Mikaela BleyReseñas

Dual review with Swedish first and then English!

SWEDISH REVIEW

Jag läste Lycke nyligen och den var en snabbläst bok, dock så fann jag storyn inte speciellt komplicerad eller anmärkningsvärd. Men den var underhållande att läsa, en perfekt bok när man vill ha något inte alltför djupt men inte för lätt att läsa. Sådär alldeles lagom. Liv, däremot, nu börjar det lika något, den boken handlingen kändes mycket mer spännande och intressant. Men så är den lantliga idyllen ute i Sverige och vad som kan döljas där ibland klart mer intressant att läsa om än vad som händer i storstäderna. För vem vem vad som döljer sig bakom de fina husfasaderna med den välklippta gräsmattorna.

För Ellen Tamm är tanken på att återvända hem inte så lockande, men efter Lycke fallet så hennes liv havererat och nu har hennes mamma bestämt att hon ska hem då hon inte verkar klara sig själv längre. Men hon hinner inte ens hem innan hon får reda på att en kvinna har bragts om livet och att mordet var synnerligen våldsamt. Ellen kan inte låt bli att undersöka mordet och upptäcker att den lilla staden Stentuna har sina mörka hemligheter...

Denna bok var stråket vassare än debutboken Lycke. Jag fann storyn engagerande och jag gillade att Ellen började gräva i vad som hände den dagen hennes tvillingsyster dog. Jag tycker om böcker vars handling utspelas i småstäder där alla känner alla och jag var överraskad när jag insåg just vad för slags hemligheter som doldes under ytan. Slutet lämnade mig med en önskan att få läsa mera och jag hoppas på en fortsättning snart.

Tack till Lind & Co för recensionexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

It's a warm day in late August when crime reporter Ellen Tamm leaves Stockholm to go to her family home in Sörmland. She can no longer escape from the past and the dark memories that were brought to life when she reported the case about the missing girl Lycke in the early summer. Now she is back to where it all started when she was eight and her twin sister died. When Ellen stops to refuel in Stentuna, along Highway 52, is she was told that a woman has been found brutally murdered in a field some distance away. Nobody seems to know who she was or what she was doing in the neighborhood, and the murder shakes many in the village.

Ellen begins to investigate the dead woman's death and the more she delve into what happened, the more she realizes that idyllic little town holds dark secrets and that there is much that is not as it seems. Not least when it comes to her and her sister's death.

Liv is the second book in the series about the wayward TV4 journalist Ellen Tamm, and a sequel to Lycke which came out in 2015

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I read Lycke recently and it was a quick read book, however, I found the story not particularly complicated or outstanding. But it was entertaining to read, a perfect book when you want something not too deep, but at the same time not too easy to read. However, this book plot felt much more exciting and interesting. But then the rural idyll in Sweden and what might be hidden there sometimes more interesting to read about than what happens in the big cities. Who knows who what lies behind the beautiful house facades with manicured lawns...

For Ellen Tamm is the thought of returning home is not so attractive, but after the Lycke case has her life collapsed and now her mother decided that Ellen is going home since she does not seem to be able to take care of herself anymore. But Ellen is not even home before she finds out that a woman has been killed and that the murder was extremely violently. Ellen can't leave it alone, she starts to investigate the murder and discovers the small town of Stentuna has its dark secrets...

This book was story was much more interesting than Mikaela Bley's debut book Lycke. I found the story engaging and I liked that Ellen began to delve into what happened the day her twin sister died. I like books where the events take place in small towns where everyone knows everyone and I was surprised when I realized just what kind of secrets hidden under the surface. The end left me with a desire to learn more and I hope there will be a new book soon!

Thanks to Lind & Co for the review copy! 

Lycke is a Swedish crime novel and the first in the series about a journalist called Ellen Tamm. Ellen Tamm has some personal problem, the greatest one is that she is a bit obsessed with death. And, working as a crime reporter is probably not the best thing for her. She also lost someone close to her when she was young. In this book, does she get obsessed with a missing child case. And, throughout the book we learn that little Lycke is a child that was pretty much unloved by everyone., But why would anyone take her, and where is she?

Lycke is quite a tragic book, it highlights the fact that not everyone is suited to have children and that grown-ups just sometimes doesn't see what is going one. I was quite made about how Lycke's parents and step-mom just didn't seem to care about her, even when she went missing. Yes, they were worried, but still, it was like they hardly knew anything about her. Only her nanny seemed to care about her.

Lycke is an easy book to read, to especially thrilling, to be honest, but nevertheless, it's a page-turner. But, I have it down to the way it was written rather than the story and its characters. I have read better books about missing children. This book never really got under my skin. It was OK, but it never really surprised me.

There is a sequel to this book called Liv, and it will be interesting to read it and see if the storyline in that book is better!

