deaf adds another brilliantly intricate layer. I loved how Tuva doesn't make a big deal of her deafness. It's just a part of her, like the colour of her eyes. I can't for the life of me imagine what it's like, thankfully, but I feel the author did a great job incorporating it into the storyline. Especially by explaining how certain sounds can interfere with hearing aids. I had no idea.

The investigation into the murder is utterly gripping. Will Dean will have you second-guessing everyone and everything at every single turn of the page. Just when I thought I figured out the who, there was a curveball. And I completely gave up on figuring out the why but the reveal blew me away. Fantastic!

So, a brilliantly executed plot, an extremely interesting protagonist, a cast of fabulous if slightly weird characters and an amazing setting. What more could you possibly want? Scandi-Noir has completely won me over and Will Dean is most definitely one to watch. I have no doubt Dark Pines will do well and it's kicking off the new year in style!

On a recent trip to Oregon, I noticed the trees lining either side of the highway. Autumn is my favorite   season, so I always make it a point to look at the leaves with their changing colors announcing the coming of winter.  However, this time I noticed more than just the beauty of the trees. I imagined myself being surrounded by these trees on all sides- the place I worked, shopped, and lived being surrounded by a tall, ever-present, and towering forest. This trip allowed me to briefly step into the shoes of Dark Pines main character, Tuva Moodyson. 
Tuva Moodyson is in her late twenties and feels trapped in Garvik, Sweden. Garvik is small rural seasonal hunting town surrounded by the Utgard forest. When her mother became ill Tuva moved from London to be closer to her mother. Tuva is working at the local newspaper and waiting for a big story to propel her career. When a person is found dead in the forest and the circumstances resemble 3 unsolved cases from the 1990’s, Tuva is sure the case is her opportunity to make a name for herself and will earn her a one-way ticket out of Garvik. 
Dean’s writing easily enabled me to imagine life in this town. He paints a picture of isolation and loneliness. With the addition of a killer on the loose, the creepiness of the town is magnified. I have read many books about a killer on the loose in a Scandinavian city, but the setting in a small town somehow made the story even more immersive and scary. 
Tuva Moodyson is the most original and interesting character I have come across in some time. The pace of the book was rather slow until I got about 150 pages or so in. Tuva is the reason I wanted to keep reading. Her dedication and tenacity is what made the book so compelling. She is resourceful as well. While she hates to be shown any pity for her hearing impairment, she uses her impairment as a tool when it is to her advantage. Tuva is brave but she has her fears as well, she is terrified of the Utgard forest. She is also very lonely. I enjoyed the tough side of Tuva but I also enjoyed her vulnerable side as well. The central mystery is well written but for me Tuva was the main attraction. I had to know what happened to her, I was not really interested in crime at the core of the novel. 
I find it very interesting that no matter what part of the world you live in, when you hear someone describe a place as a “small town” two things are almost always included in the description- boring and nosy people. Garvik is not an exception to that rule. Tuva points out that everyone in Garvik shops at the same stores, which why everyone “smells, eats, and looks roughly the same.” She too shops at these stores but Tuva has not managed to fit in. In Garvik, Tuva is an unwelcome outsider. When her articles about the murder appear in the paper, many Garvik residents are unhappy with the way their town is being portrayed. They are also concerned because unsolved murders are bad for a tourist town. The anger of the town’s residents serves to further isolate Tuva, but she does not let this deter her. In fact it is what drives her to solve the case and report the truth.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
I cannot remember the last time I read a book and while going about my life, being quickly transported into the world of the main character of my current read. There are still some unanswered questions about Tuva’s life, I am hoping Dark Pines is book one in a series. Dark Pines is a dark, murky and atmospheric novel perfect for any fan of Nordic Noir.  
Murder and Moore Rating:
4 ½ out of 5 Stars

An intriguing mystery with a really strong atmosphere. I loved the setting of Gavrik and the pine forests. I did think however that the writing was a bit messy and could have used further editing. Personally I wouldn't read any more books in this series (if that's the plan) but I can see them being popular and think this will do well.

