The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund

The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund

Publisher: Random House UK Vintage Publishing (14 April 2016)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Genre: Scandi-crime, Adult, Thriller

Pages: 768

Rating:

The International Sensation
It starts with just one body – tortured, mummified and then discarded.
Its discovery reveals a nightmare world of hidden lives. Of lost identities, secret rituals and brutal exploitation, where nobody can be trusted.
This is the darkest, most complex case the police have ever seen.
This is the world of the Crow Girl.

My Thoughts:
Now for a crime story which, unlike Fiona Barton's 'The Widow', definitely is not so simply told, or lacking in nasty scenes. This one contains a multitude of extremely violent scenes of torture, child abuse, child trafficking and murder so definitely NOT for everyone.

At over 750 pages this is a huge tome which I devoured in just a few days. Written in short easy to digest chapters I had no problem keeping track of who was who; who did what to who; etc., etc,. Not since reading Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' have I been so enthusiastic about reading or recommending a Scandi/Nordic crime novel.

The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund is a very dark, violent and intensely disturbing read with in-depth descriptions of suffering, abuse and rape, and a plethora of shocking scenes. This most certainly won't be a book for everyone, and definitely not for those upset by such scenes.

I am not going to say anymore about this one except that if you are not one of the above then 'just read it'.

Shamelessly twisted and at times sensationally over the top, The Crow Girl was for me a hugely enjoyable, addictive read.  Perfect for fans of, Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbo, and David Lagercrantz.

Disclaimer: A complementary proof copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:
Erik Axl Sund is the pseudonym for 2 authors who have been friends and collaborators for years: Jerker Erikson and Håkan Axlander Sundquist.
Håkan was a sound engineer, musician and artist, while Jerker was a music producer and worked as a librarian in a prison. Both live in Sweden where they are now full-time writers, and also run an art gallery together.
Originally written as a trilogy before being re-worked for the English language markets The Crow Girl is their first book. The complete trilogy received the 'Special Award' from the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers in 2012, with the academy highlighting the trilogy's "hypnotically captivating psychoanalysis in crime fiction form."

Fall Of Man In Wilmslow by David Lagerkrantz

Fall of Man in Wilmslow: The Death and Life of Alan Turing
by David Lagercrantz

Publisher: Quercus Books (7 May 2015)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (digital ARC)

Pages:368

RATING:

Synopsis:
June 8, 1954. Alan Turing, the visionary mathematician, is found dead at his home in sleepy Wilmslow, dispatched by a poisoned apple.

Taking the case, Detective Constable Leonard Corell quickly learns Turing is a convicted homosexual. Confident it's a suicide, he is nonetheless confounded by official secrecy over Turing's war record. What is more, Turing's sexuality appears to be causing alarm among the intelligence services - could he have been blackmailed by Soviet spies?

Stumbling across evidence of Turing's genius, and sensing an escape from a narrow life, Corell soon becomes captivated by Turing's brilliant and revolutionary work, and begins to dig deeper.
But in the paranoid, febrile atmosphere of the Cold War, loose cannons cannot be tolerated. As his innocent curiosity fast takes him far out of his depth, Corell realises he has much to learn about the dangers of forbidden knowledge.

What I Thought:
The pace of David Lagercrantz's novel 'Fall of Man in Wilmslow' feels frustratingly slow, so slow in fact that In the beginning I didn't think I could continue if the action didn't ratchet up a notch or two.  After my initial uncertainty and perseverance, I adjusted and appreciated the languid pace, taking in every detail. It was from that point onwards that I loved the book and characters, especially that of Allan Turing as imagined by Lagerkrantz.

As I said before, the pace in this novel is painfully slow and not going to hold the attention or interest of everyone, especially those wanting an action packed, edge of the seat thriller. Fall of Man in Wilmslow sure won't rock their boat. However, I found it to be a deeply rewarding historical, educational, suspenseful, read.  The substantial character development, and Lagerkrantz's astounding ability to simplify complex mathematical concepts and philosophical conversation for the layperson more than compensates for the lack of pace to my mind.  In particular I found the conversation on the 'liars paradox' totally fascinating. I believe I even understood it, at the time of reading !

Fall of Man in Wilmslow is on the surface a detective mystery novel set during the 1940's and 1950's when paranoia, and conspiracy theories were rife. You just couldn't trust those scheming communists, or far worse those immoral homosexuals... always ripe for the Russians to coerce into an uncompromising position and blackmail into divulging our national secrets.

DC Leonard Corell is assigned to the 'open and shut' case of an apparent suicide. That of an 'Alan Turing'.  Corell becomes obsessed and fully immerses himself in his investigation to find out who Alan Turing was and what he did during the war. His fascination with Turing leads him to some unsavoury characters and into dangerous waters, but also along the way he discovers more about himself and his family, and ultimately begins to question his own prejudiced beliefs.

The atmosphere of tension of suspicion, is palpable and I got a real sense of the overpowering hatred and sexual bigotry of the times towards the homosexual community.

On a deeper level it is a fascinating character supposition analysis of an immensely talented genius and how he was treated appallingly even by those who knew what he had achieved during the war. Not only did no one help him, they actively encouraged the accusations, then left him to be destroyed mentally after his treatment of chemical castration for the most heinous crime of being a homosexual.

I found Fall of Man in Wilmslow to be a deeply affecting novel and couldn't help but think what a waste of an exceptionally gifted mind. What advancements may we have delayed in the computing and artificial intelligence fields.  It is beautifully and sensitively written - to my mind it is an absolute must read for anyone wanting an intelligent, thought provoking mystery thriller.

One of my favourites this year.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of Fall of Man in Wilmslow was provided by Quercus Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

FORTHCOMING REVIEWS:

My absolute favourites with ratings of 5/5 are, In The Land of Armadillos and Man Falls in Wilmslow with The Crow Girl, The Last Policeman and The Bottoms with ratings of 4/5.

That leaves Fellside with a rating of 3.5/5 and I have to say that after the phenomenal success of The Girl with all the Gifts I was a little disappointed with this one.