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ericawrites's review against another edition
3.0
This book is like 2 books. The first half was slow and Aud hard to relate to. The second half was far more interesting, and by the ending, hard to put down and made me want to read the next one.
riverdogbookco's review against another edition
4.0
When I call this book a "thriller," I don't mean it in the Steven King, make you pee your pants with fright in the middle of the night, sort of way. It's more of an adventure thriller - it's like a symphony where you have this beautiful melody and harmony and you're floating along on trills of music until all of a sudden it crescendos and the cymbals crash and the drums boom and you've got yourself a little rock 'n roll thrown in there. Amazing.
Aud Torvigen is hot, sexy, and in control. A 6-foot, ice blonde Norwegian-American, Aud grew up in Norway, and now makes her home in Atlanta, GA. After leaving the elite "Red Dogs" special police force at the age of 29, Aud now works for herself, taking on jobs that pique her interest, since she no longer needs them to pay the bills.
After running, literally, into a strange woman on a dark road in the middle of the night, only to have a house blow up a block away a few minutes after that, Aud gets tangled in a mess of a private investigation involving a highly-placed politican, international money laundering, art forgeries, and one Julia Lyons-Bennet, who is at once more than and also exactly what she seems. When the investigation turns deadly, Aud and Julia escape to Norway where an unexpected betrayal will bring their trip to an abrupt end. Though Aud solves the investigation, Julia has helped her learn it's no longer about that thrill you only get when you're in the Blue Place. Though heart-wrenching, the end will not disappoint, and will make you glad there are 2 other books out there about Aud for you to read.
Called a "new wave crime-writer" and an author of "literary noir," Nicola Griffith's writing is a sensory delight. Like Aud herself, Griffith's words are precise, exacting, and yet slow and senuous enough to have all of your senses enjoying the experience. You can feel the moist humidity of Atlanta and the icy breath of Norwegian fjords, the bump of rock 'n roll and the glide of skin against skin. Her writing has won her the Tiptree Award, the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, and six Lambda Literary Awards. It is easy to understand why. Pick up The Blue Place. You won't be able to put Nicola Griffith or Aud Torvigen down.
Aud Torvigen is hot, sexy, and in control. A 6-foot, ice blonde Norwegian-American, Aud grew up in Norway, and now makes her home in Atlanta, GA. After leaving the elite "Red Dogs" special police force at the age of 29, Aud now works for herself, taking on jobs that pique her interest, since she no longer needs them to pay the bills.
After running, literally, into a strange woman on a dark road in the middle of the night, only to have a house blow up a block away a few minutes after that, Aud gets tangled in a mess of a private investigation involving a highly-placed politican, international money laundering, art forgeries, and one Julia Lyons-Bennet, who is at once more than and also exactly what she seems. When the investigation turns deadly, Aud and Julia escape to Norway where an unexpected betrayal will bring their trip to an abrupt end. Though Aud solves the investigation, Julia has helped her learn it's no longer about that thrill you only get when you're in the Blue Place. Though heart-wrenching, the end will not disappoint, and will make you glad there are 2 other books out there about Aud for you to read.
Called a "new wave crime-writer" and an author of "literary noir," Nicola Griffith's writing is a sensory delight. Like Aud herself, Griffith's words are precise, exacting, and yet slow and senuous enough to have all of your senses enjoying the experience. You can feel the moist humidity of Atlanta and the icy breath of Norwegian fjords, the bump of rock 'n roll and the glide of skin against skin. Her writing has won her the Tiptree Award, the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, and six Lambda Literary Awards. It is easy to understand why. Pick up The Blue Place. You won't be able to put Nicola Griffith or Aud Torvigen down.
gravys's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
egelantier's review against another edition
5.0
now that was a surprise. i've picked up the first book completely on a whim, to get distracted, and the beginning was almost laughably standard lesbian noir (if there IS a standar lesbian noir, that is). aud torvingen, a half-norvegian ex-policeman private security person, is cold, contained, gorgeous, violent, irresistible; she picks up women in bars and views people, aside from a couple of friends (or "friends") as objects to be moved at will. but she takes on a case of a distraught woman whose friend got killed, and then - changes.
about fifty pages in this paperback airport thriller premise deepens and unfolds into a beautiful, dense, breathing narrative that had me swallow the whole trilogy in a day and then wander stunned for a couple of days more. it's a surprisingly - adult? grown up? - story about grief, and trauma, and breaking the violence taboos, and reconnecting with your own humanity, and limits of self-defense (half of the third book is practically a self-defense manual, and it's amazing), and mothers and daughters, and various shades of feminism, and the true terror of falling in love. aud's "disturbing lesbian-chick Übermensch" (to quote a goodreads review) traits start out as a potential titillating cliche and get honestly, painfully, respectfully explored and challenged and made real, and her offhand, practical, solid kindness turns out to be a just as solid and needed foundation of her personality.
i've also really loved that aud's orientation was absolutely taken for granted by the narrative, without either excess drama or coy subtlety; it just was there, solid and accepted. almost all the important relationships in the books - romantic, friendly, filial - are about women, in glorious variety.
about fifty pages in this paperback airport thriller premise deepens and unfolds into a beautiful, dense, breathing narrative that had me swallow the whole trilogy in a day and then wander stunned for a couple of days more. it's a surprisingly - adult? grown up? - story about grief, and trauma, and breaking the violence taboos, and reconnecting with your own humanity, and limits of self-defense (half of the third book is practically a self-defense manual, and it's amazing), and mothers and daughters, and various shades of feminism, and the true terror of falling in love. aud's "disturbing lesbian-chick Übermensch" (to quote a goodreads review) traits start out as a potential titillating cliche and get honestly, painfully, respectfully explored and challenged and made real, and her offhand, practical, solid kindness turns out to be a just as solid and needed foundation of her personality.
i've also really loved that aud's orientation was absolutely taken for granted by the narrative, without either excess drama or coy subtlety; it just was there, solid and accepted. almost all the important relationships in the books - romantic, friendly, filial - are about women, in glorious variety.
wreathedinviolets's review
Got to a scene where the narrator gives tips to police officers about how to beat up criminals discreetly so they don’t get in trouble. Didn’t need to waste any more time after that.
nocto's review against another edition
I've been looking forward to this book, and this author, for a long time as I've heard high praise of them from people I trust to have good taste in stories. And I'd saved the book up for holiday reading so I was almost expecting to be disappointed. I wasn't disappointed.
