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A review by bookswithlydscl
Helle's Hound by Oskar Jensen
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
3.25* overall
This is a joint review for the Ebook and Audiobook of Helle's Hound:
4* audiobook
2.75* for the book overall
I was so excited to see that Torben Helle was coming back after the highly enjoyable 'Helle & Death' last year. Unfortunately 'Helle's Hound' didn't live up to the first book for me.
In this latest mystery for Torben, friend and mentor Dame Charlotte Lazerton is dead, found at the foot of her staircase partially eaten by her Irish wolfhound, Mortimer. Torben believes it's suspicious, the police, aside of one one Nordic Noir fan, don't, so it's up to Torben and Leyla to try and prove that it's murder.
This was overall a fun read but sadly was too long and winding and very slow to get going. It was also unevenly paced The final quarter of the book came at you like a train of information which, after the slow pace of much of the rest of the book, felt like an overload, especially as there were too many characters involved who weren't fully fleshed out for me. All of these points and what I felt was an overall unsatisfying conclusion means that sadly this one wasn't the win I hoped for.
For the audiobook, I felt that Gunnar Cauthery did a really good job with the narration. He really characterised our Torben and Leyla and their budding romance really helped break through the monotony of the bulk of the middle section of the book. He also brought out the humour of the narrative which I thoroughly enjoyed. He wasn't able to help break out the more minor characters as much as was needed to make them become proper characters but I feel that is because there were too many people involved with too few distinguishing features.
The audiobook was also really well edited and produced but was let down by the story not being as enjoyable for me.
This series has a lot of potential. The cosy scandi/nordic noir mystery set up is really appealing to me. I much preferred the tightly plotted, limited cast and isolated setting of Book 1 and hope we return to a similar style for Book 3 (if we're due another instalment).
Thank you to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books | Viper for a digital review copy of "Helle's Hound" and Profile Books Audio | Viper for a review copy of the Audiobook, both in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
This is a joint review for the Ebook and Audiobook of Helle's Hound:
4* audiobook
2.75* for the book overall
I was so excited to see that Torben Helle was coming back after the highly enjoyable 'Helle & Death' last year. Unfortunately 'Helle's Hound' didn't live up to the first book for me.
In this latest mystery for Torben, friend and mentor Dame Charlotte Lazerton is dead, found at the foot of her staircase partially eaten by her Irish wolfhound, Mortimer. Torben believes it's suspicious, the police, aside of one one Nordic Noir fan, don't, so it's up to Torben and Leyla to try and prove that it's murder.
This was overall a fun read but sadly was too long and winding and very slow to get going. It was also unevenly paced The final quarter of the book came at you like a train of information which, after the slow pace of much of the rest of the book, felt like an overload, especially as there were too many characters involved who weren't fully fleshed out for me. All of these points and what I felt was an overall unsatisfying conclusion means that sadly this one wasn't the win I hoped for.
For the audiobook, I felt that Gunnar Cauthery did a really good job with the narration. He really characterised our Torben and Leyla and their budding romance really helped break through the monotony of the bulk of the middle section of the book. He also brought out the humour of the narrative which I thoroughly enjoyed. He wasn't able to help break out the more minor characters as much as was needed to make them become proper characters but I feel that is because there were too many people involved with too few distinguishing features.
The audiobook was also really well edited and produced but was let down by the story not being as enjoyable for me.
This series has a lot of potential. The cosy scandi/nordic noir mystery set up is really appealing to me. I much preferred the tightly plotted, limited cast and isolated setting of Book 1 and hope we return to a similar style for Book 3 (if we're due another instalment).
Thank you to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books | Viper for a digital review copy of "Helle's Hound" and Profile Books Audio | Viper for a review copy of the Audiobook, both in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.