Blog Tour: Keeper (Johana Gustawsson) @OrendaBooks #teamorenda

Last year, I read Block 46, a new novel in a French Noir series by Johana Gustawsson, and was completely blown away. Historical fiction collided with mystery and suspense bringing a fast-paced plot with memorable characters that kept me up late into the night and recommend it to all my friends and coworkers. So, when I was asked to be a part of the blog tour for Gustawsson’s second novel featuring the same detectives as Block 46, Keeper, I enthusiastically agreed!

Once again, Gustawasson combines past with the present as her story unfolds.   Just as dark as Block 46 but in a completely different time period, this time we are transported back and forth from London/Sweden in 2015 and the Jack the Ripper murders which terrorized London in the 1800s. We follow profiler Emily Roy and true crime writer Alexis Castells as they struggle to see how these cases fit together, a copycat killer on the loose and family secrets. Once again, I found myself seriously impressed with how effortlessly the plot was weaved between the time periods.

It is extremely hard to discuss this book without giving anything away but the twist at the end was mind-blowing! Actual jaw-dropping. I was, once again, left reeling by this novel! Who knew that I would love this French Noir genre so much?! Overall, I loved the follow up to Block 46 and Keeper had me up late into the night, devouring pages! I cannot wait to see what Gustawasson will come up with next!

Highly, highly recommended.

Book Review: The Sin Collector (Daria Desombre)

This time of year as other bloggers are rounding up their favourite books of the year and creating their top lists for Christmas gifts, here I am, struggling to catch up on all the books I had read and neglected to review! I blame my wedding and my move.

That is my story. I am sticking to it.

Forever ago, I read The Sin Collector by Daria Desombre, which is the first in a new detective series starring Masha Karavai. A work of Russian noir, I was curious to see what this genre would bring, especially since this is unchartered territory for me.

The novel opened with the introduction of Masha, a brilliant law student, as she investigates a series of recent killings and navigates her way through law enforcement.  I found Masha to be a likeable and relatable lead. I found her narrative to be extremely believable and there were more than a few moments where I found myself chuckling under my breath as she dealt with difficult and seasoned detectives.

The plot itself was pretty stellar. I love when a novel is able to make past and present collide and Desombre does a brilliant job of doing just this. Medieval rituals, modern Moscow and biblical references had me captivated and I loved the premise of the “sins”. I thought this was very different which is always incredibly important to me in a new crime series!

Blog Tour: Snare (Lilja Sigurdardottir) @lilja1972 @OrendaBooks

Good Afternoon and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir.

As of lately, it is very rare for me to read the back of a novel and to be hooked immediately by the synopsis. However, from the second I read the blurb for Snare, a book which will be first novel in a trilogy, I was completely compelled to read the book immediately.

A young mother, Sonja, desperate for financial stability and win full custody of her son, begins smuggling cocaine into Iceland and finds herself wrapped up in the Reykjavik criminal world. Now that I have finished the novel, the only thing I am wondering is how soon I can get my hands on the second novel. I need more of Sigurdardottir’s writing in my life.

Blog Tour: The Man Who Died (Antti Tuomainen) @OrendaBooks @antti_tuomainen

Last year, I read The Mine by Antii Tuomainen and I loved it. I was blown away by the atmospheric style of the writing and the spell bounding descriptions of the Finnish landscape.   This is why I am especially thrilled to be able to be a part of the Orenda blog tour for The Man Who Died, another novel, by Antti Tuomainen.

This one is completely different from The Mine.   Following a successful man in the mushroom business, Jaakko, who is shocked when his doctor tells him he is dying.   Having a few mere days or weeks to leave, Jaakko is further shocked to learn that his cause of his pending passing is prolonged exposure to toxins. Someone has been poisoning him. Desperate to find out who is responsible, Jaakko digging into his own life and finds himself thrust into a suspenseful rollercoaster. Filled with heart-pounding emotions and deliciously dark humour, this book stood out from the moment I turned the first page.

