Alexander Söderberg

I have a feeling thriller writers from the Nordic countries come in two flavours, those like Jo Nesbe that have dark humour always present and those (like author of this novel) that indulge in (too much) darkness. This is type of novel where no-one is a 100% good guy. Even Sophie acts strange and weird. But it is not even rather weird love story that I have issue here with (stranger things happen than girl falling in love with crime-lord).

No, my greatest issue is Lass, police inspector. Chapters with this character are OK in the beginning and in the end but the middle part is such a hurdle because of constant images of how he takes the drugs and how he feels after it.... and this gets repeated over an over again. And this brings dynamics of the story almost to the full halt. Maybe if he was more likeable character this would have different effect but with inspector as he was portrayed from the start I truly dont know who might be interested in his personal issues.

Not a bad story but author could trimm 100 pages give or take and make it more readable. I would give it 3.5 stars but round it to 4 since half stars are not an option.… (mer)

The Other Son was an interesting suspenseful read.

To begin with, read the first book. I read this book being totally confused and having no idea what was going on in the past. It is definitely not a book you can read without reading the rest of the series.

Now for the dirt:

This book is very exciting, if you know what is going on with the story. The chapters filter through the different characters and their different dramatic situations. Eventually all the stories connect and everything that happens within the novel makes sense.

I do feel like this book was a little to long. It felt like it dragged on and on and I got bored several times. I had to put this book down for weeks before I could pick it back up, but that is simply because the author writes in a way that doesn't connect to me personally. The story wasn't super fast (which is what I like in a book) so it was hard for me to read. It is still a great book though!

There is enough action and mystery to keep readers who like those types of novel happy. It is definitely a book I'd suggest to readers who like thrillers.

Overall - I found the book was to long, some of the parts could have been removed and the story would have worked just as well. I also felt like the author could have made the book work as a stand alone in case people picked it up, but instead I was mega confused.

Three out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (mer)

Sophie Brinkmann has taken on a role in a crime family that she never wanted. After the head of the family was murdered and his son--her connection to the family--is left in a coma, people look to her more than she expected. And not only does she not feel entirely cut out for this type of work, but she still has some moral issues with the operation. Rival families are closing in, however, and they've made it clear they will take what they want if they have to. And when they start to make good on that threat, Sophie knows she's going to have to act on her own if she wants to make it out alive--and her son along with her.

There's a lot of plotting and action in this book. So many groups and parties are moving against each other, sometimes with knowledge of the others and sometimes with people being caught completely unaware. But with so much going on and so many characters, it was confusing at times for me to really keep track of what was going on, how each person fit into the story, and where things were headed. It was an intriguing story, but difficult to follow at times, to be sure.

This is the second book in a trilogy (the third book is yet to be released), but I had no problems following the story. The reliance on the events of the first book is light, and what readers need to know is referenced with enough detail for it all to make sense.

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review.]… (mer)