Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

Alysa’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I am only mildly happy with it so far -- mainly, but not exclusively, because they just effing "temporarily" removed, with no warning, books that I had downloaded and was about to start reading!

I dunno if I will keep my account after my trial is over in mid-Dec, but it's been pretty helpful for TT so far. They sometimes have longer versions of things, for better page count value.

If you know anyone else who has a membership (an actual membership, not currently a trial one like mine), ask them for a code and you get 60 days free instead of 30 (and they get 30 days free).
That's how I got my trial. And yeah, it's international so you should be fine ;)

DQs Day 3: Chapters 39-62

11. Steen finds out from Kristine's friend Mathilde that they didn't make Chestnut Men last year like Rosa said. Do you think Rosa was just mistaken when she told the police Kristine made and sold them or that she purposely lied? What were her intentions if you think she lied - did she just want the cops to get out and leave her grieving family in peace, or do you think she knows something about the chestnut men and/or the killer?

Rosa was just mistaken, IMO. Didn't it say that Kristine and her friend made stuff over multiple years? If so, Rosa probably wouldn't remember which years the girls made which figurines. Could also be that Mathilde is the one who is mistaken, for the same reason. Though that would likely mess up the author's chosen narrative.

12. Both victims families were reported to Social Services through an anonymous tip and evidence of sexual/child abuse are later discovered. Do you think the anonymous tipper is the killer?

It's less likely that it's the tipster and more likely that it is someone who has access to the same information as the tipster (or tipsters), one way or another. Could just be someone who happens to have noticed the same abuse signs.


13. When Hess calls social services he speaks with social worker Henning Loeb who gives him information on Magnus, but lies about finding information about the two girls, Lina and Sofia Sejer-Lassen, after he "sees something he doesn't fully grasp, and that makes him wary." What do you think he saw and why did he lie? Do you think there is a connection here with Rosa who is the Minister for Social Affairs?

Ugh, yet another male character with a gross POV. Re him seeing something in the computer system, first I was thinking that the Sejer-Lassen files were flagged in some way that seemed sensitive. But then Henning is worried about covering his ass over NOT helping the police. So I really don't know.

14. A few people have speculated that the basement Officer Marius enters in ch. 1 could have been used some sort of abuse, possibly child abuse. Given what we now know do you agree and do you think the killer was possibly a victim?

The killer was possibly a victim, or else someone who witnessed someone else being abused and wants to help victims, albeit in a twisted way.

15. While it's clear Hauge was the one abusing Magnus we don't know for sure if Lassen was the one abusing the girls. Do you think the abuser was Lassen or his wife? (He seemed ready to offer up info on his eldest's broken nose which is the only thing giving me pause.) If the killer is reacting to the abuse, why target the mothers and not the abusers (assuming Lassen is the abuser)? Is Thulin right in speculating that in the killers eyes the mother "ought to have know... didn't react to the report."?

It would be pretty obvious if Erik was the one beating up his daughter or daughters, and I still haven't determined just how obvious (i.e., Easy Armchair Psych 101) this book is going to be. It does seem like Thulin is correct about the killer blaming mothers for not knowing about or stopping abuse though.

Hah, I know the feeling.

It’s actually pretty funny though. The very beginning was like, ugh this is going to get old fast, but I am about 1/4 in and chuckling a lot.

Kerri wrote: "Oh man... just that title alone has me cringing, lol. I'm not a Back Room member, though I am kind of intrigued..."

*jooooooiiiiinnnnn uuuuusssssssss........*
😜

Anybody else down for the Buddy Read of Fifty Shades of Mr Darcy?
Link here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

7 bonus mod points per reader [this week only]. Everyone can use 200 page count.

Sooooo not my usual thing but it’s short. (I am doing a trial of Scribd right now, too, and it is on there. 🙂)

DQs Day 2: Chapters 20-38
6. We have got a fair way into the book now and my first question is to ask how you feel about it? What do you like / dislike about it?

The writing is okay, just average mainstream novel level writing. The serial killer/police procedural stuff is something I can occasionally enjoy but don’t tend to read much of – largely because I am put off by the gratuitous violence against women towards which the genre tends. This book is no exception. And the portrayal of Thulin’s sexuality (she’s cold and hardcore! you can tell because she’s sexually using Sebastian!) is an overused trope in itself too.

I do want to know what’s going to happen next though! So, it’s not a bad book for what it is, I suppose, but not something I would have read if it weren’t a BOM. It’s good to get out of my comfort zones, though, if only to reverify why I… normally don’t, lol.

7. What are your impressions about the time line from Marius to Kristine to Laura?

From what little I can put together I can only just say that Marius pointing out that the Chestnut doll was not at the playground earlier the previous day, coupled with Kristine’s mother going back to work, as well as the threat against her, means we know there’s a connection between all of these things and that the killer (or killers?) are taking advantage of this moment in time.

8. Hess and Thulin are not necessarily bosom buddies How do you see their differing working methods and relationship developing?

Odd Couple work pairing that will ultimately prove fruitful. They’re both deeply flawed in that “tv cop” way but the case will bring out qualities in them, and they’ll bring out qualities in each other.

