This book is Scandi Noir at it's finest. Brilliantly written story that keeps the reader gripped and absorbed from start to finish

This was a typical Scandi murder mystery with a cold landscape, flawed characters and deep resentment. The only criticism I would make is regarding the landscape descriptions.. We could easily feel the remoteness and extreme cold at Kjelds fathers house and hear the ravens eerily cawing in the barn. But whenever he left the property to go into town I would have loved some more atmospheric descriptions so we could feel what he felt and see in our minds the surrounding landscape even more. Will Dean and Ragnar Jonasson are masters of this so I am often looking for something comparable in a Scandi novel. Having said that Karin has written a brilliant debut novel and I will be looking for more of hers in the future.

4+

Detective Inspector Kjeld Nygaard is currently suspended from his job in Gothenburg because of an incident surrounding his last case. He receives a cryptic, garbled and puzzling message from his father Stenar about a murder in his barn. Stenar is suffering from Alzheimer’s, so is this a delusion of this wicked disease? Kjeld takes the long drive to north of Sweden to his father’s isolated property to try to find out what is going on. The largely forested and remote area has only one major employer in Normalm Industries which is involved in mining and currently trying to merge with MineCorp. The company is being temporarily run by Roland Lindquist in the absence of his brother Peter. The unfolding story links the two things together in surprising ways.

First of all, this is a really good debut novel. It’s very well written, the storyline is gripping and engaging and draws you in right from the intriguing start. The plot is excellent, there are plenty of surprising twists and some I did guess but these do not impair enjoyment. The pace is good, there’s a bit of a dip in the middle but it soon accelerates again. The two apparently disparate story threads are linked together extremely well and the truth emerges organically. The north Swedish landscape, the isolation, the long cold, dark winters add a great deal to the eerie atmosphere and the densely encroaching forest adds claustrophobia. The ravens that Stenar keeps in his barn are a fantastic and quite unique addition to the storyline and they strike a creepy, tingles up the spine note as they seem so menacing and are ever present. I really like Kjeld as a character and his partner Esme is also good and I really hope these two will feature again in future novels. The portrayal of Stenar’s Alzheimer’s is sensitively done and you clearly sense Kjeld’s sister Sara’s feelings of being trapped and exhausted by it. The tension and emotions, especially resentment, between the three of them is well conveyed. There’s a lot of back history in this area with bad blood and button pushing between characters which is intriguing. The puzzle deepens as Kjeld finds things that he can’t makes sense of but seems to be rooted in the past. As the truth emerges Kjeld learns a lot about himself and his family.

Overall. I really enjoyed this novel and I look forward to reading more by Karin Nordin, she has a really promising future as a writer.

With thanks to NetGalley and HQ:HQ Digital for the arc for an honest review.

A soufflé has few ingredients and when executed properly is a joy to behold. Karin Nordin's novel Where Ravens Roost is very similar. Not a plethora of characters or locations but a gripping and page turning thriller nonetheless. Certainly the ravens gave a brooding sense of malevolence and they surely left their mark on Kjeld. Kjeld's father Stenar was the enigma in the story because of his changeable memory due to Alzheimers. This was portrayed with a high degree of accuracy and certainly made the novel more intriguing. It was a racing certainty that when a body was discovered it was Stenar who had put it there but was he the murderer? I think the relationship Stenar had with his son made me question whether he was his biological father from quite early on, plus there were some serious pointers along the way. Like every novel these days, the sexuality box ticking audit passed muster, notwithstanding that, I thought it an excellent read and worthy of a five star review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I have read a few crime books set in Scandinavian countries and enjoyed them and thought the premise of this book looked interesting and my kind of read. So I began this book without any expectations. I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was very well written and it engaged me from start to finish. I was hooked from the first chapter and loved the authors writing style. I could picture the scenes in the woods, cabin and barn with the ravens in my mind. I couldn't help but like the believable, flawed lead character who had a good back history. This was a great, atmospheric read with a good plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. I guessed one of the reveals towards the end but not the other(s). I believe this is the author’s debut novel and for me she has really hit the mark with this book.

