Wychwood

Serie/Series: Ja, del 1/Yes, part 1.
Författare/Author: George Mann.
Genre: Deckare/crime, thriller, fantasy, mysterium/mystery.
Språk/Language: Engelska/English.
Sidor/Pages: 346.

(English below)


Handling: Elspeth Reeves bor i London men hon har nyligen förlorat både sitt jobb och sin pojkvän, så hon åker till sin mamma och barndomshem i Wilsby-under-Wychwood. Elspeth hinner knappt komma fram innan ett fasansfullt brott upptäcks i den närliggande skogen Wychwood. En kvinna har blivit ritualistisk mördad på ett väldigt speciellt sätt och Elspeth känner igen det från bilderna i en av hennes gamla böcker som avhandlade en lokal myt om "the Carrion King", en saxisk magiker som sas hålla ett hov ute i Wychwoodskogen och hämnades på de som sårat honom. Fler mord begås och Elspeth befinner sig snart mitt i utredningen tillsammans med sin gamla barndomskompis Peter Shaw, som är polis.


Min åsikt om boken: Detta var en salig blandning till bok. På ytan är den som vilken deckare som helst, men den innehåller en del magi och fantasy också. Det är lite tvetydigt om morden har begåtts på "vanliga" sätt eller med hjälp av magi. Ingen vet riktigt vad de ska tro och det är svårt att förklara hur vissa har dött. Boken var väldigt lättläst och trots att den egentligen inte riktigt är i min smak så tyckte jag ändå att den gick bra att läsa. Allt flöt på bra och höll en lagom takt utan att det blev tråkigt. Å andra sidan blev det kanske inte heller jättespännande, men jag stundtals ville jag inte sluta läsa. En helt ok bok med andra ord.


Mitt favoritcitat ur boken:

"It was the bones of a small child, bundled into a tidy heap. Slowly, his hands trembling, he reached down for the skull, cupping it in his palms, lifting it so that it was level with his own face. 'Soon. I promise. I'm coming for you. Just a little longer.'"- Sid 161.

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Story: Elspeth Reeves lives in London but she recently lost both her job and boyfriend, so she travels to her mom and childhood home in Wilsby-under-Wychwood. Elspeth barely reaches her mom's house before a heinous crime is discovered in the nearby woods of Wychwood. A woman has been ritualisticly murdered in a very special way and Elspeth recognise it from the pictures in one of her books about a local myth about "the Carrion King", a saxon magician that was said to have held a court in Wychwood and retaliated against those who hurt him. More murders are commited and Elspeth is soon in the middle of the investigation together with her old childhood friend Peter Shaw who's a police officer.

My opinion of the book: This was a very mixed book. On the surface it seems to be like any other crime novel but it also has some magic and fantasy parts. It's a bit equivocal if the murders has been commited in the "usual" way or with the help of magic. No one really knows what to believe and has a bit of a hard time to explain how some of them died. The book is very easily read and even though it's generally not my taste I actually thought it was very good to read. It had a good pace and the plot went on smoothly without it getting boring. On the other hand it wasn't really suspenseful either, but I had moments when I didn't want to stop reading. The book was okey with other words. Not bad, just not more than alright.

My favorite quote from the book:

"It was the bones of a small child, bundled into a tidy heap. Slowly, his hands trembling, he reached down for the skull, cupping it in his palms, lifting it so that it was level with his own face. 'Soon. I promise. I'm coming for you. Just a little longer.'"
- Page 161.