Meeting date: December 17, 2019 ;
Star rating: 3.7/5 stars
A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.
His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.
Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.
A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?
To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.
Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.
And no one is safe.
Comments from attendees:
Star rating: 3.7/5 stars
A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.
Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.
A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?
To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.
Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.
And no one is safe.
Comments from attendees:
- The vignette at the start provides motivation, background information, a vendetta, a reason - great foreshadowing - author is building a web with many connections
- Grabs attention from the start
- Every character feels like their own person with their own perspective.
- We LOVE our cops! They are brilliant people.
- The female cop is especially liked. She is her own person and unapologetic about it. She is the cop we would want on the case.
- Female cops, in our opinion, are depicted differently in US media vs. European media - this is a great example
- This book is so well-paced!
- In terms of portrayal, Scandinavian women are stronger than American women.
- Mini-series is already in the works for this book - easy adaptation. The writing style lends easily to adaptation.
- Characters are easy to imagine, very cinematic; we can see this being shot
- "Noir" is an appropriate label, definitely fits.
- The audiobook narrator was not some listeners favorite.
- Traditional children's songs are deeply unsettling - the HECK man. (So creepy)
- Scandinavians just do murder and mystery better.
- Participants who hadn't finished want to complete it despite length (528 pages!)
- Given highest designation because if audiobook version is dropped the book is over 4 stars
Lowest rating: 2 (audiobook, specifically)
Highest rating: 4.7
Comments
Post a Comment