The Crow Girl

Disclaimer: I like Jo Nesbo; I don't mind gruesome crime scenes; I am a woman. Now that all that is clear, I am going to warn you not to waste your time or money on this truly awful book. I bought this based on reviews in the Wall Street Journal and I am thoroughly disgusted with them. The writing is poor, the characters are wooden and unbelievable. The plot is predictable. And someone needed an editor on this doorstop! There was a lot of noise in many of the reviews about how this book raised issues of misogyny and sexism - what a load of PC crap. Frankly, after wishing I could slap the two main female characters many times over because of their weakness and whining, I was beginning to hate women myself. I got 45% through the book before I finally gave up. And I never give up. Do yourself a favor and ignore the positive reviews. They are completely wrong. Someone got paid off to write these.

Translated from the Swedish, this rather hefty volume (over 750 pages!) actually includes all three volumes of a trilogy in one handy cover. It opens up right away with the discovery of the remains of a young boy, and two main perspectives - that of of the female detective, Jeanette Kihlberg and a female psychologist, Sofia Zetterlund. It doesn't take long for the paths of our two main characters to cross and the book truly is engaging from the very start!

Be warned, though, this is a dark novel - the atrocities described, with children being the main victims, may be too much for some readers. It is very well plotted though - as soon as everything seems completely obvious, the story shifts to completely turn everything around in a shocking new direction. The characters are all convincingly real and I especially like the way that DID is handled here. While a part of me is appreciative that the trilogy is all crammed into one volume, another part is curious as to why that decision was made. It is ideal for a digital version, as I imagine a paperback copy would be quick to start outliving its binding. And I think that in the translation, the three parts of the novel are carried over from the three original books. This sort of throws off the pacing when looked at from a holistic point of view. Although, my impatient side is very thankful to not have to wait - especially considering the cliffhangers that two of the parts end on!

The author's name is a pseudonym for a writing duo, who I must say seem to be a fluid combination - and I am certainly looking forward to what they create next! I hope that the same translator is used, as well - this is a well-plotted, and though dark, mystery that is a very satisfying read!

This book about multiple personalities reads as if it were written by two people. Wait...it was. There is page after page of child abuse, torture, and trafficking, cannibalism, shall I go on? The authors have cobbled together characters that bring to mind other books including the entire Lecter series. The female detective should have begun trying to figure out what happened to her son while in the company of sofia/Victoria but there are so many threads to unravel with the other multiple personality characters that one is dropped. This book crosses a line describing bestiality and other abnormal behaviors in a way that is supposed to awaken us to child abuse but seems more like the authors indulging themselves. But wait--it all works out as bad girl #1 runs away and leaves all of her rmoney, which she inherited by burning her parents alive, to confused detective. So there is somewhat of a happy ending. Except for the incest, the murders, the taxidermy.

"The Crow Girl" by Swedish writer Erik Axl Sund is a very dark and disturbing novel. Frankly, I had to push myself to read it - it is that disturbing and that long at 758 pages. When the body of a young boy is found, the amount of torture he endured before his death is a clue to the evil that the investigating detective, Detective Superintendent Jeannette Kihlberg and her team uncover. As the children's body count mounts and the horror grows, Sofia Zetterlund , a psychotherapist is called in to consult on the cases. Neither woman could have foreseen just how twisted this case would become.

"The Crow Girl" is a long descent into darkness, and while I think it could have been shorter, there is no doubt these authors tell a compelling, albeit very disturbing tale. I am a fan of psychological thrillers, and have read other work by Swedish writers that I enjoyed, particularly, Karin Fossum, who I feel writes a tighter, more satisfying novel. This was too dark for me and I found myself skimming over parts and I ultimately stopped reading it. I am going to try to finish it and will edit my review at that time.

Fans of crime fiction who have a high tolerance for detailed descriptions of horrific acts are those most likely to enjoy reading The Crow Girl, an almost eight-hundred page novel by Erik Axl Sund, the pen name of authors Jerker Eriksson and Hakan Axlander Sundquist. Originally published as a trilogy in Sweden, the novel is packed with darkness and the evil acts of a cast of characters. I enjoyed the depth of character development, and the doggedness of Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg and her personal connection with another key character. The authors present the perspectives and recalled memories of a variety of characters, constantly shifting the action from one person, place and time to another. The plot twists are exiting, and readers with strong stomachs should be able to read through every gruesome scene of evil and perverse acts.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

This is a very difficult book to read, the themes of sexual abuse, children and incest are something that will give you the shivers. Add a component of mental disease and an unreliable narrator and you are set for a very dark book, even if it is a very good book.

On one side we have a police investigation looking into the deaths of very young boys, led by Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg; an explanation into the mind of the killer by psychologist Sophia Zetterlund; and a dive into the world of Victoria Bergman, a main character in the story.

