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Minnesota Trilogy #3
Ravnene
"Ravnene" er siste bok i den kritikerroste Minnesota-trilogien, og avslutter historien om den norskættede politimannen Lance Hansen
Under en iskald jakttur avslører Lance Hansen at han mistenker broren Andy for drap, og det ender i et skuddrama mellom brødrene. Når "Ravnene" begynner er Lance gått i eksil i frykt for hva Andy kan finne på som hevn. Samtidig plages han av tankene på at en mann kan være uskyldig dømt for noe Andy har gjort. Lance trekkes tilbake mot Lake Superior. Der møter han Chrissy, Andys tenåringsdatter, som skal vise seg å spille en uventet rolle både for drapsmysteriet og i forholdet mellom de to brødrene.
Med "Ravnene" viser Vidar Sundstøl nok en gang hvilken sjelden evne han har til å spinne en nervepirrende vev av både ytre og indre historier.
Spilletid: 07:55:27
Under en iskald jakttur avslører Lance Hansen at han mistenker broren Andy for drap, og det ender i et skuddrama mellom brødrene. Når "Ravnene" begynner er Lance gått i eksil i frykt for hva Andy kan finne på som hevn. Samtidig plages han av tankene på at en mann kan være uskyldig dømt for noe Andy har gjort. Lance trekkes tilbake mot Lake Superior. Der møter han Chrissy, Andys tenåringsdatter, som skal vise seg å spille en uventet rolle både for drapsmysteriet og i forholdet mellom de to brødrene.
Med "Ravnene" viser Vidar Sundstøl nok en gang hvilken sjelden evne han har til å spinne en nervepirrende vev av både ytre og indre historier.
Spilletid: 07:55:27
7 pages, Audio CD
First published April 15, 2011
21 people are currently reading
666 people want to read
About the author
Vidar Sundstøl
26 books60 followersNorwegian author, born in 1963. Lives in Telemark, Southern Norway. Married to Shea Sundstøl (California, US).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
February 26, 2015
The Ravens marks the completion of Sundstol's Minnesota Trilogy which began with The Land of Dreams, followed by Only the Dead. Here the multiple story lines begun in the first book find their end: solution to the murder of the Norwegian tourist, solution to the tangled Hansen family situation, even some clarification of the generations long legends surrounding both the Norwegian and Ojibwe ancestors.
Along they way there are more moody and, at times, beautiful descriptions of the Lake Superior area, the almost mystical landscape. The plot takes multiple twists and turns as Lance Hansen follows his twisted path to find the truth. And this may be the weakness of the book---the path becomes just too long and twisted with the focus on Lance's inner turmoil perhaps lasting too long.
Overall, I am glad I read this series and would read more from this author but I could see this having been written in two parts with a reduction in some of Lance's personal story (though perhaps that has to be there as a reflection of his family and the immigrants' difficult past.)
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review.
Along they way there are more moody and, at times, beautiful descriptions of the Lake Superior area, the almost mystical landscape. The plot takes multiple twists and turns as Lance Hansen follows his twisted path to find the truth. And this may be the weakness of the book---the path becomes just too long and twisted with the focus on Lance's inner turmoil perhaps lasting too long.
Overall, I am glad I read this series and would read more from this author but I could see this having been written in two parts with a reduction in some of Lance's personal story (though perhaps that has to be there as a reflection of his family and the immigrants' difficult past.)
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review.
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December 27, 2011Ravnene avslutter Vidar Sundstøls Minnesota trilogi. Den første boka var ikke så ille, den andre var elendig, men bok nummer 3 er et skritt i riktig retning. Sundstøl er best på sine person- og miljøskildringer. Han er heller ikke vanskelig å lese. Vi får en løsning på saken i Ravnene, men det tar jo ufattelig lang tid. Han kunne fint ha nøyd seg med en roman på 200 sider og ikke en hel trilogi på denne historin.
September 20, 2015
People like us – we wind up like carcasses at the side of the road, and the best we can hope for is that someone will stop and chase away the ravens.