9. Hess insists on visiting Magnus Kjaer and showing him some photographs. What do you think is the significance of "The chestnut man" being something new?

No idea. I don't feel like we learned anything new from that at all.

10. Erik Sejer Lassen is arrested - there is a lot going on during the chase - How do you read the events leading up to the arrest and during the questioning?

He wasn’t actually arrested in this section, just grabbed and questioned. (Maybe he gets arrested in the next part?) I hated the whole Erik POV section where he’s following that blond woman around. Like, did we need more gratuitous sexual predator stuff via this dude. o_O

It is reeeeeeeaaaaallllly not my thing. And it would take me way too long away from other stuff.

I was considering reading The Wandering Inn (volume 2 of which is one of the books that gave Lust such a big bump) but I dunno. Will need to look at the Amazon sample.
I had also started a >1000 page non-fiction book a bit ago, too, which is going to take me a while as it is.

Holy crap, Team Lust is now beating us by THREE POINTS!!!

THREE POINTS!!!

*shakes fist at them*

[[ Frankie ]] wrote: "Oh, no, nevermind! LOL. That was for the last week, I think. Sorry for the confusion! I’m still trying to get my brain functioning properly. LOL."

LOL, no worries. That was indeed for the previous week :)

Thanks M!
While checking that one, I noticed you also have The Zero Commandment shelved for TT and finished on 2 Nov... but it is not on the spreadsheet anywhere.
I assume we should add it?

Kerri wrote: "Finished up The Chestnut Man and updated the spreadsheet :-D That was a wild ride... Now to go answer some DQs!"

Thanks Kerri!
This book is... not my usual thing. But I get why so many people enjoy the genre,

@Rebecca, lol, yeah, cross-editing. All good now!

Also, no extra sleep for me, but in fact less that usual.
Daughter’s sleepover = two nine year olds who have been up since like 5am 😩

@Allison — at least it’s 2pm for you. For me it’s 3pm. And now I have started so many other things that it doesn’t make sense to start any Bad Books until I have finished something else, d’oh!

@Rebecca — can you specify how Labyrinth fits #85? It’s not enough to be shelved action/adventure, it has to meet the criteria as stated (ie “testosterone-drenched”). If that doesn’t work, does it fit another task? Nevermind, you did put in alternates.
*did not scroll far enough to the right on iPad*

Happy Sunday!
We now have 31 books completed for the week.
* 1 more just needs to be shelved on GR
* 3 more are on the planning sheet

We would love to see all these books completed ASAP, but since we have hit our minimum (phew!), those 3 books could be used next week if they are not completed until after the countdown.
So, dear Readers, just keep us informed. 🙂


(Watch out for Daylight Savings time changes!)
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Could maybe use Google Books to search for a poison quote?

DQs Day 1: Chapters 1-19

1. At the very beginning we are hit with a chilling image and as Officer Marius is descending into the basement looking for one of the little girls he "...becomes aware of the room. Glancing around, he realizes what it's been used for. He's disgusted." What do you think this room was used for?

I was thinking either animal torture, sexual torture, or some combination of the two.

2. We get brief look at what happens to Laura before Thulin and Hess get called out to the scene. While looking over the body and the garden Thulin notices a chestnut doll and has an odd reaction to it. "It's a simple doll consisting of two spheres and four sticks, but briefly, for some reason she can't explain, it makes Thulin's heart stop." Why do you think she had a strong reaction? Could it be a repressed memory?

Definitely seems like a repressed memory thing. Or, if the book is not that obvious from the get-go, just some childhood association that’s relevant but not directly related to the killer. So far, I am not convinced the book will be that subtle. And I have to say, the fact that gratuitous scenes of violence against women are apparently one of the things that make this a “mainstream” book is upsetting to me.

3. Speaking of Thulin and Hess. I'm a bit put off by the both of them. Thulin seems to think homicide is boring and Hess just seems to not give a flying rat's behind about anything. What do you think of our MCs so far?

Thulin seems very ambitious, but not off-puttingly so. Hess, I assume has hidden depths and maybe a hidden agenda. But I don’t know enough about either of them yet to have a strong opinion.

4. Then we have Rosa and Steen, the parents of Kristine who is missing and presumed dead. They each have a different way of handling their grief. Rosa has thrown herself into her work as a politician and Steen is drowning his sorrows in alcohol. As a parent it's really hard to imagine losing a child. How do you think you would handle losing your child? Do you think their reactions are typical for parents who have lost a child?

I think their reactions are “mainstream book/movie” realistic, if that makes sense? I mean, they seem like media stereotypes to me. I don’t know how people react in real life, nor do I know how I would react. I wonder if I would just shut down entirely.

5. Do you think Kristine Hartung is still alive? Or is it a cruel joke being played on her parents? Why or why not?

I don’t think she’s alive. I think her fingerprint’s got something to do with the “missing hands” thing.

If nobody responds, at least Dune is a Space Opera, right?

So...
Jeez, I leave y’all alone for a few hours and y’all READ SO MANY BOOKS! 🤩🤩🤩

Will do.

Team, it looks like we are going to be short by about 3 books this week, unless Ozana pops in with a few things...
Maybe someone can bang out a super short book just so we don’t get a penalty...