DARK PINES #Review @nholten40 @willrdean @oneworldnews @ptblankbks @margotbookpr

Eeeeeek! I am super excited to be hosting Will Dean’s DARK PINES blog tour today! What a phenomenal book!! Huge thanks to Margot Weale & Oneworld Publications/Point Blank for the ARC. I am not going to bore you with my usual waffle- let’s find out a bit about the author and this book and then straight into my review!

About The Author

WILL DEAN grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at LSE, and doing various jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife in 2012. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it’s from this base that he writes, with the aim of being as self-sufficient and low-cost as possible. He and his wife grow food, forage in summer and autumn, take water from their own well and use their own timber for heating and cooking. His interests other than writing are painting, nature, cooking, travel, repairing old mechanical watches, seakayaking and movies. DARK PINES is his first novel.

About The Book

Six hundred square kilometres of Swedish forest. An isolated Swedish town. One deaf reporter terrified of nature. Two bodies… It’s week one of the elk hunt and the sound of gunfire is everywhere. Two hunters are found murdered in the forest, with their eyes missing. When Tuva Moodyson, a young deaf reporter on a small-time local paper, investigates the story that could make her career, she stumbles on a web of secrets. Are the murders connected to the unsolved Medusa killings twenty years ago? Can Tuva outwit the killer before she becomes the next victim? Tuva must face her demons and venture deep into the woods to stop the murderer and write the story. And then get the hell out of Gavrik.

DARK PINES is a unique take on Nordic noir by a young British crime writer living in Sweden, and the first in an exciting new series, featuring an unforgettable lead character.

My Rating: 5/5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Review:

OMFG this is such an amaaaazing book, I am not sure my review will do it justice! But I will give it a go!

The reader finds themselves in Sweden facing loss; grief; differences; secrets/lies; discrimination; small-town mentalities; judgement; a search for the truth – all is not what it seems in the isolated Swedish town, that’s for sure!!

Can I just say that the description throughout this debut novel was EXQUISITE!! I could just about smell the forest as I drank in the scenery that was so beautifully portrayed in this eery and somewhat haunting setting. Soooo atmospheric. *sigh* – I simply loved it! I also LOVED the story/plot! This was a total page-turner for me as the thrill of the mystery and suspense just grabbed me and would not let me go until I finished! I love how the suspects were all laid out early on in the book and as you got through each chapter you were left wondering – could it be….AWESOME!  For me, the pace was perfect – a gradual build up of tension throughout until the big reveal and OMFG – what a BOOM!

As for characters…this book was RICH with some fantastic, well developed characters that had me curious throughout! I wanted to know EVERYTHING about them – and Will Dean did not disappoint. I will mention just a few though as I think this is the type of book where you have to EXPERIENCE everything and my own views may differ from others.

Tuva Moodyson is now on my list of favourite characters- no doubt about that! After leaving London to help her mother, Tuva finds herself working in a small town newspaper office as a reporter. Tuva is deaf – though she can hear with the use of hearing aids. I love how she switches off her hearing aids when she wants to shut out the world. I also loved that she was determined that her hearing impairment doesn’t define her. I suspect there is a lot more for the reader to learn about this character, especially relating to her life in London as we really only scratch the surface – Eeeek! I can’t wait!

Another character…well two…who captured my interest were those creepy sisters and their trolls….WTAF!? I rarely get freaked out…but WOW – totally got under my skin ….even now I am getting shivers just thinking about them!

Finally – Frida and Hannes- a helpful couple, right? Erm…the pair are the type of couple that everyone seems to love on the surface but talk about behind their back. I personally thought this pair were fascinating. Frida is exceptionally inappropriate but you get the impression that although what she says at times is very offensive, it is down to her ignorance rather than being intentional. I really want to mention a few more characters – but I don’t want to overload readers and take away the pleasure of discovery when they first come across them! So I won’t – buy the book and find out for yourself!

So the million dollar (pound??) question is – would I recommend this book? Holy sh*tballs, peeps! You bet your sweet arse I do…with bells on! This was an incredible debut and I am soooo thrilled I had the opportunity to read this prior to publication. Dark, intriguing, atmospheric – the perfect delivery of noir on a plate – a deliciously twisted journey that will have you aching for more when you hit the last page – grab your copy of Dark Pines now and tell me I am wrong! Make sure you follow this awesome tour (see below) and find out what everyone else thinks! My first #TopReadof2018 #BOOM!