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Kimmo Joentaa #2
Silence
A prize-winning psychological crime thriller featuring melancholy Finnish detective Kimmo Joentaa.
A young girl disappears while cycling to volleyball practice. Her bike is found in exactly the same place that another girl was murdered, thirty-three years before. The original perpetrator was never brought to justice -- could they have struck again? The eeriness of the crime unsettles not only the police and public, but also someone who has been carrying a burden of guilt for many years...
Detective Kimmo Joentaa calls upon the help of his older colleague Jetola, who worked on the original murder, in the hope that they can solve both cases. But as their investigation begins, Kimmo discovers that the truth is not always what you expect.
A young girl disappears while cycling to volleyball practice. Her bike is found in exactly the same place that another girl was murdered, thirty-three years before. The original perpetrator was never brought to justice -- could they have struck again? The eeriness of the crime unsettles not only the police and public, but also someone who has been carrying a burden of guilt for many years...
Detective Kimmo Joentaa calls upon the help of his older colleague Jetola, who worked on the original murder, in the hope that they can solve both cases. But as their investigation begins, Kimmo discovers that the truth is not always what you expect.
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
13 people are currently reading
363 people want to read
About the author
Jan Costin Wagner
28 books61 followersJan Costin Wagner is a German crime fiction writer. His novels are set in Finland and feature detective Kimmo Joentaa.
Wagner studied German Literature and History at university in Frankfurt, and later worked as a journalist. His first novel, "Nachtfahrt" (Night Trip) was published to much acclaim in 2002 and won the Marlowe Prize for Best Crime Novel. His wife is a native of Finland, and they spend time both there and in Germany.His 2007 novel The Silence (German: Das Schweigen) has been adapted to a 2010 German film of the same name in English; the original name of the film in German is Das letzte Schweigen, i.e. The last Silence.
Wagner studied German Literature and History at university in Frankfurt, and later worked as a journalist. His first novel, "Nachtfahrt" (Night Trip) was published to much acclaim in 2002 and won the Marlowe Prize for Best Crime Novel. His wife is a native of Finland, and they spend time both there and in Germany.His 2007 novel The Silence (German: Das Schweigen) has been adapted to a 2010 German film of the same name in English; the original name of the film in German is Das letzte Schweigen, i.e. The last Silence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
September 1, 2023
English version below
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Ein finnischer Krimi mit all den Eigenschaften, die man von einem skadinavischen Krimi erwartet.
Nur, dass es hier ein deutscher Autor war, der seinen Krimi in Finnland spielen lässt und die Charaktere vielleicht deswegen so maßlos überzogen rüberkommen.
Ein junges Mädchen verschwindet an einer Stelle, an der vor 33 Jahren schon mal ein Mädchen verschwand und dann missbraucht und ermordet aufgefunden wurde.
Die Geschichte wird aus 3 Perspektiven erzählt. Der des ermittelnden Polizisten, der des Polizisten, der vor 33 Jahren ermittel hat und der des Mannes, der vor 33 Jahren seinem Bekannten dabei zusehen hat, was dieser dem Mädchen antat.
Das klingt jetzt gar nicht so übel, aber die handelnden Personen sind alle sehr schweigsame Menschen und wenn sie dann doch mal was sagen, sind ihre Äußerungen schwer zuzuordnen.
Daher ging mir die Geschichte zumeist ziemlich auf die Nerven. Das Ende war zwar dann gut, aber unerwartet und außerdem sehr unbefriedigend für mich.
Aus meiner Sicht ein Buch, das man lesen kann, aber nicht muss.
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A Finnish crime novel with all the characteristics one expects from a Scandinavian crime novel.
The only difference is that here it was a German author who had his crime novel set in Finland and that's possibly why the characters come across as exaggerated.
A young girl disappears in a place where a girl disappeared 33 years ago and was then found abused and murdered.
The story is told from 3 perspectives. That of the investigating police officer, that of the police officer who investigated 33 years ago and that of the man who 33 years ago watched his acquaintance do what he did to the girl.
That doesn't sound so bad, but the characters are all very silent people and when they do say something, it's hard to make sense of what they say.
That's why the story got on my nerves most of the time. The end was good, but unexpected and also very unsatisfying for me.
From my point of view, this is a book that one can read, but I don’t recommend it.