Lance Hanson has survived what he thought was an attack by his brother, Andy, at the end of Only the Dead and has been hiding out by pretending to be in Norway. In fact, he actually went to northern Ontario in Canada but now he is back in Minnesota where his niece Chrissy runs into him in a bar. He tells her he has been working undercover and makes her promise not to reveal that he’s back. He is still obsessed with the murder of a Norwegian tourist and he still suspects his brother’s involvement. As he learns more about his niece’s drug problems and her relationship with both her father and Lenny Diver, the man charged with the murder, he begins to learn more unsettling truths about his family than he had previously thought or wanted to know.
The Ravens is the third and final book in Norwegian author Vidar Sundstl’s Minnesota Trilogy. If the first book, Land of Dreams, was a strong police procedural and the second book, Only the Dead, was a claustrophobic thriller, in style The Ravens lies somewhere in between the two, a literary mystery, with elements of both books. It contains descriptions of the northern Minnesota landscape as well as Lance’s efforts to solve the case through examining the evidence like in the first book while maintaining much of the mystic qualities of the second but here much of the book is taken up with the slow and heart-breaking dissolution of a family, torn apart by secrets and lies and Lance’s inability to act faced with knowledge that could free an innocent man but could also send someone he loves to prison. Most of all, like the first two books, The Ravens is an intelligent, beautifully written and original mystery novel almost lyrical in its prose, and a fitting end to the trilogy.
Lance Hanson has survived what he thought was an attack by his brother, Andy, at the end of Only the Dead and has been hiding out by pretending to be in Norway. In fact, he actually went to northern Ontario in Canada but now he is back in Minnesota where his niece Chrissy runs into him in a bar. He tells her he has been working undercover and makes her promise not to reveal that he’s back. He is still obsessed with the murder of a Norwegian tourist and he still suspects his brother’s involvement. As he learns more about his niece’s drug problems and her relationship with both her father and Lenny Diver, the man charged with the murder, he begins to learn more unsettling truths about his family than he had previously thought or wanted to know.
The Ravens is the third and final book in Norwegian author Vidar Sundstl’s Minnesota Trilogy. If the first book, Land of Dreams, was a strong police procedural and the second book, Only the Dead, was a claustrophobic thriller, in style The Ravens lies somewhere in between the two, a literary mystery, with elements of both books. It contains descriptions of the northern Minnesota landscape as well as Lance’s efforts to solve the case through examining the evidence like in the first book while maintaining much of the mystic qualities of the second but here much of the book is taken up with the slow and heart-breaking dissolution of a family, torn apart by secrets and lies and Lance’s inability to act faced with knowledge that could free an innocent man but could also send someone he loves to prison. Most of all, like the first two books, The Ravens is an intelligent, beautifully written and original mystery novel almost lyrical in its prose, and a fitting end to the trilogy.
November 4, 2017
This is a trilogy that would have been a better read as a single volume. More aggressive editing would have served the author well; there's a dream section that ran on page after page, long after the point had been made, as one example. The narrative just didn't have the "stuff" to sustain three volumes.
May 5, 2018
Eindelijk de serie uit, staat al een paar jaar in mijn boekenkast! Deel 1 was wel leuk, deel 2 was saai maar de laatste bladzijde zorgde ervoor dat ik deel 3 toch weer wou lezen. Maar helaas viel deel 3 tegen, het was langdradig en de personage werden steeds vager. Het eind maakte het gelukkig nog een beetje goed, dus toch nog 3 sterren!
May 20, 2019
3.5 stars. This is the last book of the trilogy and overall this was a good story. A bit slow but still you stay interested.
February 3, 2016
It was definitely better than the second book, which was so bogged down. This time the story moved along like in the first part of the trilogy, but it felt like the buildup through 2.95 books was so intense that the resolution in about the last 10 pages was unsatisfying. I also didn't particularly like the protagonist, who is desperate for human connection but paralyzed by his stoic heritage. It often felt like we as readers were stuck in his head as his wheels spun in the mud, getting nowhere but causing a mess. I guess if you looked at it in terms of a sociological window into the mind of a below average intelligence man who makes poor life choices, maybe it would be more satisfying. But I was just annoyed.