This is an omnibus of 3 books, and it has been published separately in other languages. And it is probably better to read them one by one. The plot is so gruesome you might want to take a break between books.

Nevertheless, it's a very good book, full of plots and subplots, with well defined characters.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an extremely challenging read - not due to its size or complexity, but due to its subject matter.

I expected the usual dark, Scandinavian mystery. You know the ones - bleak atmosphere, suicidal characters, and the dark night of the soul. What I didn't expect were the absolutely heart wrenching scenes of sexual and physical abuse of children - presented over and over again.

The book is extremely well written. While the sexual abuse scenes aren't overly graphic, they feel that way. In just a few words, the author tortures you, putting you squarely into the minds of both the abused and the abusers.

I took this book in small sections - roughly a hundred pages at a time. I had to keep stopping and read something more innocent. I'm a mother and what happens to the throwaway children in this book just hurts.

This is a book that stays with you, for better or worse. I'm not going to read it again - I don't think I could take it. But I'm very glad I did read it.

Highly recommended, but be warned that it's very, very hard to read.

This was from the store Vine UK.

Translated from Swedish into American English (color, meters, favorite, soccer, etc.) the origins of this book was that of a trilogy that, I assume, has been amalgamated into a single volume, which probably accounts for its length. Written by two people under the pseudonym of the author, it takes place mostly in Sweden but there are passages and timelines that encompass Denmark, Canada, Sierra Leone and various other places around the globe, including the elusive 'Nowhere'.

Reminding me a bit of another hefty tome in David Hewson's 'The Killing', this takes place at an unmentioned time, though deducing from what is said it's 2008, the opening pages involve a child abduction and a mummified body found by a railway station. That's where Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg comes into it. A mid forties DS who wonders whether her position in the police force is a result of 'quotas', considering the lack of respect and unfavourable attitudes she faces. Her married life has also hit the buffers. When another body surfaces (literally, as it is found in a river), the similarities between the two victims leads us into a novel of murder, exploitation, secret rituals and plenty of psychological drama, but not all involving perpetrators and corpses.

With it's descriptive and sometimes disturbing narrative (and it never gets bogged down in pages to fill), that most heinous of crimes involving children may make this book difficult for some to digest. Considering some of the subject matter, it's actually a much better story than many might expect. Are any of the incidents connected? Who is the Crow Girl? Will everything coalesce? Surprisingly, they are the questions that kept me reading, which is always the sign of a decent tale. That the environs is mainly Scandinavia I think helps, as it's somewhat of a relief not to be subjected to that usual mainstay of the crime/thriller genre; New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and all stations USA.

The individual chapters tell us where the narrative takes place (and when, if need be) and that's part of the suspense. You need to keep your wits about you in remembering who is who and it has you asking yourself where does it fit in. We're also flirted with, no more so when one character recognises another and you want to keep reading to discover who it is, but the author teases us for another few pages until you find out. And that isn't the only flirting that goes on. At 750 pages, it may appear too long but every page has a reason for being there and just when you think you've read something a bit superfluous, you realise it does make sense in the ongoing narrative. This needs every page to reach its conclusion. A conclusion that I never saw coming.

* That's "Plenty to crow about" in Swedish.

I started off with a bang reading this imported/translated Swedish thriller about a killer on the loose. It's very dark and depressing (as most good Scandinavian thrillers are), but very, very long. We follow two professional women - a police detective and a psychotherapist - both of whom we learn over time are intimately involved with the case/killer. The problem for me was how dang slow the plotting turned out to be.....holy moly it took forever to make headway. Child abuse factors in here so if you're really sensitive on that subject, avoid. Other than that, I'd recommend it to people who absolutely love these imported thrillers knowing how dark and twisted they can be.

Major disappointment. Poorly written (unless this is the result of the English translation). The authors apparently try to develop interesting characters, but they fall short in every possible way. The repetitive elements of abuse undermine the real tragedies they try to convey and water down significant opportunities to critique contemporary Scandinavia. There are so many Nordic writers that deliver much more interesting stories these days in much finer prose. This was a major let-down.

I am still plodding through this book, two weeks in. I have put it down after 400 pages and assume I will go back to it but need a break from the depressing and violent story about the investigation of a murdered child. The graphic violence is literally disgusting, which depending upon your point of view is either an accomplishment or offensive. I need a break from it. The writing is far from bad--it's often quite good but overlong. The Crow Girl and author would benefit enormously from an editor willing to cut a couple of hundred pages.

There are parallel stories of the detective's investigation and a therapist who provides emotional support which is well done. The backstory of a lousy marriage seems superfluous and cliched (frustrated at home, frustrated on the job, blah blah). Erik Sund describes the mind of a psychotic extremely well and he is adept at detailing violence. The Crow Girl is absolutely chilling, but also exhausting and quite depressing. It's not a book I would recommend, but do think parts are very gripping.