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Ein finnischer Krimi mit all den Eigenschaften, die man von einem skadinavischen Krimi erwartet.
Nur, dass es hier ein deutscher Autor war, der seinen Krimi in Finnland spielen lässt und die Charaktere vielleicht deswegen so maßlos überzogen rüberkommen.
Ein junges Mädchen verschwindet an einer Stelle, an der vor 33 Jahren schon mal ein Mädchen verschwand und dann missbraucht und ermordet aufgefunden wurde.
Die Geschichte wird aus 3 Perspektiven erzählt. Der des ermittelnden Polizisten, der des Polizisten, der vor 33 Jahren ermittel hat und der des Mannes, der vor 33 Jahren seinem Bekannten dabei zusehen hat, was dieser dem Mädchen antat.
Das klingt jetzt gar nicht so übel, aber die handelnden Personen sind alle sehr schweigsame Menschen und wenn sie dann doch mal was sagen, sind ihre Äußerungen schwer zuzuordnen.
Daher ging mir die Geschichte zumeist ziemlich auf die Nerven. Das Ende war zwar dann gut, aber unerwartet und außerdem sehr unbefriedigend für mich.
Aus meiner Sicht ein Buch, das man lesen kann, aber nicht muss.
-------------------
A Finnish crime novel with all the characteristics one expects from a Scandinavian crime novel.
The only difference is that here it was a German author who had his crime novel set in Finland and that's possibly why the characters come across as exaggerated.
A young girl disappears in a place where a girl disappeared 33 years ago and was then found abused and murdered.
The story is told from 3 perspectives. That of the investigating police officer, that of the police officer who investigated 33 years ago and that of the man who 33 years ago watched his acquaintance do what he did to the girl.
That doesn't sound so bad, but the characters are all very silent people and when they do say something, it's hard to make sense of what they say.
That's why the story got on my nerves most of the time. The end was good, but unexpected and also very unsatisfying for me.
From my point of view, this is a book that one can read, but I don’t recommend it.
May 3, 2015
White Man Pain. The Novel
Well one of the many. But it's a prime example of one.
Featuring:
- a guy who once witnessed his friend raping and murdering a girl. It was horrible enough that he friend-broke up with him afterwards but not horrible enough that he told the police. It is now more than 30 years later and he still feels guilty but not guilty enough to tell the police. Basically a third of the book is him feeling guilty and don't you feel sorry for him? For the guy who is responsible that a rapist and murderer got away?
- the perfect, flawless, angel-like wife of the inspector. Of course she is also dead. This way our inspector can have lots of white-man-pain about it but the author doesn't have to write female characters. And dead women are much more interesting anyway.
- a crime-novel Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Yes, such a thing exists and believe me: you don't want to know any details. It's enough that I'm headdesking everytime I think about it.
Basically:
Screw you book.
Well one of the many. But it's a prime example of one.
Featuring:
- a guy who once witnessed his friend raping and murdering a girl. It was horrible enough that he friend-broke up with him afterwards but not horrible enough that he told the police. It is now more than 30 years later and he still feels guilty but not guilty enough to tell the police. Basically a third of the book is him feeling guilty and don't you feel sorry for him? For the guy who is responsible that a rapist and murderer got away?
- the perfect, flawless, angel-like wife of the inspector. Of course she is also dead. This way our inspector can have lots of white-man-pain about it but the author doesn't have to write female characters. And dead women are much more interesting anyway.
- a crime-novel Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Yes, such a thing exists and believe me: you don't want to know any details. It's enough that I'm headdesking everytime I think about it.
Basically:
Screw you book.
November 8, 2010
A few years ago I read Ice Moon, the first of Jan Costin Wagner's novels to be translated into English, and I was immediately curious about the next. Wagner is German, but his Detective Kimmo Joentaa is Finnish. His plots are set in Turku and Helsinki, amid forests and lakes and the abundant natural beauty of Finland's climate and geography. For a Californian like me, the landscape described through Joentaa's eyes is enough to set me dreaming of endless snowy nights or a midnight sun flickering on the dead calm of an isolated lake.
Silence is the second in the series. Joentaa is still grieving over the wife he was grieving over in the first book, but this melancholy aspect isn't as lachrymose as it sounds. The plot in the second book has to do with the long-ago abduction, rape and murder of a young girl, an unsolved case that haunts its original investigator even beyond his retirement. When it all seems to happen again (the same spot, method, etc.) the plot picks up again.
