It is a great pleasure to be involved with the blog tour to celebrate Will Dean's debut novel, Dark Pines. Published by Point Blank, it oozes atmosphere from the first page. Here's what the publishers have to say about it:
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 Thoughts
This is the sort of book where you always feel in good hands. No matter how scary and unsettling the story goes, you have total confidence in Will Dean's writing. The atmosphere suffuses the book from the start and the dark pine forest closes in as the plot develops and events occur. It is a dark tale and a great piece of nordic noir.
In Tuva Moodyson, Will has created an arresting central character. Tenacious and determined to get at the truth, she has an interesting back story. Severely deaf, her vulnerability sets her apart at times and leaves her exposed. This adds a sense of jeopardy to her situation and adds to the tension. The village of Gavrik has some strange and eccentric people who are all credible suspects at some stage, although when the truth comes out, it is a satisfactory ending. As a newcomer to the village, Tuva looks at them all dispassionately and has formed a different view of some by the end.
There is plenty of mileage left in Tuva Moodyson as a central character and I look forward to her next investigation.
In short: dark, tense and surprising- nordic noir to read through your fingers!
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.
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