January 20, 2016
The final volume is a good read and I gulped it down. I really enjoyed the entire trilogy, but have a few quibbles:
It should have been published in a single volume, which would have cut out a lot of the redundancy.
Although Sundstol's ability to render setting and the interior life of characters and action is terrific, the plot was a stretch in places and in the last volume, jumpy.
The historical murder--a major plot line--was resolved in the second volume--far too soon.
Finally, I was rooting for a different murderer in the current day murder--one who would have been a bigger surprise and much more satisfying. Can you guess who I mean?
It should have been published in a single volume, which would have cut out a lot of the redundancy.
Although Sundstol's ability to render setting and the interior life of characters and action is terrific, the plot was a stretch in places and in the last volume, jumpy.
The historical murder--a major plot line--was resolved in the second volume--far too soon.
Finally, I was rooting for a different murderer in the current day murder--one who would have been a bigger surprise and much more satisfying. Can you guess who I mean?
September 23, 2012
Brilliant. I absolutely loved it. I loved the quiet pace of the story and yet the suspense was there all the time, althrough the story. I'm really looking forward to Sundstøls next book.
It was a beautiful story. Almost 5 Stars. I warmly recommend it.
It was a beautiful story. Almost 5 Stars. I warmly recommend it.
May 2, 2022
I was surprised by the murderer at the end of this trilogy. This book was better than the second. A straightforward Nordic Noir set in the USA nordic of Lake Superior in January and February. It lacked the initial book's humor but was compelling. I appreciate the differences in tone and style between each of the books. VOL 2 was a brutal slog dank for me, but with the lightness of the first story and the straightforward detective work and reveal in the 3rd, the entire series became whole.
February 14, 2020
finished this morning 14th of february 2020 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner have read all 3 of the trilogy liked the first the mostest, the second not as much, this one was almost as good as the first but the finale is a tad hard to buy and sell oh well, makes some of what happened previously...questionable
September 24, 2019
Hmmm. Volume three is also repetitive, but at least the mystery is cleverly resolved. I did get irritated by the happy-ever-after ending for the main character. Really? After all that?
July 5, 2025
de eerste 200 blz overgeslagen en de laatste 100 gelezen. weinig gemist.
boeken leken mooier dan dat ze waren
boeken leken mooier dan dat ze waren
October 27, 2023
Really enjoyed this series. Great sense of place; the north shore of Lake Superior.
July 31, 2017
I agree with the Norwegian reviews -- thank you, Google translate -- this could have been condensed with the other two books to make a single effective book. I won't go into details -- if you've read it, you'll know what I mean. If you read the first book, this one is essential, and not unpleasant. I do think you could skip the second book without missing much -- it is the equivalent to a chapter in my mind.
I got a little tired with the character of Lance. I decided later what his problem was -- he was overwhelmed by the landscape. Lake Superior, the weather, the history are so powerful in the book. Reading about Lance's struggles is at times like watching someone washed overboard by a huge wave and saved, barely, by a tether or life jacket, somehow pulled back on board. OK, it's true that people are puny, next to the lake, and the power of nature here is intense, when you're paying attention to it, or forced to. This sense and love of place, the depiction of this powerful landscape and natural forces, is what made this series attractive and rewarding to me as a Duluth resident. Some people like to say up here that the cold "keeps the riffraff out." I have problems with this statement -- who's the riffraff? -- but it does capture this sense that a bracing environment helps make you strong. I wish Lance had been a little stronger in will and mind, had done a better job of holding up against the landscape.
I would objectively give this 3 stars, but I wanted to rate it higher than the second book.