4 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Where Ravens Roost is Karin Nordin's debut novel and what a debut it is! All the best elements of the Scandi noir genre are included but it remains fresh and interesting, with plot twists that keep you reading.
The story centres around Kjeld Nygaard, a troubled police detective who has escaped his home town of Varsund, a mining community in a remote part of western Sweden. Nygaard is based in Gothenburg but on receiving a call from his father stating that he has witnessed a murder in the barn, he is reluctantly compelled to return to Varsund.
A lack of evidence coupled with the father's Alzheimers, lead the local Varsund police to quickly dismiss these claims.
On discovering a human tooth in a raven's nest in the barn, Nygaard is convinced that there may be some truth in his father's story.
In my opinion, Nygaard is a detective who is ready to become a favourite of readers of this genre - troubled relationships, lack of self-care and a few secrets in his past!
We have a small rural community, a wild, chilling landscape and a barn full of menacing ravens. The scene is set for a dark and atmospheric read, which I became thoroughly engaged in.

An excellent scandi thriller. Dark and moody, with all the elements that you would want of a book in this genre. A real page turner. Kept me engrossed from start to finish. Loved it.

Detective Kjeld Nygaard gets a phone call from his Dad that makes him rush home despite them not speaking for years. Home is Varsund and his Dad keeps ravens in his barn. They have witnessed so much but cannot tell their tale about the body about to be found in the barn.
A totally brilliant book with great characters who have complex lives and personalities. Whose body is it? How did he die? Who has decided to try and remove the body now? Will Kjeld find out the truth? Read and find out.

A well-written book with a good plot, and characters the reader cares about. However, I found it a bit slow and over-heavy on detail. A good book if you like Scandi Noir.

A bleak landscape to a murder mystery at the centre of an investigation by a discredited inspector of police inadvertently drawn into a cache of secrets and lies related to his family and childhood. A dysfunctional character that ricochets from what appears to the reader to be an inability to think clearly, act concisely and prevent himself from actions that put himself and others in difficult if not dangerous situations. Yet he is the chief protagonist and flawed hero desperately trying to unearth long hidden deeds and actions that not only resulted in a hidden body but caused long term trauma and fractured relationships for two families, one rich and wealth focused, the other poor and intent on protecting the environment. Self awareness he is the link between past and present, intent on solving that which many wish to remain secret only highlights his inadequacies, lack of support and friendship and despair at further collapsing of family ties. A darkness envelops the land, a cold creeps into everything and everyone and yet slowly the mystery begins to unravel as our protagonist solves the whys and wherefores in his difficult and complicated life. A most satisfactory conclusion and interesting three dimensional characters. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book.
I always wonder if a Scandinavian book that I am about to read will be a bit on the slow, pedantic side with lots of snowy descriptions and towns and streets that I cannot begin to try to pronounce, However, this storyline is excellent and the character descriptions and building make you want to read more.
I was never quite certain where the story would go but, for me, it just got better and better.

This is a debut novel and i have to say I was really impressed.

With DI Nygaard as the protagonist I was captivated from the first few chapters and couldn’t stop creating my own plots to try and figure out how the story would end. The plot is not fast paced but does slowly pick up and it was really interesting and worth waiting for.

I loved the complexity of the characters, even though DI Nygaard really annoyed me at times. You know a book is good when this happens and you still want to keep reading! I am also quite curious to know more about his past and I’m hoping this is covered in possible future books:

There’s plenty of thrilling parts and twists that I didn’t see coming even though i did figure out some small details (but this did not make it any less interesting!)

I have to say that the setting of the book is also perfect and very atmospheric - which is something that I really love.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for further books in this possible series!

I would like to thank HQ digital and Netflix for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

A really interesting concept - a Scandinavian Noir book written by a British author. The book has a very dark and sombre tone, starting with a phone message to a Detective Inspector in Gothenburg from his father who he has not seen in over a decade, telling him that he has witnessed a murder. To make matters more complicated, his father has been living with dementia. A slow-burner of a novel, which nevertheless had me gripped and totally convinced about its setting. Definitely an author to look out for in the future. Recommended.

Karin Nordin is a new voice in Scandi Crime one of my favourite genre’s and she has
written a dark and thrilling debut novel that really hits the mark. Detective Kjeld Nygaard receives a confused voicemail from his father Stenar who he has been estranged from for many years and doesn’t know quite what to make of it. Kjeld is facing his own demons after being suspended from his position in the police force so decides to travel back to his home to try and find out more about what is going on there.
The book starts off at a slow pace and I did wonder if I was going to continue at one point but the descriptions and writing drew me in more and more and I found myself getting totally immersed in the story as the pace increased.
Plenty of good characters, dark moments and some humour also, I was surprised by the ending as it was a “didn’t see that coming” moment for me which gave the book a real edge.
I hope to hear much more from the author and can highly recommend this book.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow! This is a gripping debut novel about family, secrets and lies, all told within the freezing Northern Swedish town of Varsund.

A son, Kjeld, returns home to see his ailing father - there are difficulties within the relationship and the fact that the father now has Alzheimer's further complicates their relationship. Kjeld has recently received a strange voicemail from his father and he's keen to understand it's relevance. His sister, Sara, is the one who has had to take the brunt of caring and it's not easy as her husband has lost his job and she's got a family. So far, so, Scandic.
What follows is the discovery of a body in a barn that also houses Ravens and as Kjeld works to discover the truth, he also has to deal with his own family memories, whilst also meeting old schoolfriend along the way. Then there is the issue of a court case in his previous district where he was involved in a shooting.

This is such a good murder mystery and the fact that I'd worked out a lot of the mystery before 50% of the book and yet kept reading, tells you a lot about the storytelling skill of this new author. I challenge anyone to read this book and not feel cold! The descriptive nature of the writing and the excellent characters, held me spellbound from beginning to end.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ digital for the opportunity to preview this excellent debut novel and I wish Karin Nordin every success.

An excellent debut Swedish crime novel. Detective Kjeld Nygaard hasn’t been to his native town since a falling out with his father twelve years ago but when he receives a message from him to say he has witnessed a murder in his barn Kjeld feels duty bound to return. The problem facing him is that his father has dementia and so is what he says true?
Then follows a well-written, absorbing narrative with great believable characters. The story is as much a crime investigation as a depiction of a family’s stresses in coping with a loved one’s dementia and the strain this brings to an already difficult father-son relationship.
This is a gripping, emotional read and I hope there will soon be another novel featuring Detective Kjeld Nygaard.

What a cracker of a debut novel!

I couldnt put this story down, its twists and turns just made me want to find out what happens!
The story evolves at a good pace, meaning that you get to know the characters and become to care about them through the twists and turns.
The characters are complex which keeps you guessing as you find out more about them,

Highly recommend this story as it kept me gripped.

The book started a little slowly for me but after that, it was addictive and atmospheric and a really enjoyable read.

Where Ravens Roost is a compelling gripping thriller set in a small rural town in Sweden .Kjeld Nygaard is a Detective Inspector with the Gothenburg Police on suspension ,when he receives a confused message from his Father saying he has witnessed a murder.Kjeld has been estranged from his Dad who has early stage Alzheimers for 12 years but he decides to go and see what is going on with his Father .From then on I was gripped with the story which has great twists and turns .I loved the atmospheric feel of the story the cold and desolate landscape,the descriptions of the characters made them seem very real.I enjoyed the surprise ending and hope that Kjeld Nygaard can be come a series .Many Thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

Effective and intriguing story of fathers and sons - disgraced detective responds to his estranged father’s telephone call and the unravelling of the mystery of a murder he claims he saw delves into the past, and the depredations of a dysfunctional family. Perhaps over-written at times, the character development (crucial to this story) is fully fleshed out - impressive - going back home to a place where you were an outsider from birth is portrayed very well ... and what friendships through thick and thin are ... despite getting bogged down at times, i was keen to find out what happened and it’s a shocker - you never would have excited it coming ... I’m biting my tongue not to say ... highly recommended