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tduchscher's review
4.0
I really enjoyed it. Was hard to follow because alot of the names are of a different language but you catch on. It targets some tough issues that people don't talk about.
mg_in_md_'s review
3.0
Dark moral dilemmas. Seedy details about a hidden world. This book isn't for the faint of heart. It takes the reader on an unsettling ride and has you asking yourself where it will end. The end of the book will stay with you for quite some time...it didn't have a neat & tidy ending. Definitely not an uplifting one. No wonder Ewert Grens is such a tortured soul.
mehitabels's review against another edition
2.0
reviews claimed it was the next Stieg Larsson, but alas, no. the plot was well intentioned, with a nice build up, but utterly predictable.
pmacg's review against another edition
2.0
Second half was a come down with no consequence after the caffeinated beginning.
marshaskrypuch's review against another edition
5.0
What a good book. Do not read the last page first.
mandarinenjoghurt's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lisa_mc's review against another edition
3.0
Set in Stockholm, the novel follows two stories: A savagely beaten Lithuanian prostitute takes a group of doctors hostages at the hospital where she is being treated — the same hospital where a junkie has just been found dead after a visit from a drug lord’s hit man. Detective Ewert Grens and his colleagues on the police force juggle both cases and end up with more information than they’d hoped for.
Story trumps characters most of the time in “Box 21,” and the twisty plot carries readers along swiftly and unpredictably. The lives some of the characters lead are brutal, but the evocative details are not gratuitous. And unlike a lot of U.S. mysteries, this one doesn't neatly tie up all the loose ends by the last page. If that's your kind of realism, you'll like this book a lot; if that bothers you in a mystery, skip this one.
A note: The translation is British, which is fine if you read a lot of English detective stories (or watch the TV versions), but may result in a little confusion for those less familiar with police lingo across the pond.
Story trumps characters most of the time in “Box 21,” and the twisty plot carries readers along swiftly and unpredictably. The lives some of the characters lead are brutal, but the evocative details are not gratuitous. And unlike a lot of U.S. mysteries, this one doesn't neatly tie up all the loose ends by the last page. If that's your kind of realism, you'll like this book a lot; if that bothers you in a mystery, skip this one.
A note: The translation is British, which is fine if you read a lot of English detective stories (or watch the TV versions), but may result in a little confusion for those less familiar with police lingo across the pond.