What sets Wagner's version of this standard trope apart is the delicacy with which he handles all the characters, including the killer and his inadvertent accomplice, the parents of the missing girls, and the handful of detectives drawn into the mystery. Sometimes critics characterize policiers being hard-boiled; I'd say this one is basted. Each narrative layer is seasoned and gently positioned, until the story achieves its final form, perfectly composed. Wagner's books aren't for readers who want pulse-pounding action, they're for the more contemplative sort who are willing to savor the sorrow, defeats and small human victories along the way to finding the killer – who by the end, is somehow beside the point. A finely spun tale of grief and unexpected compassion.
Silence is the second in the series. Joentaa is still grieving over the wife he was grieving over in the first book, but this melancholy aspect isn't as lachrymose as it sounds. The plot in the second book has to do with the long-ago abduction, rape and murder of a young girl, an unsolved case that haunts its original investigator even beyond his retirement. When it all seems to happen again (the same spot, method, etc.) the plot picks up again.
What sets Wagner's version of this standard trope apart is the delicacy with which he handles all the characters, including the killer and his inadvertent accomplice, the parents of the missing girls, and the handful of detectives drawn into the mystery. Sometimes critics characterize policiers being hard-boiled; I'd say this one is basted. Each narrative layer is seasoned and gently positioned, until the story achieves its final form, perfectly composed. Wagner's books aren't for readers who want pulse-pounding action, they're for the more contemplative sort who are willing to savor the sorrow, defeats and small human victories along the way to finding the killer – who by the end, is somehow beside the point. A finely spun tale of grief and unexpected compassion.
August 19, 2016
Ich bin froh, Jan Costin Wagner noch eine Chance gegeben zu haben, denn dieser Krimi rund um Kimmo Joentaa war eine kurzweilige und spannende Sommerlektüre! Die Handlung spitzt sich stetig zu, bis zu einem völlig überraschenden Ende.
February 24, 2023
Das Mädchen Sinakka ist verschwunden ist auf dem Weg zum Volleyballtraining verschwunden. Ihr Fahrrad wird kurze Zeit später in der Nähe eines Sees gefunden, genau an der Stelle, an der vor über dreißig Jahren ein anderes Mädchen verschwunden ist. Für Kommissar Kimmo Joentaa sind die Ermittlungen nicht leicht denn er weiß wie es ist, einen geliebten Menschen zu verlieren. Aber er ist nicht der Einzige, den dieser Fall beschäftigt. Auch sein Kollege Ketola, der schon im Ruhestand ist, ist bei den Ermittlungen dabei. Denn er war derjenige, der den Täter beim ersten Mord nie finden konnte.
Alles fängt mit dem Mord vor dreißig Jahren an. Ich kannte die Täter und wusste auch, was sie in der Gegenwart machen. Trotzdem war ich mir nicht sicher, wer von ihnen für das Verschwinden von Sinakka verantwortlich ist.
Joenta und Ketola führen keine Ermittlung im eigentlichen Sinn durch, es ist mehr ein gegenseitiges Abtasten von Ermittlern und Befragten. Egal, ob es Verdächtige oder Angehörige sind. Oft steht zwar eine Frage im Raum, wird aber nicht ausgesprochen. Vieles passiert in den Gedanken und Überlegungen der Charaktere. Das sorgt für eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre im Buch, was mir gut gefallen hat.
Alles fängt mit dem Mord vor dreißig Jahren an. Ich kannte die Täter und wusste auch, was sie in der Gegenwart machen. Trotzdem war ich mir nicht sicher, wer von ihnen für das Verschwinden von Sinakka verantwortlich ist.
Joenta und Ketola führen keine Ermittlung im eigentlichen Sinn durch, es ist mehr ein gegenseitiges Abtasten von Ermittlern und Befragten. Egal, ob es Verdächtige oder Angehörige sind. Oft steht zwar eine Frage im Raum, wird aber nicht ausgesprochen. Vieles passiert in den Gedanken und Überlegungen der Charaktere. Das sorgt für eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre im Buch, was mir gut gefallen hat.
March 8, 2024
3,5. Spannend und gut aufgebaut.