I got a little tired with the character of Lance. I decided later what his problem was -- he was overwhelmed by the landscape. Lake Superior, the weather, the history are so powerful in the book. Reading about Lance's struggles is at times like watching someone washed overboard by a huge wave and saved, barely, by a tether or life jacket, somehow pulled back on board. OK, it's true that people are puny, next to the lake, and the power of nature here is intense, when you're paying attention to it, or forced to. This sense and love of place, the depiction of this powerful landscape and natural forces, is what made this series attractive and rewarding to me as a Duluth resident. Some people like to say up here that the cold "keeps the riffraff out." I have problems with this statement -- who's the riffraff? -- but it does capture this sense that a bracing environment helps make you strong. I wish Lance had been a little stronger in will and mind, had done a better job of holding up against the landscape.
I would objectively give this 3 stars, but I wanted to rate it higher than the second book.
April 21, 2024
3.5 stars. I think this is the first book (or series of books) that I’ve read where I just don’t really like the main character. He’s not all bad, but on the whole I just don’t like him. That made for a weird feeling I had throughout the trilogy. The author did a great job of stretching out the mystery and surprising me a few times, though those surprises were harder to understand than the one that was primary in the series. I liked how each of the books had a different main secondary character that Lance was connected with and that was a good way to let the reader get to know him, though there were times when I felt that the rest of the characters may have been more interesting than the main one.
Something that bothered me throughout the series was the repetition of certain descriptions (both within each book themselves as well as within the series as a whole). When writers do this it conveys a lack of trust in the reader, as though we’re not paying enough attention. It feels like wasted time for everyone and takes away from the story; it pulls me out of the story and that’s what you don’t want when you’re immersed in another world.
Overall, this was a good series, full of good, drawn out mysteries, set in a region that I am wholly unfamiliar with. I enjoyed the scenery, the different seasons experienced.
Something that bothered me throughout the series was the repetition of certain descriptions (both within each book themselves as well as within the series as a whole). When writers do this it conveys a lack of trust in the reader, as though we’re not paying enough attention. It feels like wasted time for everyone and takes away from the story; it pulls me out of the story and that’s what you don’t want when you’re immersed in another world.
Overall, this was a good series, full of good, drawn out mysteries, set in a region that I am wholly unfamiliar with. I enjoyed the scenery, the different seasons experienced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2025
A great finish to Vidar Sundstøl's Minnesota Trilogy. While the second novel slowed the story down, the third book ramped things up. As Minnesota awakens after a long, hard cold winter, Minnesotans come out in droves and begin all the projects they've put off since fall.
Lance Hansen, the "forest cop," awakens from his own self-imposed winter and decides that he needs to know the truth of what happened the night that Georg Lofthus was savagely murdered at Baraga's Cross. By doing so, he knows that his family in someway will be destroyed, but not doing so will destroy his own soul.
Sundstøl does an excellent job of describing the North Shore's unique landscape and culture. He also masterfully plants little seeds of possibilities... of possible outcomes, of possible suspects, and possible motives. I thought I had the whole thing figured out at the beginning of this last novel, then I was certain I knew who killed Lofthus and why, by the end I was wrong about it all, but I wouldn't say that I was stunned because Sundstøl did such a masterful job sowing those seeds of possibilities.
Vidar Sundstøl, like many modern Norwegian writers is a master storyteller.
Lance Hansen, the "forest cop," awakens from his own self-imposed winter and decides that he needs to know the truth of what happened the night that Georg Lofthus was savagely murdered at Baraga's Cross. By doing so, he knows that his family in someway will be destroyed, but not doing so will destroy his own soul.
Sundstøl does an excellent job of describing the North Shore's unique landscape and culture. He also masterfully plants little seeds of possibilities... of possible outcomes, of possible suspects, and possible motives. I thought I had the whole thing figured out at the beginning of this last novel, then I was certain I knew who killed Lofthus and why, by the end I was wrong about it all, but I wouldn't say that I was stunned because Sundstøl did such a masterful job sowing those seeds of possibilities.
Vidar Sundstøl, like many modern Norwegian writers is a master storyteller.
September 24, 2012
Jeg kedede mig ind imellem, på trods af at selve historien egentlig fængede i første bog i trilogien. Men her i sidste bog er det som om at alt ting bare bliver trukket ud for at få det til at fylde.
