Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book of a new detective series featuring DI Embla Nystrom from Gothenburg Sweden. On her vacation, Embla decides to go hunting at her uncle's cabin in rural Dalsland. Peter, a young divorce decides to join the hunting group and becomes the thirteenth member which another member points out is a bad omen for the week. Two men from a neighboring group suddenly go missing. Embla takes charge of the search. Just what she needs on her vacation. Embla delves into the pasts of her fellow hunters. This book is an engaging thriller with credible, complex characters who are hiding secrets. It's a fast-paced Nordic noir. If you like books about hunting then you will love this book.
For readers who are ardent opponents of hunting, I would suggest they give this book a miss. Since my grandfather was a hunter, I found this look into the moose hunting traditions of Sweden very interesting and a good backdrop to the story. I also loved Tursten's descriptions of the forest-- otherworldly, sometimes menacing, but always beautiful. She actually made me feel as though I were walking through those trees alongside Embla.
I was sad to see the author end her Irene Huss series, but at the same time, I looked forward to seeing something new. Fellow Irene Huss fans, never fear. I think you're going to like Embla. Huss was a prizewinning kickboxer; Nyström is a prizewinning boxer. Yes, both women certainly know how to take care of themselves. I was a bit anxious to see how tormented Nyström was by her nightmares-- sometimes I tire of psychologically damaged main characters and enjoy reading about someone who could be considered normal. Thankfully, Nyström isn't all that far off from normal.
Hunting Game tells us a bit about Embla's backstory and the cause of her nightmares, and I think that's going to add some interesting angles to future books in the series. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't made to work very hard to deduce the identity of the killer, but that was just the mood I was in. This book is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, and the why certainly keeps the pages turning.
I may have been forced to say good-bye to Irene Huss, but I am looking forward to more encounters with Embla Nyström, and I think you will, too.
I was sad to see the author end her Irene Huss series, but at the same time, I looked forward to seeing something new. Fellow Irene Huss fans, never fear. I think you're going to like Embla. Huss was a prizewinning kickboxer; Nyström is a prizewinning boxer. Yes, both women certainly know how to take care of themselves. I was a bit anxious to see how tormented Nyström was by her nightmares-- sometimes I tire of psychologically damaged main characters and enjoy reading about someone who could be considered normal. Thankfully, Nyström isn't all that far off from normal.
Hunting Game tells us a bit about Embla's backstory and the cause of her nightmares, and I think that's going to add some interesting angles to future books in the series. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't made to work very hard to deduce the identity of the killer, but that was just the mood I was in. This book is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, and the why certainly keeps the pages turning.
I may have been forced to say good-bye to Irene Huss, but I am looking forward to more encounters with Embla Nyström, and I think you will, too.