Ein Nebenthema der Haupthandlung ist Trauer in verschiedene Facetten (Tod der Ehefrau nach kurzer Ehe/nach langer Ehe, Ermodung der Tochter). Vor allem wenn es um die wohl relativ jung verstorbene Frau des Kommissars Joentaa geht, erscheint mir das sehr gelungen - die Dumpfheit des Schmerzes und die gedankliche Allgegenwart der Verstorbenen werden deutlich (den 1. Band der Serie, "Eismond", habe ich leider noch nicht gelesen.
Ein Nebenthema der Haupthandlung ist Trauer in verschiedene Facetten (Tod der Ehefrau nach kurzer Ehe/nach langer Ehe, Ermodung der Tochter). Vor allem wenn es um die wohl relativ jung verstorbene Frau des Kommissars Joentaa geht, erscheint mir das sehr gelungen - die Dumpfheit des Schmerzes und die gedankliche Allgegenwart der Verstorbenen werden deutlich (den 1. Band der Serie, "Eismond", habe ich leider noch nicht gelesen.
February 23, 2018
Somewhat strange quirky and at times slightly confusing translated police procedural.
Well written full of entertaining characters, even the bad ones, with a good twist, or at least i did not expect it. Short easy enjoyable read.
Well written full of entertaining characters, even the bad ones, with a good twist, or at least i did not expect it. Short easy enjoyable read.
May 5, 2016
Silence is the second book by Jan Costin Wagner to feature his introspective detective Kimmo Joentaa based in the Finnish city of Turku. Despite the numerous recommendations for Ice Moon, the opening title of this series, I came across Silence first and found that it worked well as a standalone read. Joentaa lost his wife to cancer in the first of the series and his grief is still an open wound throughout Silence, set approximately two years later. Much of the focus of this novel is on how Kimmo is coping and managing his emotions in the wake of her demise.
Silence opens with a haunting prologue from the summer of 1974 seen through the eyes of one of the complicit parties involved in the rape and murder of a thirteen year old girl. The story then continues some thirty-three year later with the retiring Antsi Ketola musing on his career in CID. Ketola remembers one particular case which to this day remains unsolved and relays the investigation to Joentaa giving a sharp insight into how this has haunted over the passing years. Six months later when an incident bearing all the hallmarks of this previous case occurs this triggers a memory with Joentaa and brings the return of Ketola and triggers another look at this original case.
Silence is a somewhat unconventional police procedural and Jan Costin Wagner is less concerned with the logistics of a crime and pinning down the perpetrator, and instead focuses more on the parties affected by a crime. The emphasis throughout is altogether more psychological and Costin Wagner uses multiple points of view to show the emotional upheaval on the family of a murdered child, the detectives who investigate the crime and, most significantly, those that commit a crime. The review of the original case permits readers to see how a mother has rebuilt her life after her child went missing thirty-three years ago and the current case depicts how a marriage can be ravaged by the horror of losing a child.
Whilst I was very fond of Kimmo Joentaa and appreciated his integrity and sensitive approach, I was a little more bemused by the retired Antsi Ketola with his random outbursts of laughter and fairly off-beat personality. As Silence opens Ketola is working his final day heading up CID in Turku and I would be interested to know how he managed to run a focused police team in Ice Moon. The lack of direction under the new leadership of Sundström also seemed fairly haphazard and Costin Wagner seems to meander to an eventual resolution of this unsolved case.
Overall I was very impressed with the sensitivity shown towards the victims of crime and hearing from one of the perpetrators in the first incident showed how sometimes the very toughest battles are those we face internally. Memories and a guilty conscience can haunt the perpetrators. Several well disguised twists near the end of this story also took me by surprise and this poignant novel reminded me just how hard it is to talk about those emotions which hurt the most. I fully intend to read more of Jan Costin Wagner and have already purchased a novel the fourth novel of this intelligent series.
Silence opens with a haunting prologue from the summer of 1974 seen through the eyes of one of the complicit parties involved in the rape and murder of a thirteen year old girl. The story then continues some thirty-three year later with the retiring Antsi Ketola musing on his career in CID. Ketola remembers one particular case which to this day remains unsolved and relays the investigation to Joentaa giving a sharp insight into how this has haunted over the passing years. Six months later when an incident bearing all the hallmarks of this previous case occurs this triggers a memory with Joentaa and brings the return of Ketola and triggers another look at this original case.