De tre bøger i trilogien burde have været forkortet en del, så det kun var én bog.
Skildringen af livet i Minnesota, især når det er rigtig koldt, trak op i min vurdering, men også her kunne det hele nok være fortalt og beskrevet med samme resultat på den halve plads.
De tre bøger i trilogien burde have været forkortet en del, så det kun var én bog.
Skildringen af livet i Minnesota, især når det er rigtig koldt, trak op i min vurdering, men også her kunne det hele nok være fortalt og beskrevet med samme resultat på den halve plads.
October 12, 2019
I am reviewing the whole trilogy now that I've finished it. After volume 1 it was a chore. Vol. 1 was a normal mystery involving as it turns out a dysfunctional family though only in volumes 2 and 3 do we find out how dysfunctional it is. The protagonist Lance Hansen is a Forest Service ranger, with police responsibility over those camping, hiking, etc. the national forest in Minnesota's upper peninsula. In volume 1 he seems to be a bit out of his depth when a very, very brutal murder victim is found in the national forest, but then mostly the crimes he comes across are illegal fishing, hunting, camping. And indeed the murder investigation is quickly taken over by regular police and the FBI.
Hansen is slow on the uptake and becomes oddly slower in volumes 2 and 3, misreading his family's dysfunctionality entirely. Volume 2 is very odd, composed mostly of long, long dream sequences and flashbacks with interior dialogue to a situation in the late 1890s involving one of Hansen's ancestors. These flashbacks are supposed to explain or clarify or perhaps further mystify? the connections
between this situation and the murder in the national forest and I guess the family's dysfunctionality. Though how genetic inheritance passes on dysfunctionality escapes me. As does the fact that his family's ancestors migrated from Norway and somehow this ancestry is overwhelmingly important to Hansen, perhaps even a form of escapism from his personal situation. He is disappointed to put it mildly that this inheritance is not more important to his family and friends (the Upper Peninsula immigrants were mostly Norwegian, with some Finns and Swedish). While a second generation American myself, I do not understand why fourth and subsequent generations are expected to identify with the countries of their ancestors; one can't help who one's ancestors are, after all, and in my own family the fourth generation has immigrant ancestors from five or more countries; which one to identify with? This third book solves the murder mystery, the historical situation and apparently resolves some of Hansen's emotional problems. I have my doubts on that.
The description of nature in the Upper Peninsula is very good; I've visited there several times and it is fun to have towns and businesses "pop up" in the narrative. I've avoided winter though. Members of the Anishinaabe figure in this trilogy; I leave it to members of the tribe to say whether or not their culture and society are accurately represented.
Hansen is slow on the uptake and becomes oddly slower in volumes 2 and 3, misreading his family's dysfunctionality entirely. Volume 2 is very odd, composed mostly of long, long dream sequences and flashbacks with interior dialogue to a situation in the late 1890s involving one of Hansen's ancestors. These flashbacks are supposed to explain or clarify or perhaps further mystify? the connections
between this situation and the murder in the national forest and I guess the family's dysfunctionality. Though how genetic inheritance passes on dysfunctionality escapes me. As does the fact that his family's ancestors migrated from Norway and somehow this ancestry is overwhelmingly important to Hansen, perhaps even a form of escapism from his personal situation. He is disappointed to put it mildly that this inheritance is not more important to his family and friends (the Upper Peninsula immigrants were mostly Norwegian, with some Finns and Swedish). While a second generation American myself, I do not understand why fourth and subsequent generations are expected to identify with the countries of their ancestors; one can't help who one's ancestors are, after all, and in my own family the fourth generation has immigrant ancestors from five or more countries; which one to identify with? This third book solves the murder mystery, the historical situation and apparently resolves some of Hansen's emotional problems. I have my doubts on that.
The description of nature in the Upper Peninsula is very good; I've visited there several times and it is fun to have towns and businesses "pop up" in the narrative. I've avoided winter though. Members of the Anishinaabe figure in this trilogy; I leave it to members of the tribe to say whether or not their culture and society are accurately represented.