This is a taut dark, atmospheric crime noir, set in a remote town, Gavrik, in Sweden. Tuva Moodyson is a local reporter, deaf since she was a child, who moved here reluctantly after working in London. She has settled in rural 'shitsville' only because her mother is terminally ill, expected only to live for a year. Two people make life bearable for Tuva, her half-Nigerian editor, Lena, whom she admires and learns a lot from, and Tammy, her best friend and crucial support. Surrounded by forests, Gavrik is small, everyone knows one another, with a large number of gun owners and hunters, teeming with insularity and prejudices. Utgard forest is the biggest, a dark eerie and menacing wood of dank pine trees, wet, soggy, rotten, cold, permeated throughout with clouds of mosquitos and other bloodsucking insects with the sounds of gunshots and the native wildlife all around. Tuva is remarkably adept at dealing with her deafness so that she fits in with everyday society and life without any glitches. 

Back in the 1990s, three middle aged hunters were shot in the torso and had their eyes removed in Utgard forest. Known as the Medusa Murders, they remained unsolved, only now another hunter has been killed with the same macabre MO, Tuva is determined to get her exclusive, a story that will make her name and give her options to move back to a big city national newspaper. Tuva is obsessed with exposing the serial killer as further murders take place amidst the growing tensions and febrile atmosphere in the town. Locals start to become hostile to Tuva's press coverage, feeling that it threatens the economic livelihoods of many and hunting, which culturally defines the region. Tuva makes frequent visits to Mossen, a tiny village close to where the killings have taken place. The residents are eccentric, from the weird and strange sisters that carve trolls, and the loner, David, an odd ghostwriter. Utgard forest terrifies Tuva and turns her into a nervous wreck , and the rural makes her feel like fish out of water. However, she is going to have to go deep into the forest, to face her fears, to uncover a dangerous serial killer.

This is a beautifully written crime story that ratchets up the tension and suspense. Will Dean creates a truly compelling character in the deaf Tuva, plagued with unease and guilt over her mother whose personality changed for good when her husband was killed by a bull elk. Her good intentions to spend time with her mother are constantly derailed, despite her need to talk with and connect with her. The pine forests are a character in their own right, menacing, with numerous rotting animal corpses, where a killer roams free. This is an absolutely brilliant and gripping novel which I loved reading. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Oneworld Publications for an ARC.

This follows Tuva, a deaf journalist, who is reporting the murder of a man found in the forest. He's been shot and his eyes have been neatly removed, just like the signature series of murders that occurred twenty years ago in the same forest. The killer back then was never found and was popularly referred to as 'Medusa.' Has the killer resurfaced or is this is a copycat?...
I highly enjoyed this thrilling, gripping read. I loved the protagonist, and found it refreshing that she has a disability (not often included in mainstream crime novels). Dean does a great job capturing Tuva through his brilliant prose that evokes all the senses. I also liked the small town setting, and community feel this novel has. However I gave this is a 4 instead of a 5 because I did find the killer predictable and a little clichéd. Nonetheless this was an enjoyable read and I'll definitely look forward to the next Tuva book.

I received a free ARC of this novel form NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Tuva Moodyson works for the Posten, a local newspaper in a remote Swedish town of Gavrik. She moved from London to the isolated forest town, despite her fear of nature, in order to care for her terminally ill mother. Tuva is deaf and often tunes out the world in order to write, something she hopes will be her ticket back to the city. 
After an eyeless hunter is found shot dead in the woods, the case is linked to an unsolved string of murders that happened 20 years prior. Tuva is assigned to report on the case but as she begins her investigation another hunter turns up dead. There are secrets among the peculiar residents of Gavrik that someone doesn't want her to know...secrets that just placed her in the killer's sights.

I enjoyed this novel and the author's description of Gavrik and the local townspeople. At times it was a little difficult for me to appreciate the author's writing style, it was still very well written and kept me intrigued.

Nordic noir at it's finest! What a compelling story this was. This is a slow burning novel but never once did I lose interest. Our main character Tuva is a deaf, bi-sexual reporter whom I've become seriously attached to. She is such a wonderful character that you just can't help but root for her. The scenery depictions really sets the atmosphere of this novel. I almost felt like I was in Sweden while reading it. 

The mystery centers around hunters being murdered in the forest, and if that isn't bad enough, they also have their eyes extracted. I'll admit that I did guess who the killer was and I was correct. Normally this would disappoint me. I like being tricked. In this case though I realize I would of been disappointed otherwise. It just HAD to be this person. At least it's who I wanted it to be. 