Silence is a somewhat unconventional police procedural and Jan Costin Wagner is less concerned with the logistics of a crime and pinning down the perpetrator, and instead focuses more on the parties affected by a crime. The emphasis throughout is altogether more psychological and Costin Wagner uses multiple points of view to show the emotional upheaval on the family of a murdered child, the detectives who investigate the crime and, most significantly, those that commit a crime. The review of the original case permits readers to see how a mother has rebuilt her life after her child went missing thirty-three years ago and the current case depicts how a marriage can be ravaged by the horror of losing a child.
Whilst I was very fond of Kimmo Joentaa and appreciated his integrity and sensitive approach, I was a little more bemused by the retired Antsi Ketola with his random outbursts of laughter and fairly off-beat personality. As Silence opens Ketola is working his final day heading up CID in Turku and I would be interested to know how he managed to run a focused police team in Ice Moon. The lack of direction under the new leadership of Sundström also seemed fairly haphazard and Costin Wagner seems to meander to an eventual resolution of this unsolved case.
Overall I was very impressed with the sensitivity shown towards the victims of crime and hearing from one of the perpetrators in the first incident showed how sometimes the very toughest battles are those we face internally. Memories and a guilty conscience can haunt the perpetrators. Several well disguised twists near the end of this story also took me by surprise and this poignant novel reminded me just how hard it is to talk about those emotions which hurt the most. I fully intend to read more of Jan Costin Wagner and have already purchased a novel the fourth novel of this intelligent series.
July 23, 2012
Because SILENCE is the third of the Detective Kimmo Joentaa series, I read it third. (Rebellious you may well think, not paying attention is a much better explanation).
One of the things that I most love about these three books - ICE MOON, SILENCE and THE WINTER OF THE LIONS is the sheer beauty of everything. The place, the culture and the emotion. Sure Joentaa is in deep mourning for his wife who died too young, but there's no sense of self-pity, this is simply a beautiful example of a man struggling quietly, emotionally, but with enormous dignity to find his path, to resurrect his life.
Whilst he's doing that, aspects of real life must go on - in SILENCE it's about the past and the present - the long unsolved abduction, rape and murder of a young girl, and a copycat crime - the same spot, same method, same outcome. None of which seems to make sense given the great time gap between the two awful crimes.
One of the things that stays with you from all of these books is the gentleness, almost delicacy with which Wagner handles his characters, their places and the events that affect them. Everyone - parents, past and present police officers, even the killer are compassionately drawn. SILENCE is again a book more about why than how, and definitely about the after affects on so many participants - be they unwitting or complicit. It's a book about choices, it's a book about grief, and most of all it's a book about life. Needless to say, you've probably worked out, I loved this series - although I think, unlike me, you'd be best to read them in order to really get a feeling for Joentaa's journey in particular. These are books for those who are less interested in vengeance and action, and looking for something contemplative, compassionate and incredibly moving.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
One of the things that I most love about these three books - ICE MOON, SILENCE and THE WINTER OF THE LIONS is the sheer beauty of everything. The place, the culture and the emotion. Sure Joentaa is in deep mourning for his wife who died too young, but there's no sense of self-pity, this is simply a beautiful example of a man struggling quietly, emotionally, but with enormous dignity to find his path, to resurrect his life.
Whilst he's doing that, aspects of real life must go on - in SILENCE it's about the past and the present - the long unsolved abduction, rape and murder of a young girl, and a copycat crime - the same spot, same method, same outcome. None of which seems to make sense given the great time gap between the two awful crimes.
One of the things that stays with you from all of these books is the gentleness, almost delicacy with which Wagner handles his characters, their places and the events that affect them. Everyone - parents, past and present police officers, even the killer are compassionately drawn. SILENCE is again a book more about why than how, and definitely about the after affects on so many participants - be they unwitting or complicit. It's a book about choices, it's a book about grief, and most of all it's a book about life. Needless to say, you've probably worked out, I loved this series - although I think, unlike me, you'd be best to read them in order to really get a feeling for Joentaa's journey in particular. These are books for those who are less interested in vengeance and action, and looking for something contemplative, compassionate and incredibly moving.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
March 12, 2012
This Finnish detective novel, written by a German, is a muddled ethereal romp through a 33 year old murder case, somewhat in the style of Crime and Punishment. I found it of little interest. I am not sure what the message is but the plot lacks any shred of credulity. The detectives on the case start laughing for no apparent reason. Either the translation is horrific or most Finnish detectives are insane. Perhaps it is the climate. What saves this novel is the character of Timo who as a wannabe Raskolnikov gives us another look at how guilt can erode one's character.
