Dark Pines

I really enjoyed this book and read it very quickly! A mystery set in Sweden, that takes us to a dark place. Very clever, with a great protagonist, I would definitely recommend this book!

Oh this book! I absolutely loved Dark Pines. This is a Scandi-noir mystery that is set in the small community of Gavrik, told through the eyes of Tuva Moodyson, a young journalist who I found to be truly captivating on the page. She is ambitious, caring, dynamic, funny and just happens to be deaf. I warmed to her instantly. What a chsracter!

Tuva works for the town's local paper. Having worked and lived in London, she finds herself moving back to Sweden to be near her mother who is terminally ill. Tuva finds herself living in a community where she doesn't feel accepted, nor belong, as she is viewed very much as an outsider in this close knit and somewhat claustrophobic town. The same things happen day in day out. Everyone knows each others busineas, but when a body is found in the woods and with the eyes removed, Tuva begins to investigate.
Not only is she on the hunt for a killer, but she also has to deal with her own demons and venture into the pine woods to interview the inhabitants.

I found this book to be an incredible page turner. Within the first few pages I found myself immersed in the woods, with the Elks running wild alongside that feeling of desolation and sheer fear. After the first few lines I knew I would just love this book, and that I was reading something very special. The book is so incredibly descriptive and once I began to read I was instantly sucked into Gavrik life, and I too felt that cloying sense of oppression and the need to get the hell out of there.

This book works so well because of Tuva. She IS this book. Yes, the other characters are intriguing, funny, and also downright weird (you'll just love the  wood carving sisters, youre in for a treat), but this book is all about Tuva. Her need to succeed, to seek justice and truth, to get that big story that will  secure her fteedom. and that she can be a good daughter. She is one hell of a journalist and throughout the book I kept forgetting that she was deaf. I was reminded when Tuva spoke about putting her hearing aids in the cleaner over night, and the beeping that they made to warn her that the battery was low. But this is not who she is, she is not a deaf woman who is a journalist, she is a journalist who just happens to be deaf, and that's what's important  And oh, some of her internal thoughts when people made ill informed and judgmental comments about how she 'coped' with her deafness nearly made me choke on my coffee. Such clever and empathetic writing.

Ultimately this is a fantastic murder mystery set in the heart of the pine forest among the gunshots during Elk hunting season. Tuva believes that the present day murder is linked to the Medusa killings over  twenty years ago, but will the police believe her? I honestly couldn't decide who the killer was, and once I thought that I had it all figured out near to the end, it was a complete shock to find out I was completely wrong.

Dark Pines is also a story about family, forming relationships and that all important mother daughter bond. I found Tuva's relationship with her mother both warming and heartbreaking, all at the same time. But in general I read how difficult it was for Tuva to form any kind of relationship, and for me this was because I believed she viewed Gavrik as a temporary stop, both in her professional and personal life.

Dark Pines is such a haunting and evocative read. I felt so sad when I finished this book. I wanted to carry on reading. I'll miss the smell of pine trees. I'll miss the taste of sugar that floats in the air. But, most of all, I'll miss Tuva.

This is a chilling, in both senses of the word, thriller. It is beautifully written, and the story flows.

The main character is Tuva, a journalist, who happens to be deaf. This resonated strongly with me as I too am deaf, and suffer the same problems with regard to hearing aids.

The setting is a small town in Sweden, a small town near a rather large forest. Tuva is uncomfortable with all this nature around her, and, frankly, I can't blame her. The descriptions of the forest bring it to life, making it a character in its own right. These descriptions are so realistic I found myself itching and wanting to scratch my skin by the end of the book.

Tuva is a strong, believable character, at times foolhardy, but ultimately courageous. She is chasing the story of a serial killer, active in the 90's, and suddenly active again after 20 years. Men are being killed in the forest, and the deaths aren't the result of hunting accidents.

There are plenty of suspects amongst the peculiar inhabitants, but as each one is eliminated the tension mounts. I didn't guess who the killer was.

This is a dark book, as dark as the forest, but it is a satisfying read that kept me on the edge of my seat as the tension mounted.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book via Netgalley.

Tuva was a very interesting character, and I hope I'll get to read more books with her as the central character. Will Dean's description of Gavrik made it feel like the most inhospitable place on earth! Certainly not somewhere I'd like to visit. Brilliantly, everyone is a suspect, and they all make very believable murderers, making Gavrik even less like a place anyone would chose to live!  The denouement is a real wide-eyed, jaw-dropping, OMG moment. Dark Pines does not come across as Mr Dean's debut novel. Extremely atmospheric, face paced and clever. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I very much enjoyed this book and found it hard to believe that it was a debut novel. The story is set in a small Swedish town and centres around a young deaf newspaper reporter called Tuva Moodyson. During the elk hunting season (something very important to a lot of the townsfolk) two hunters are murdered and these deaths have many similarities to three old historic cases. Tuva reports on these crimes, hoping that she will make her name with the national papers. This makes her unpopular with the locals who want to preserve the good name of the town and puts her in a certain amount of danger. The author really captures how lonely and frightening it can be to be alone in the dense forest and does a good job of creating a cast of eccentric local characters and suspects. Although the story moves along at a good pace there is no sense of being rushed and it makes for a good read. This book is described as "Tuva Moodyson Mystery 1" so I am hopeful there will be more in the series. Recommended.

I read two books simultaneously this week: both set in sinister forests, both vastly different, both absolutely brilliant. (The other one was Uprooted by Naomi Novik). On the surface Dark Pines is a Scandinavian murder mystery, but I liked the way the author gave the rural Swedish village setting a slight fairy tale quality, with very quirky (sometimes downright oddball) inhabitants. A kind of Nordic noir crossed with Twin Peaks.

Twenty years ago a serial killer murdered three hunters in Utgard Forest, removing their eyes; now it appears he's back. Tuva Moodyson, a reporter for the town paper, is hoping to use this story to kickstart her career. She's interviewing the locals, hoping to learn how this series of tragedies is affecting their lives, but is the killer hiding amongst them?

I loved this book! I adored Tuva and the way the author took his time to create the world she lives in. I did work out the identity of the bad guy pretty quickly, but then I do read a lot of crime fiction. It didn't stop me enjoying the story and appreciating how clever the author was in setting up each clue and red herring. The writing is good, each eccentric character fairly leapt off the page, and I loved all the little details about life in rural Sweden - even the descriptions of the mosquitoes and ticks!

Dark Pines would appeal to anyone who likes the kind of murder mystery where they can solve a puzzle. There is little violence and nothing too gruesome - provided you don't mind the occasional mention of that serial-killer-who-removes-eyeballs thing. I really enjoyed it, have no hesitation in recommending it, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next one in the series.


Thank you to Will Dean and Point Blank (Oneworld) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.