Griffith brings characters to life in realistic ways, her main character Aud Torvingen is supposed to be quite a cool headed character and could easily have come over as cardboardy even with first person narration to show us the woman inside, and also weaves a pretty decent mystery story around her characters. What I respected most was that the author knew when to stop regaling us with mystery and let the characters get on with doing their own thing, which in this book, was falling in love with each other. The love story could have been really cheesy but instead added depth to characters who were already three dimensional.
Definitely an author I'll try again.
mentat_stem's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lowkeymarie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The first two thirds was solid but not particularly captivating, but the last third was fucking excellent. Gotta read the next one. And I also really want to go to Norway now! 🏔️
ajcousins's review
5.0
This book, and its sequel Stay, rock the house. The heroine is a six foot tall Norwegian woman, ex-cop and current independent operator who is always thinking of how anyone who approaches her might try to kill her, what objects around her she can turn into weapons and how she would kill them first. You learn why she thinks this way in the book and it certainly makes her worldview seem sensible. She's scary, but very, very intriguing. And super hot. :) If you are looking for an imaginary lesbian girlfriend, she definitely tops the list... I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery or suspense novels, or books about really kick ass women.
hissingpotatoes's review
5.0
I don't normally read mysteries, but because I liked other books by Griffith, I gave this one a chance. I am SO glad I did.
The writing in this book is perfection. Griffith's word choices, sentence structure, and what she purposely chooses to include/exclude are completely interwoven with the tone of the book/scene. It's one of those books where the writing itself is a major part of the experience of the book, that only very few authors can pull off. Every word and phrase serves a purpose. The writing is tight, almost clinical, but still so world-buildingly dense and deliberate. The entire book is sharp and smart: words, characters, flow, content, plot, dialogue, themes.
Griffith builds phenomenal tension and expectation. She very craftily uses a word here or an almost throwaway sentence there, and even though you as the reader don't quite know what's going on yet (even though the narrator does), you know something's coming and get caught up inexorably into that delicious anticipation.
The climactic scene was written so well I could visualize it perfectly in my mind. I honestly don't think seeing it in movie form would have improved it. In fact I think it would have diminished it, the writing was that tight and integral to experiencing the action. I happened to read this scene during my work lunch break and had to focus on calming down my adrenaline rush so I could get through the afternoon.
Aud has a special appreciation for nature, and her descriptions of the world around her both bring the reader deeply into the scene and in me, at least, sparked a serious appreciation for nature myself. I find myself paying more attention when I'm outside, to what I see, hear, smell, and feel. It's a beautiful feeling. I'm curious now to reread this book to see if Aud's nature descriptions increase after she meets and increasingly interacts with Julia.
I've never read a book where the 1st person was executed so well. It was clearly a very deliberate choice that brings as much to the matrix of the experience of this book as the rest of the writing. We get insight into Aud's evaluations of characters, her recognizing their perceptions of her and meeting their expectations to manipulate situations to her needs. We as the audience see all the moving parts through her eyes and feel powerful as a result, which is exactly how she positions herself. Love a competent character and woman.
I loved every moment of this book, even the rough ending. Cannot recommend Griffith enough.
The writing in this book is perfection. Griffith's word choices, sentence structure, and what she purposely chooses to include/exclude are completely interwoven with the tone of the book/scene. It's one of those books where the writing itself is a major part of the experience of the book, that only very few authors can pull off. Every word and phrase serves a purpose. The writing is tight, almost clinical, but still so world-buildingly dense and deliberate. The entire book is sharp and smart: words, characters, flow, content, plot, dialogue, themes.
Griffith builds phenomenal tension and expectation. She very craftily uses a word here or an almost throwaway sentence there, and even though you as the reader don't quite know what's going on yet (even though the narrator does), you know something's coming and get caught up inexorably into that delicious anticipation.
The climactic scene was written so well I could visualize it perfectly in my mind. I honestly don't think seeing it in movie form would have improved it. In fact I think it would have diminished it, the writing was that tight and integral to experiencing the action. I happened to read this scene during my work lunch break and had to focus on calming down my adrenaline rush so I could get through the afternoon.
Aud has a special appreciation for nature, and her descriptions of the world around her both bring the reader deeply into the scene and in me, at least, sparked a serious appreciation for nature myself. I find myself paying more attention when I'm outside, to what I see, hear, smell, and feel. It's a beautiful feeling. I'm curious now to reread this book to see if Aud's nature descriptions increase after she meets and increasingly interacts with Julia.
I've never read a book where the 1st person was executed so well. It was clearly a very deliberate choice that brings as much to the matrix of the experience of this book as the rest of the writing. We get insight into Aud's evaluations of characters, her recognizing their perceptions of her and meeting their expectations to manipulate situations to her needs. We as the audience see all the moving parts through her eyes and feel powerful as a result, which is exactly how she positions herself. Love a competent character and woman.
I loved every moment of this book, even the rough ending. Cannot recommend Griffith enough.