Dark Pines by Will Dean

Dark Pines by Will Dean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 5 days

Pages - 328

Publisher - Point Blank

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

An isolated Swedish town. A deaf reporter terrified of nature. A dense spruce forest overdue for harvest. A pair of eyeless hunters found murdered in the woods.

It’s week one of the Swedish elk hunt and the sound of gunfire is everywhere. When Tuva Moodyson investigates the story that could make her career she stumbles on a web of secrets that knit Gavrik town together. Are the latest murders connected to the Medusa killings twenty years ago? Is someone following her? Why take the eyes? Tuva must face her demons and venture deep into the woods to stop the killer and write the story. And then get the hell out of Gavrik.


My Review

This is my first dance with this author. Tuva Moodyson is our main character, a journalist in a small isolated Swedish town. Twenty years ago there were some grisly murders and then nothing. Now a body has been found in the woods with echoes of the killings years ago, is it coincidence, is it a copycat? Tuva needs to get to the bottom of it but will all small towns they all have their secrets and some secrets are worth killing over.

Tuva is a different character to any I have read before, she is deaf although with the use of hearing aids she can hear. Through her character portrayal we get a small insight into the way people treat others with hearing impairments, discrimination and downright rudeness/ignorance! It really opened my eyes and be more appreciative to issues a person with this particular impairment. Tuva is a really strong independent character and the way she uses her disability to her advantage at times, faces head on peoples ignorance and manages it all with grace and strength. She is a great read and I look forward to the next few books exploring more of her character.

It is hunting season in the book and a huge part and history to this small town and its residents, I struggled with some of the animals parts, I always do in books/movies. I loved the scene settings, when in the woods the writer creates such vivid descriptions you have no problems transporting to it.

Some of the characters are unsettling, not overly nice and some just a bit strange. The troll sculptures made me wonder if this is something the author has came across in real life, they are such weird creations as art often is. They unsettle Tuva and I did visuals how creepy it would be if someone bought, gifted or just left one for you, shudders.

I have the rest of the series on my tbrm and look forward to getting round to them. The book itself covers so many themes, murder, death, creepiness, relationships, bizarreness, friendships and a fair amount of suspense especially the scenes in the woods. The opening chapter, in the car with the elk, my heart was in my mouth, Dean certainly knows how to create tension! 3.5/5 for me this time!

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