July 12, 2012
Ich lese die Krimi-Reihe um Kimmo Joentaa zwar in komplett falscher Reihenfolge, angenehmerweise macht das aber nichts. "Das Schweigen" ist nichts für Leute, die Tempo und Action brauchen. Eigentlich ist es eher eine Psychographie als ein Krimi. Täter,Opfer, Angehörige und Polizisten - alle Charaktere sind bis ins Detail ausgearbeitet. Obwohl eigentlich nicht viel passiert, fand ich das Buch wirklich spannend. Der fünfte Stern fehlt nur, weil man am Schluß (gerade weil er glaubwürdig ist), ein wenig unbefriedigt zurückbleibt.
January 10, 2015
This book was better in that the protagonist did not spend the whole book in mourning, but he did not seem the main investigator of the crime, which is the hunt for a missing teen as related to past crimes. The solution in this book, leads to a sequel, I am sure.
July 10, 2025
This is a very cleverly constructed and "original" plot.
At the beginning of the story Antsi Ketola is retiring from the police force. There is one case that he was involved in when he was a young policeman. Thirty three years ago a young girl disappeared on her way home. She was very close to home. Her bicycle was found not far away but her body was not found until much later. The killer was never found and the case remained unsolved. Ketola remembers that in the basement of the police station there is a "reconstruction" of the crime scene as well as the case files, gathering dust, so he hunts them out and takes them home with him.
Six months after Ketola's retirement, it appears that the same killer has struck again: a girl has disappeared on her way to volleyball practice. Her bicycle is at the crossroads where the original crime took place, but there are no clues about what has happened. Ketola insists on becoming involved in the investigation even though he is no longer a policeman, although during his involvement he behaves as if he still is.
Read this carefully. The final "resolution" will stagger you. But has the original case been solved. We, the readers, know what happened, but has the murderer been apprehended?
At the beginning of the story Antsi Ketola is retiring from the police force. There is one case that he was involved in when he was a young policeman. Thirty three years ago a young girl disappeared on her way home. She was very close to home. Her bicycle was found not far away but her body was not found until much later. The killer was never found and the case remained unsolved. Ketola remembers that in the basement of the police station there is a "reconstruction" of the crime scene as well as the case files, gathering dust, so he hunts them out and takes them home with him.
Six months after Ketola's retirement, it appears that the same killer has struck again: a girl has disappeared on her way to volleyball practice. Her bicycle is at the crossroads where the original crime took place, but there are no clues about what has happened. Ketola insists on becoming involved in the investigation even though he is no longer a policeman, although during his involvement he behaves as if he still is.
Read this carefully. The final "resolution" will stagger you. But has the original case been solved. We, the readers, know what happened, but has the murderer been apprehended?
May 10, 2018
Un développement franchement laborieux avec un style qui s'appuie presque uniquement sur un enchaînement de phrases nominales, et le ton laconique qui va avec. Au milieu du livre, j'ai fini par lire en diagonale pour éviter les paragraphes-paraphrases, répétitions (le meurtre a eu lieu il y a 33 ans, on a compris, Kimmo pense à Sanna et Aku plonge dans le lac 24/7) et scènes ayant très certainement un objectif pour l'auteur mais très sincèrement aucun intérêt pour le lecteur, et avoir le fin mot de l'histoire, pourtant original, mais n'ai pu passer outre les parallèles entre certaines scènes concommittentes, tellement mal amenées qu'elles m'ont faites mal aux yeux.
September 17, 2023
Unsatisfied [SPOILER ALERT]
I picked up this book from a second-hand store — I was intrigued by the title and when I picked it up and read the summary at the back, I was interested. I am into the whole crime solving genre. But the crime in this get solved. I just finished the last page today and I am feeling very unsatisfied.
The thing I keep thinking about is how the plot represents a very close call to the reality of everyday life in our world. The ugly bits of reality. It’s so real & raw. And so sad.