The only thing that irked me a bit was the mention of all the insects while it's freezing outside, even snowing at times. She mentions it's 0 degrees quite often and even if that is Celsius that would be 32 degrees Fahrenheit and surely mosquitoes, ticks, gnats and the like wouldn't be a nuisance in those weather conditions yet the insects are referred to many, many times. Unless Sweden has super scary crazy insects that thrive in any condition. If that's the case then any plans I have ever entertained to visit Sweden have been destroyed. As you can see this is a very minor quibble but something I did pick up on while I was reading. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

What a wild ride this book was. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. 

Tuva Moodyson is a reporter at the local newspaper when a serial killer from the 90s seemingly resurfaces in her small adopted hometown. Will Dean sets such a creepy mood with the setting in a ginormous dense forest that has some spooky occupants living in and around it. Who is responsible for the murders? Why have they only just started again after stopping in the 90s? 

As an outsider Tuva finds it hard to get information from the locals, shut out at many angles because they fear she is degrading their town with her writing. The locals fear losing custom and visitors and so losing money. And yet Tuva persists, determined to figure out what is going on in her town and expose this killer. The reader is taken on a strange journey through the forest and the small town itself. Tuva is a great character and her deafness is not presented as a hinderance to her job, rather seen as a bonus to her. She is able to shut out all sound at any time by removing her hearing aids. Allowing herself to work in total silence. 

The writing here is fun and honest, Tuva is very relatable making this story a very easy and enjoyable read despite the gruesome subject. 

I would love to see this adapted into a series by the folks that made Fortitude. Dark, dank, subversive and enthralling. Read this as soon as you can.

First of all, I have to say how spot on the cover and title of this book are. 'Dark Pines' is exactly that, a dark, menacing, Swedish forest - but at the same time, stunningly beautiful in it's nature.

Tuva moved from London to Gavrik a few years previous to be near her dying mother. She works as a reporter for the local newspaper, writing small features for this small town community. Nothing really happens, she's rather fed up and misses the busy, noisy, city life that she had to leave behind. All this changes when a body is found in the woods, not only that but it seems that it's resembling 3 previous mutilated killings, back in the 90's. Tuva is determined to make this her big break, so that when she can finally get out of Gavrik she can go onto much better things. 

This brings me on to Tuva. She's a real interesting character, a little different to the usual reporters we come across in crime novels, and the biggest difference is that she's been deaf since her early childhood years. She wears two hearing aids as she only has around 10% hearing, but she doesn't let this stop her from doing anything. Tuva is stubborn and determined, she absolutely hates to be felt sorry for or to be treated differently. With an added fear of nature and the big outdoors thrown in, this instantly gives her that big vulnerability factor, which you really feel whenever she enters those brooding woods. She always keeps extra batteries on her key fob which she carries with her and I was always so afraid of her losing these - always on edge when her batteries started to beep that they were running out.

Gavrik itself has that old time, small, tight knit community feel about it. Everybody knows each other, or is related to each other down some long line. It's clear that Tuva doesn't fit in and people are rather unsure what her intentions are. Despite this community that looks out for their own, though, there's a very unsettling feeling, early on in the book that something isn't quite right in the town.

The more Tuva starts digging into the residents lives, she starts to find many hidden secrets of Gavrik and the more the book becomes unsettling, even rather quite disturbing in the case of two local sisters Alice and Cornelia and the trolls they make - lets just say the author has a fantastic imagination! All the characters we meet in the book have something not quite right about them, a edge of strangeness, odd quirks, but I absolutely loved delving into their lives - they would all make great separate stories, but especially the sisters. 

I need to finish on what I think really makes this book stand out. The attention and precision to little details that the author has provided. The woods really came alive with their surroundings. What Tuva was actually thinking whilst speaking to people, her lip reading, and really importantly, I feel, the looking after and sounds of Tuva's hearing aids. All the jingles, interference, how they have to be dried out if even slightly wet - I work in care so knew a lot but, for anyone not familiar this will really help.

I realise this is rather a long review, I'm sorry (okay, I'm not too sorry because it deserves it!) This is an impressive debut from Will Dean and I personally think it would be incredible to have Tuva's character on the TV screen in future!

If you enjoy a dark thriller that slowly builds up that tension; is beautifully descriptive, has a refreshing protagonist, a cast of odd, but interesting characters, a setting that is dark, unsettling and claustrophobic - then Dark Pines is just for you!

I was really looking forward to reading Dark Pines but I think it just didn't work for me. Beautiful writing, and a great sense of place but I just couldn't connect to the characters or the story which made it quite hard for me to read. There's no denying the author has talent, and the prose is so beautiful, but it just didn't do a whole lot for me.