Tag: European literature

The Last Pilgrim (Tommy Bergmann: Book 1) by Gard Sveen

~ Jolie ~ 1 Comment
The Last Pilgrim (Tommy Bergmann Book 1) by [Sveen, Gard]

Publisher: AmazonCrossing

Date of publication: August 23rd, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, War, European Literature, Scandinavian Literature, Spy Thriller, Espionage, Adult Fiction

Series: Tommy Bergmann

The Last Pilgrim – Book 1

Hell Is Open—Book 2

Blod i dans—Book 3

Bjornen—Book 4

Drommenes gud—Book 5

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | Alibris | IndieBound | Indigo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Young, lovely Norwegian Agnes Gerner is waging a dangerous and secret fight. Outwardly, she is a devoted Nazi sympathizer engaged to a prominent businessman. In fact, she is part of an underground resistance doing everything to win the war against the Germans. The only hope she has of being reunited with the man she truly loves—who serves under the code name “Pilgrim”—is if the Nazis are defeated. Of course, there’s no guarantee that she’ll be alive when that happens…

Many years later, three sets of remains are found in a popular Oslo forest—two adults and a child. Despite his boss’s call to not spend extra time on the old case, Detective Tommy Bergmann cannot help but dig deeper, especially as he uncovers connections to a more recent murder. As he unravels the secrets of the past, it becomes clear that everything is permissible in war—and that only those who reject love can come out victorious.

My review:

I wouldn’t say I liked this book when I first started reading it. I had a lot of problems keeping my attention focused on it. Once I got past the first few chapters, I started to like the book.

I didn’t expect that I would like Tommy Bergmann by the end of the book. In the beginning, I detested him. He admitted that he beat his girlfriend over their 12-year relationship. He did have an awesome work ethic, and his remorse for his past behavior came across the pages. Even though he is a fictional character, I wanted to slip him a card to a psychologist. When he had a chance with another woman, he called it off because of his issues with his ex-girlfriend.

Agnes annoyed the ever-living out of me. I can’t put a finger on it, but I read her chapters with a bad taste in my mouth. I did find it fascinating how female spies were regarded during World War 2. Agnes proved them wrong. Her scenes with The Pilgrim also didn’t ring true to me. I figured out that he wanted a piece of ass and a place to crash, and she fell in love with him.

I liked the dual storylines. The author kept them apart and devoted entire chapters to Tommy and Agnes. I got confused was the beginning of the book when Kaj and the detective were killed. I got confused in the 2003 chapters when Tommy came to the crime scene. And then when he was called the woods when they found the bones.

The author did a great job keeping the killers under wraps until the end. He took me on a multi-country jaunt to find out how those two cases were connected. I did figure out the 1942 storyline about halfway through the book. But the 2003 storyline (and how they connected) did take me by surprise, and I was a little shocked by the ending.

I would recommend The Last Pilgrim to anyone over 21. There is sex and lots of violence.

If you liked The Last Pilgrim, you will enjoy these books:

The Beauty of the End by Debbie Howells

~ Jolie ~ Leave a comment
The Beauty of the End by [Howells, Debbie]

Publisher: Kensington

Date of Publication: July 26, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Adult, Contemporary, European Literature, British Literature

Purchase Links: Amazon | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | Indigo

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the acclaimed author of The Bones of You comes a haunting and heartbreaking new psychological thriller about a man thrust into the middle of a murder investigation, forced to confront the secrets of his ex-lover’s past.

“I was fourteen when I fell in love with a goddess. . .”

So begins the testimony of Noah Calaway, an ex-lawyer with a sideline in armchair criminal psychology. Now living an aimless life in an inherited cottage in the English countryside, Noah is haunted by the memory of the beguiling young woman who left him at the altar sixteen years earlier. Then one day he receives a troubling phone call. April, the woman he once loved, lies in a coma, the victim of an apparent overdose–and the lead suspect in a brutal murder. Deep in his bones, Noah believes that April is innocent. Then again, he also believed they would spend the rest of their lives together.

While Noah searches for evidence that will clear April’s name, a teenager named Ella begins to sift through the secrets of her own painful family history. The same age as April was when Noah first met her, Ella harbors a revelation that could be the key to solving the murder. As the two stories converge, there are shocking consequences when at last, the truth emerges.

Or so everyone believes. . .

Set in a borderland where the past casts its shadow on the present, with a time-shifting narrative that will mesmerize and surprise, The Beauty of the End is both a masterpiece of suspense and a powerful rumination on lost love

I tried to get into this book and like it. I couldn’t get past Noah’s obsession with April. It was creepy and, at some points, smothering. Everyone around him could see that but him. It breaks him when she ends their relationship, and he is never the same.

The book starts when Noah gets a call from his childhood friend about April. She overdosed but not before killing her stepfather. He rushes to her bedside and begins investigating the mystery of what happened.

This is when I met Ella, a troubled 15-year-old in therapy. She has a terrible secret that she found while snooping through her father’s desk.

This is also where the book started jumping around. It would go from the present to when Noah first met April to the present to when they were living together. Then add Ella’s story (which was in italics), which got very confusing.

The suspense part of the book was well written. The author threw red herrings, but I was shocked when it came down to reveal the truth. It wasn’t even close to what I thought or what the author led me to believe.

The ending seemed a little rushed, leaving me feeling that there should have been something more. I didn’t like how April was portrayed at the end. It went against everything that we were told during the story. But, in a way, it made sense.

I would recommend The Beauty of the End to anyone over 16. There are nongraphic sex scenes, mild violence, and mild language.

If you enjoyed reading The Beauty of the End, you will enjoy reading these books: