Tuva Moodyson Mystery Series 3 Books Collection Set By Will Dean (Dark Pines, Red Snow, Black River)

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Tuva is adamant she needs to get closer to the occupiers of Rose Farm. When Elsa’s dead body is found, Tuva will do anything in her power to get to the truth. I will absolutely never be tired of the Tuva Moodyson series, and I LOVED this newest installment of the series. Similarly although I enjoyed both the main character and a number of the side characters, I would prefer if the author moved on to something different and allowed the future of characters to remain in my imagination – but inevitably within the genre this is likely to be the first in a series of appearances by Tuva who will presumably stumble across other small town murders in future. OMFG this is such an amaaaazing book, I am not sure my review will do it justice! But I will give it a go!

She's also wildly offended at people who tell her she speaks very well for a deaf person, while she herself is convinced that the weird taxidermy sisters, the weird loner, and the guy with the weird sex habits surely must be the killer! because dude, they're weird! It made me almost unable to feel any sympathy for her.The heroine of this book, Tuva Moodyson, a young deaf woman, is the local reporter in a very small Swedish town called Gavrik. She usually reports on local news, run-of-the-mill stories derived from rumour and council minutes. However, when a dead body appears, with the eyes missing, in Utgard forest, not far from Gavrik, Tuva has the chance to write a story that will change and further her career. The frightening thing about this murder is that it resembles the 'Medusa murders'... murders that took place two decades before. So is this a copycat? Who is the killer and why are they starting up again now? Another strength of the novel is the intense and almost claustrophobic, picture it paints of the small town of Gavrik - with its hunting season, and close-knit small business community with a web of connections and histories between individuals.

Within the first two sentences of this book we are immediately on both familiar and unfamiliar territory within the crime genre. What starts out as a missing person's case soon turns into something more sinister as a body is discovered. Suddenly the idyllic Rose Farm becomes a hotbed of resentment, and jealousy, as the disparity between the picture they present to the world and what actually happens there widens and is exposed. Apart from the hot case Tuva is working as a reporter, there a some harrowing themes presented here: the loss of parents, the cruelty of hunting wildlife, the viciousness of small town gossip including racism, sexism, xenophobia and religious finger pointing. Add to that the impact of social media - today's ultimate propaganda tool for gossipers worldwide, and you have a nauseous melting pot of the lowest category of human beings cleverly depicted. In a way, I found all this much more to stomach than the actual killing by the psychopath. Dark Pines by Will Dean is a pretty good thriller and whodunnit. You know one of those stories where you’re thinking about who the culprit is while you’re doing other things. The only other Will Dean book I’ve read is The Last Thing to Burn, which was good too – I gave that one 4 stars.

The climax and solution to the murders is a bit of a surprise, but the presentation is clumsy, drawn out, pacing poor. Almost an info-dump. Our main character is the only one causing any danger, by continually going into the forest herself (which is described tree by tree, every single time). She goes there about 12 times but every time she does, she freaks out and leaves again, normally without having discovered anything. Needless trips to the forest, needless description of everything, and an incessant use of the word "and" when a comma would do. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say the author was trying to meet a word count. I have read all the compelling Tuva Moodyson thrillers by Will Dean and am always glad to learn there is a new addition to the series. Tuva is an engaging character. She is a deaf newspaper reporter working in small towns in the north of Sweden. We feel the cold chill in the remote area, surrounded by dark forests where wolves and elk abound, and the nearby marshes and Snake River.