One of the pleasures of reading genre fiction is the experience of encountering familiar character types living through situations that have become somewhat familiar and dealing with problems in their lives that fit them into predictable categories. How many police procedurals, for example, feature a detective inspector whose personal life, whether in a marriage that is failing or in a series of relationships that grow and then unravel, often due to faults of the detective's own behavior and character problems. In fact, there are quite a few. The detective is introduced into what will obviously be a dangerous and very challenging "case" in the opening scenes; then we discover that he or she is also in frequent conflict with superiors in the hierarchy of the justice system, and has problems with a wife/husband or significant other, often exacerbated by the long hours of investigation, missed dinners and birthdays and other engagements, hurt feelings for children who feel neglected or underappreciated, and so on. Quite a lot. But the detective is intrepid and focuses (as much as possible) on the evidence gathered and the need to prevent further criminal actions related to the initial case, while agonizing over the crumbling personal life, including, perhaps, excessive drinking or drug use that may compromise both the detective's work and personal life, and so on. Variations on these characters and situations may be found in novels based in Indianapolis, New York, Vermont, London, Paris, Venice, and perhaps most prominently in recent years, the Scandinavian capitals.

Sund's novel is set in Stockholm (and we are given meticulous descriptions from which we could construct a street map of large portions of the city, which seems characteristic also of such novels, but also of the work, for example, Patrick Modiano when he describes rambles around Paris and other parts of France), and the challenge to the detective inspector (a woman who has been harassed by sexist men both above and below her rank in the system (and one thinks of Jane Tennant and others), is what emerges as a case of serial murders that may be tied in some way to an international "trade" in young boys and girls who are sold into sexual bondage to wealthy white men. As it happens, this is not irrelevant to the outcome of the novel, though it is peripheral to the main development of the behavior of the actual murderer.

Scandinavia has given us a number of justly popular detective fictions over the years, starting with the team of Wahloo and Sjowall, continuing with the vastly popular Stieg Larsson's Salander trilogy, Henning Mankell's Wallender series, and more. The Crow Girl fits neatly into the patterns established by those writers, both in terms of the dark view of human nature found in all of them, as well as in the sharp and very negative depiction of political and social corruption found in the governmental institutions of the countries involved. Sund is actually the pen name of two writers who have collaborated on this intricate and sometimes repulsive novel. It is intricate because they strew the investigation with important clues that are interpreted as leads in directions that actually mislead and impede the investigation. At the same time, the second main character (after the detective) is a psychologist who specializes in helping emotionally disturbed young people but who, it is not giving away too much to say, turns out to be a person of severe psychological problems, herself. The fine plot irony is that the detective calls on this psychologist for help in "reaching" some of the persons suspected in the case, and this leads to many digressive actions before the detective is forced to recognize her judgment error.

The novel is almost 800 pages long. It reads fast, but about halfway through, it begins to seem repetitive to no particular purpose, and some aspects of it, including one overly drawn out sequence at the end, seem to detract from both the power of the narrative and from the focus on the political and social critique that is pervasive in this novel. Like the later works of Henning Mankell, these writers have embedded a pretty clear political agenda in their narrative, and each reader will have to decide whether this is off-putting or enhancing. For me, the novel was mostly enjoyable, but undermined by some aspects of the political critique and by the over-familiarity of several of the characters, some of whom might have been lifted directly from Larsson, others from Mankell. But the intricate plotting saves the book from a lower rating--it is finally pretty impressive.

This book triggered my three pet peeves: too many characters, too long and unnecessary graphic violence. A female detective investigates the brutal murder of a child. Jeanette, the investigator, is hampered by her bosses' hostility, organizational bureaucracy and prosecutorial apathy. Her marriage is in trouble largely due to her frustration with her unambitious slug of a husband. Only Sofia, a therapist with dark secrets , provides personal and professional support. But soon Jeanette realizes that she is dealing with much more than murder. She is confronting a vile conspiracy that has infected all walks of Swedish life.

Although I enjoy Nordic noir, this is not a book I can recommend. It is a long, slow and unrewarding read. The depictions of sexual violence are unnecessary. I worked in criminal justice and am all too familiar with crimes of sex and violence. The violence here is unrelenting and totally unnecessary. It does not educator entertain. The reader quickly appreciates that it is horrendous and inhuman. But the constant barrage merely makes one turn off. And sorry Sybil, the multiple personality disorder has generally been pooh poohed except as a fictional chestnut. I really couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for any of the characters. Jeanette and Sofia are okay but not especially memorable or noteworthy. Noir is supposed to be dark. but there should be beauty in the depths. that is lacking here. It is just an ugly story, nothing to crow about.