One of the biggest features of the text that stood out for me was the paranoia within the prose. Jaakko is completely paranoid and on edge in regards to who has been trying to slowly kill him (and rightfully so!). Tuomainen brilliantly captures this feeling throughout the pages and I found myself worked up during my reading. I was looking over my own shoulder and second-guessing what food was in front of me. His emotions throughout the course of the text felt so realistic.

This book is certainly one of the most unique that I have read. Needless to say, I sat down to read this one and was not able to put it down.  Without saying much to spoil the plot, I must say, a particular moment at the end, during a speech was one of my favourite parts of the text. Just brilliant!

Thanks to Orenda books and the author for a copy of this book.  It was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

Book Review: Boundary: The Last Summer (Andree A. Michaud) @biblioasis

When I first started blogging, I made it a mission to receive a book from Biblioasis, a publishing company in my hometown.   So, when I was approached to read Boundary: The Last Summer by Andree A. Michaud, which is publishing today, I was absolutely thrilled!  Andree A. Michaud is also a Canadian author, making this my Canadian read of the week.

This book was completely atmospheric. Michaud brilliantly captures the time period (1967) and the idyllic lifestyle of a beach town between the border of Canada and the States.   The concept it itself was completely creepy; girls brutally murdered, found in hunting traps. Even that short description alone had my skin crawling.   Told in majority through the eyes of a young girl as she watches the summer town crumble and the police work the case, this one started to remind me a little bit of Jaws. Obviously, there was no man-eating shark wreaking havoc, but the same paranoia and fear littered these pages; a town torn apart, great suspicion, danger looming and absolutely nowhere to turn.

Blog Tour: Wolves in the Dark (Gunnar Staalesen) @OrendaBooks

Welcome to my stop on the Wolves in the Dark, by Gunnar Staalesen, blog tour! Today, I have a review for you!

I was incredibly hesitant when I decided to read this novel, as it is actually the twenty- first novel in the Varg Veum series! I usually like to read a series from the beginning so I get to really know the character. This book was easily read as a standalone, but I wish I had read others in the series so I had more background. Varg Veum was very complex and well written; I wanted to know more about him!

The novel opens with Veum answering the door to police. They are bringing him to the station due to content found on his computer. Finding out that the content is child pornography and the police are operating under the assumption he belongs to a paedophilia ring, Veum desperately begins to search into his past to find out who could have framed him.

As mentioned, Veum was a very complex character. The ultimate anti-hero type, he is the type of character that gets under your skin. Abrupt, damaged and dark, Staalesen uses his character centred narrative technique to drive the plot and hook the reader. And let me tell you, this worked. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how Veum was going to get out of this mess and hoping there would be no truth to it.  Even though it was my first experience with this protagonist, I immediately felt connected to him.

However, I did find the number of secondary characters to be a little confusing at times, and, perhaps, this was because I was unfamiliar with any reoccurring characters or their relationships from the previous novels.   I had to read back and cross reference some of the names and try to figure out how they were connected.  This is, of course, a small complaint.

Wolves in the Dark ended on quite the cliffhanger, so I’ll be eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.

I feel that any readers who relish in Scandinavian crime fiction or old school detective style novels will love this one!

Thanks to Orenda and the author for a copy of this novel; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

Blog Tour: Faithless (Kjell Ola Dahl) @OrendaBooks

Welcome to my stop on the Faithless blog tour!

As a fairly new reader to the Nordic noir genre, I am always shocked at the atmospheric feel to these novels.

This one was no exception.

Dark and unsettling, Faithless, by Kjell Ola Dahl, had me hooked from the first pages.

Blog Tour: A Presence of Absence (Sarah Surgey and Emma Vestrheim) @OdenseSeries

Thrilled to be taking part in the Blog Tour for A Presence of Absence today!   Not only do I have a book review for you, but I also have an excerpt!  Keep reading to find out what I thought about this one and read a bit for yourself!