Lycke is a Swedish crime novel and the first in the series about a journalist called Ellen Tamm. Ellen Tamm has some personal problem, the greatest one is that she is a bit obsessed with death. And, working as a crime reporter is probably not the best thing for her. She also lost someone close to her when she was young. In this book, does she get obsessed with a missing child case. And, throughout the book we learn that little Lycke is a child that was pretty much unloved by everyone., But why would anyone take her, and where is she?

Lycke is quite a tragic book, it highlights the fact that not everyone is suited to have children and that grown-ups just sometimes doesn't see what is going one. I was quite made about how Lycke's parents and step-mom just didn't seem to care about her, even when she went missing. Yes, they were worried, but still, it was like they hardly knew anything about her. Only her nanny seemed to care about her.

Lycke is an easy book to read, to especially thrilling, to be honest, but nevertheless, it's a page-turner. But, I have it down to the way it was written rather than the story and its characters. I have read better books about missing children. This book never really got under my skin. It was OK, but it never really surprised me.

There is a sequel to this book called Liv, and it will be interesting to read it and see if the storyline in that book is better!

Ellen's mother thinks she should never have taken on this assignment. It will remind her too much of the tragedy in her own life when she was the same age as the missing child. Ellen is the crime reporter for a TV station and a missing child is not really a crime story - not, that is, until a body is found or an abduction suspected.

For Ellen though finding the child becomes personal. She feels that the police are not taking the situation seriously enough. She has her own paid source within the police but even he at times gets it wrong. Ellen works extraordinary hours, trying to come up with new angles to follow up.

As Ellen interviews the mother, the father, the stepmother and the nanny, she gets uncomfortable vibes. This is not a child who experienced a lot of love. But she is only 8 years old, from a middle class family, and already she has been the object of a custody battle.

As the investigation continues Ellen herself becomes to object of hate email, and a vendetta by viewers commenting on her presentations. Her own past is thrown in her face.

It's a good book. The plot is thought out quite well. A number of the characters look like the perpetrator at various points, with the true person only being definitely identified at the end.
It didn't always flow that well at times to me, though. It's a translated work, so maybe that has something to do with it. It could have been edited more thoroughly, at least. I stumbled a number of times where an entire word had been missed out.
I also often found it hard to match the way Ellen spoke with how she was acting. She would be shouting, or some such thing, but it would feel out of place with the text leading up to it.
Overall it's pretty good, not the best I've read, but a lot better than a lot of books out there.
I received my copy through Goodreads First Reads.

Nachdem ich den Vorgängerband „Glücksmädchen“ gelesen hatte, war ich gespannt, wie es mit Ellen Tamm weitergeht. Die Buchbeschreibung ließ auf eine spannende Geschichte schließen. Leider wurde ich enttäuscht, denn dieses Buch ist deutlich schwächer als sein Vorgänger.
Aber worum geht es? Kriminalreporterin Ellen Tamm braucht Erholung und so fährt sie zu ihrer Mutter, um nach der klinischen Behandlung ihrer Depression wieder zurück ins Leben zu kommen. Dann wird die Leiche einer unbekannten Frau entdeckt und somit ist Ellen gleich wieder im Job.
Das Buch lässt sich gut und flüssig lesen.
Kriminalreporterin Ellen Tamm hat ihr Trauma, das sie mit dem ungeklärten Tod ihrer Schwester befallen hat, immer noch nicht verwunden. Ellen ist eine eigenartige Person, die mit nicht besonders sympathisch ist. Ihr Selbstmitleid ging mir oft auf die Nerven. Ich konnte auch nicht nachvollziehen, warum sie ausgerechnet in ihre alte Heimat Sörmland fährt, wenn ihr das doch eigentlich widerstrebt. Sie versucht herauszufinden, wer die Tote ist, aber das gestaltet sich schwierig. Aber selbst als die Identittät geklärt ist, scheint niemand etwas über die Tote zu wissen. Bei ihren Ermittlungen kann sie nicht ahnen, dass sie auch dem Geheimnis um den Tod ihrer Schwester näher kommt.
Daneben gibt es auch noch weitere Handlungsstränge um die Frauen Hanna und Alexandra. Doch was hat das alles miteinander zu tun? Die Zusammenhänge ergeben sich erst recht spät.
Die Grundstimmung in diesem Thriller (er für mich eher ein Krimi ist) ist düster und es geht auch brutal zu, doch konnte mich die Geschichte nicht wirklich packen. Obwohl die Charaktere glaubhaft beschrieben sind, gab es niemanden, den ich wirklich sympathisch fand.
Der Fall ist interessant und die Lösung auch schlüssig, aber trotzdem konnte mich das Buch nicht überzeugen.

Un romanzo avvincente ma a tratti un po' confuso. Una storia abbastanza originale ma che alla fine non ti lascia soddisfatta.