I picked up this book from a second-hand store — I was intrigued by the title and when I picked it up and read the summary at the back, I was interested. I am into the whole crime solving genre. But the crime in this get solved. I just finished the last page today and I am feeling very unsatisfied.
The thing I keep thinking about is how the plot represents a very close call to the reality of everyday life in our world. The ugly bits of reality. It’s so real & raw. And so sad.
January 23, 2022
I never would have found this book on my own, but I received it a while back from a Used Books Monthly subscription. The story is not terrible, but the translation is doing it no favors. It’s jumpy and hard to follow, as the choice was made to sometimes refer to characters by their first names and sometimes by their last. The translation of the dialogue is so bizarre it makes every detectives come across as manic and deranged.
August 24, 2018
A dos años de la pérdida de su esposa, Kimmo Joentaa se encuentra con un nuevo caso. Una joven desaparece sin dejar más rastros que su mochila con sangre y su bicicleta aparece tirada, en el mismo lugar donde hace treinta y tres años desapareció otra joven.
La culpa, el remordimiento y los malos recuerdos son los verdaderos protagonistas de esta historia.
La culpa, el remordimiento y los malos recuerdos son los verdaderos protagonistas de esta historia.
June 16, 2020
I love slow-paced books. And I am a big fan of Scandinavian murder mysteries. But I found this book way too slow. Maybe it's a poor translation, I have no way of knowing that, but a lot if the dialogue (more generally, the whole interaction between characters) seemed sorely lacking in meaningful content. It's not enough to make characters say words if that "dialogue" doesn't add to the story.
May 22, 2019
Schon "Eismond" war ein sehr ungewöhnlicher, faszinierender Krimi, doch "Das Schweigen" fand ich noch etwas besser. Wagner schafft es, völlig von den ausgetretenen Pfaden der Kriminalliteratur abzuweichen und auf wenigen Seiten sehr intensive Geschichten mit "echten" Menschen zu erzählen.
July 27, 2022
De kaft past zeer goed bij het verhaal.
Het zesde zintuig lost het raadsel op. Dit op zich is al een raadsel.
Na 33 jaar erkent de moeder van het slachtoffer de dader. vreemd maar waar.
Het verhaal en de spanning is wel mooi opgebouwd.
Het zesde zintuig lost het raadsel op. Dit op zich is al een raadsel.
Na 33 jaar erkent de moeder van het slachtoffer de dader. vreemd maar waar.
Het verhaal en de spanning is wel mooi opgebouwd.
November 3, 2022
Ich fand den Krimi ganz interessant. Ich war gleich im Prolog entsetzt und habe überlegt, ob ich überhaupt weiterlesen soll. Er hat sich dann aber doch ganz interessant entwickelt. Nicht die Art von Auflösung am Ende, die man von einem Krimi erwarten mag.
bailed
September 17, 2023Why'd I bail? I feel like I've either read this book before or attempted to read it before and I think I watched the movie. Anyway, I just tried to read it again and still can't, so, into the bin it goes.
December 28, 2023
Интересна история престъпление без заподозрени, мотив и следи и за капак напомнящо на подобно от преди 33 години. Всеки персонаж носи своя собствена тегоба. Повествованието е доста сбито откъм думи напомня дори на поезия.
July 12, 2024
Its a slow read. The plot builds up your curiosity but the end was for me personally disappointing. Wish it could be a little more gripping! And ya, every sentence repeats the names of the characters, may be a better usage of pronouns would have helped
October 19, 2018
'Not as good as Ice Moon.
June 5, 2019
Spannend und mit interessanter Wendung.
January 26, 2021
Gut konstruiert, aber zuviel Befindlichkeit zuwenig Spannung. Es hilft nicht, dass der Krimi in Finnland spielt.
April 24, 2021
If i could give zero stars I would
August 24, 2023
Personalmente siento que faltó un poco de contexto en ciertas partes, mucho.
Sentí vacíos, pero creo que el asco que se puede sentir en ciertas partes es real.
Sentí vacíos, pero creo que el asco que se puede sentir en ciertas partes es real.
October 16, 2023
J'ai trouvé l'adaptation allemande 'Il était une fois un meurtre' bien plus profonde et mieux menée.
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