Strong Scandinavian noir novel. Complex interwoven plot. Brilliantly executed. Very highly recommended but it's dark and disturbing so for some it may not be the right fit. But for others it's one heck of an exciting, roller coaster ride of a read. A masterful tour de force.

This is a Great thriller. Two bodies are found, murdered, mumified and tortured. The authors have an original way of writing, for they write in the present and in the past, so you slowly understand the events. On this 1st book you have : a crazy blonde that has a fake wall and hides a young boy (thiz the beginning of the book), Sofia, the psychologist, Jeanette (chief of police) and Victoria Bergman, the girl raped by her father. More bodies pop up from nowhere, because no one reports them as missing, they have no name or family. Whoever the murder is, he/she is covering all tracks, leaving no clues. Then you realise, Victoria Bergman has multiple personalities....

Horrendous 700 pages of pedophilia, torture and poor writing. I cannot understand how anyone can "enjoy" the detailed kidnapping and torture of young boys. Disturbing to see how many people liked this book.

Hated it. I usually like books set in scandinavian countries but tjis was too gruesome. Couldnt finish it. I dont believe in censorship but cant see why anyone would write or read a book like this. Degrading.

Got about a quarter of the way through. Just awful. Too many characters, all woefully underdeveloped, no coherent plot thread. Vile and foul scenarios with little purpose. Total waste of time. Cutting my losses.

I'm generally a fan of Scandinavian crime fiction, but sometimes it goes too far for my taste. Jo Nesbo's The Leopard was one example (I briefly swore off his books after that particularly gruesome one, though generally I like his writing), and The Crow Girl is definitely another. I got about a third of the way through this book before throwing in the towel. Not only is it extremely long, as others have noted, and very, very dark, but the pace is almost glacial, bloated with way more detail than is necessary. I also didn't find the characters particularly compelling and didn't care much about them. And even amid all the detail, there was a notable lack of the atmospheric descriptions that help make so many Nordic noir books so good and that really bring the environment to life. Ultimately, though, it was the sick crimes the story revolves around that did me in. There was only so much of it I could take, especially since it went on and on. I finally realized there were many other books I'd much rather read.

I won't go into any of the plot details since other reviewers have done that ably. I will say, however, that I'm sorry for the time I wasted trying to read it. It's a real slog and an extraordinarily disturbing and depressing one at that.

I generally love Swedish noir, but this is too dark, too long, and too depraved for me. It's page after page of sickening acts. If you want endless degradation, you'll find this here. For me, I had enough by the middle of the book. There's no way I can recommend this to anyone.

Got about a quarter of the way through. Just awful. Too many characters, all woefully underdeveloped, no coherent plot thread. Vile and foul scenarios with little purpose. Total waste of time. Cutting my losses.

I'm generally a fan of Scandinavian crime fiction, but sometimes it goes too far for my taste. Jo Nesbo's The Leopard was one example (I briefly swore off his books after that particularly gruesome one, though generally I like his writing), and The Crow Girl is definitely another. I got about a third of the way through this book before throwing in the towel. Not only is it extremely long, as others have noted, and very, very dark, but the pace is almost glacial, bloated with way more detail than is necessary. I also didn't find the characters particularly compelling and didn't care much about them. And even amid all the detail, there was a notable lack of the atmospheric descriptions that help make so many Nordic noir books so good and that really bring the environment to life. Ultimately, though, it was the sick crimes the story revolves around that did me in. There was only so much of it I could take, especially since it went on and on. I finally realized there were many other books I'd much rather read.

I won't go into any of the plot details since other reviewers have done that ably. I will say, however, that I'm sorry for the time I wasted trying to read it. It's a real slog and an extraordinarily disturbing and depressing one at that.

I generally love Swedish noir, but this is too dark, too long, and too depraved for me. It's page after page of sickening acts. If you want endless degradation, you'll find this here. For me, I had enough by the middle of the book. There's no way I can recommend this to anyone.

Should have read these reviews before purchasing this book.Wasnt aware that I was buying a book about paedophilia and sexual abuse of children. just thought I was buying a riveting murder story as non of the reviews nor the publishers info referred to the precise subject matter.Am now on page 83 and cannot stomach anymore so now I think I will dump it in the dustbin!

This book was absolutely fascinating. Definitely not from everyone as it deals a lot with child sexual abuse and a lot of other traumatic subject matter.
On the plus side the reader will never stop being surprised by this book. Would definitely recommend.

The crown girl is an extremely ambitious book and keeps the reader hooked until the end. However since the story is narrated from the perspective of a person suffering from multiple personality disorder in found it hard to keep up with what's realeft and what's not. On the other hand the authors must be given credit for writing a book with such an intricate plot and uninhibited descriptions of violent crimes .