January 12, 2020
This is the first season I have really delved into reading mysteries in general, and specifically this season, Nordic Noir mysteries.
This last in the Minnesota trilogy had less of what interested me in the first two books.
Some themes I enjoyed, the dream / vision quest. Lance does go on a dream quest after not dreaming at all for years. Because the Minnesota region was once the homeland to the Ojibwe and Dakota Sioux before the US Government polices of removal followed by the reservation allotment system, this deeper history often ignored by white Americans is given a distinct role in the book.
Dreams were one of the central spiritual themes in Ojibwe culture. Lance learns from his Ojibwe father-in-law that fasting is the way to enter the dream state to speak with the spirit of Swamper Caribou who continues to appear to Lance.
Having Ojibwe (Anishinaabe), Saulteux, Cree, Assiniboine and Sioux heritage along with Scandinavian, I can really relate to the impressed importance of dreams in lived experience of carrying the blood. This reality passed through ancestors directly contravenes how most Christian cultures view dreams. The more traditional Christian advice would be to completely ignore dreams. The Ojibwe know that dreams can tell you so many things, like who you are and what your life purpose is. To ignore that is to become a ghost of yourself. This trilogy is also the mystery of Lance, the mystery of the individual experience, and of his journey to become himself and live fully present in his own life. Sundstøl picks up on this subtle cultural difference and reveals what it means.
As far as the mystery theme goes, I did not pick up on who the murderer was until Sundstøl reveals it at the end. Through reading quite a few mysteries this seasons, I have learned that the whodunnit part is the least interesting to me, which is why Nordic Noir can still capture my attention with insight to various aspects of life. Well, that and living in a snow deprived area, I hope to experience what winter proper should be, dark, cold with glimpses of warm light made by people.
A person reading only for the mystery whodunnit aspect might find this third book to drag on a bit.
This last in the Minnesota trilogy had less of what interested me in the first two books.
Some themes I enjoyed, the dream / vision quest. Lance does go on a dream quest after not dreaming at all for years. Because the Minnesota region was once the homeland to the Ojibwe and Dakota Sioux before the US Government polices of removal followed by the reservation allotment system, this deeper history often ignored by white Americans is given a distinct role in the book.
Dreams were one of the central spiritual themes in Ojibwe culture. Lance learns from his Ojibwe father-in-law that fasting is the way to enter the dream state to speak with the spirit of Swamper Caribou who continues to appear to Lance.
Having Ojibwe (Anishinaabe), Saulteux, Cree, Assiniboine and Sioux heritage along with Scandinavian, I can really relate to the impressed importance of dreams in lived experience of carrying the blood. This reality passed through ancestors directly contravenes how most Christian cultures view dreams. The more traditional Christian advice would be to completely ignore dreams. The Ojibwe know that dreams can tell you so many things, like who you are and what your life purpose is. To ignore that is to become a ghost of yourself. This trilogy is also the mystery of Lance, the mystery of the individual experience, and of his journey to become himself and live fully present in his own life. Sundstøl picks up on this subtle cultural difference and reveals what it means.
As far as the mystery theme goes, I did not pick up on who the murderer was until Sundstøl reveals it at the end. Through reading quite a few mysteries this seasons, I have learned that the whodunnit part is the least interesting to me, which is why Nordic Noir can still capture my attention with insight to various aspects of life. Well, that and living in a snow deprived area, I hope to experience what winter proper should be, dark, cold with glimpses of warm light made by people.
A person reading only for the mystery whodunnit aspect might find this third book to drag on a bit.
September 25, 2017
If you decided not to follow my advice and read the second book of the series, then you deserved what you got in the third book of the series. A bunch of hackneyed cliches tossed together from every whodunnit you ever read, including a surprise ending that you could never have anticipated because it is so idiotic and improbable. I kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't. It is a good thing I'm a fast reader. I only wasted a little of my life on this book.
The only reason I gave the book two stars instead of one is because it does not set back the human race. This honor is reserved for A Brief History of Seven Killings. Sundstol gets credit for trying to write a book.
The only reason I gave the book two stars instead of one is because it does not set back the human race. This honor is reserved for A Brief History of Seven Killings. Sundstol gets credit for trying to write a book.
April 28, 2019
Drømmenes land, De døde og Ravnene er fantastisk flotte bøker. De er veldig stillestående. Tilsammen utgjør de en meget tykk bok, men det skjer ikke så veldig mye i dem. En leser mange naturbeskrivelser og karakterbeskrivelser, men først og fremst Lances tanker. Og han funderinger rundt både det gamle og det nye mordet. Til slutt må han handle. Men hva velger han å gjøre?
Hele min omtale finner du på bloggen min Betraktninger
Hele min omtale finner du på bloggen min Betraktninger
March 28, 2021
I'm not much of a mystery reader, but I read this series because of the local flavor on my chosen home. Sundstøl does better than the other mystery writer who uses Duluth as a locale...It's weird to me that someone from a whole other country does a better job at describing the culture and people than that other guy, who lives just down the way. Sometimes the translation isn't the best, but I still found the book well worth reading. The local details were satisfying. (The resolution was not, really. I can't decide why.)
June 18, 2021
I enjoyed this third book in the series that is set in Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is one of my favorite places on earth so that is always a draw. I loved the first book in this series, the second was blah for me and I wasn't sure if I wanted to grab the third book. I was in the Trading Post in Grand Marias and it was an autographed copy so of course I had to buy it. I enjoyed it and I thought for sure I knew the ending, but I was off on that.
I like the character of Lance even if he is kind of an air head. I hope he has a good life from here on in.
I like the character of Lance even if he is kind of an air head. I hope he has a good life from here on in.
April 25, 2019
Debated between 3 and 4 stars, but in the end the fact that I felt this could have been better at about half the length (of the full trilogy) brought it down. I continued to enjoy and appreciate the evocations of place, and I'm OK with it being more psychological and relational than a typical mystery sort of book. But the trilogy really could've been tightened up significantly.
June 18, 2019
This is a very well written, almost lyrical book. And of the trilogy, it’s the most action-packed. It’s a solid mystery, and I really gained a lot of empathy for the characters. And the story had a lot of twists that were completely unexpected.
I just felt thAt the series could have been better edited, into one or maybe two books.
I just felt thAt the series could have been better edited, into one or maybe two books.
February 18, 2020
This is the final book in the Minnesota Trilogy and it moves more like a mystery novel than the other two books. The other two are necessary to read to understand the background to this one. Things finally feel settled at the end of this book, unlike the previous two in the series. A good series that brings out the Minnesota North Shore well, but not in a cheery sense.
March 9, 2020
I really liked the first book in the series. The second one dragged a bit. This last one solved the mystery and tied up the loose ends. The ending was good, but it just took too long to get there. I loved all the North Shore references and the concept of the story was good, there was just something lacking in the way it all came together.
August 11, 2022
Iedere keer dat ik een deel van deze trilogie heb gelezen, heb ik het gevoel dat ik een bezoekje aan Minnesota heb gebracht.
In het derde deel ontrafelt Lance eindelijk het mysterie en tot het laatste moment wist ik niet hoe het precies zat.
Ook heel fijn: na de ontknoping was er alleen nog een korte epiloog nodig om alle verhaallijnen af te sluiten. Dus spanning tot de laatste bladzijde!
In het derde deel ontrafelt Lance eindelijk het mysterie en tot het laatste moment wist ik niet hoe het precies zat.
Ook heel fijn: na de ontknoping was er alleen nog een korte epiloog nodig om alle verhaallijnen af te sluiten. Dus spanning tot de laatste bladzijde!
January 2, 2023
The final book of the trilogy brings us the answer to who killed the Norwegian tourist in Book One. Of course, it is not who has been put in jail for it, but is it Lance's brother Andy? Or niece Chrissy? Or the shady characters who threaten Lance and his family? Interesting resolution, and maybe some romance for Lance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews