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lindsaymay92's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
shelleyrae's review against another edition
5.0
I have to be honest, I expected that I would quickly abandon this book in the same way that I gave up on the television series, The Killing, it is based on. Instead I found myself completely engrossed by a complex plot populated by strong, intriguing characters, such as Detective Sarah Lund and Detective Ulrik Strange.
Set in Denmark, The Killing II begins with the grisly discovery of a woman staked to a World War 2 monument, stabbed multiple times, her throat slit. The police assume it is a domestic murder and arrest her ex husband but head of Homicide, Lennart Brix, isn't so sure and recalls disgraced Detective Sarah Lund from exile to Copenhagen to examine the scene. With her instinct for the truth that ignores protocol and politics, Lund leads the team on a chase for a phantom suspect through the underground of domestic terrorism to the battlefields of Afghanistan and office corridors of the Danish government.
Lund is introduced in the [b:The Killing|13482422|The Killing (The Killing, #1)|David Hewson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334590910s/13482422.jpg|19015944], a complicated woman who, in her dogged pursuit for the killer of teenage Nanna Birk Larsen, destroys both her professional and personal life. Exiled to customs control she is reluctant to respond to Brix's summons to assist him with the sensational murder that launches The Killing II, but capitulates and quickly finds herself caught up in the investigation. Determined and intuitive, Lund's ability to 'think outside of the box' reveals clues other investigators miss but her impatience and drive puts her at odds with both her partner and the police hierarchy. Though prickly and reserved I really enjoyed Lund's unique character and her extraordinary focus.
Detective Ulrik Strange is paired with Lund by Brix. An ex-military man, Strange is uncomfortable with Lund's unpredictability and a bit of an enigma, I was never exactly sure whose side he was on, though to his credit he quickly recognises Lund's skills and backs her up. The professional tension between Strange and Lund eventually morphs into a subtle romantic tension that humanises them both.
The plot of The Killing II is complex with viable suspects flitting in and out of the frame and it takes some level of immersion in the story to follow the various possibilities. Just as I felt I had everything worked out, my theories would completely fall apart and the story would forge a new path. Thankfully Hewson brings everything together in the end, but it is an exhaustive process. The pace can drag at times as truth and lies become irrevocably entangled and at times I was a little frustrated with the dense intrigue but I was still gripped by the story.
The Killing II is an enthralling crime novel, with plenty of action and intrigue among well developed characters. Fans of the television series may be surprised to learn the ending is different to that of the show but not having watched it all the way through it wasn't a concern for me.
zzzrevel's review against another edition
3.0
This one is quite messy . It meanders all over
the place and so-o-o many people in it "lose"
their jobs that it really becomes a joke.
It is very formulaic in that it follows the first
book. Both books have three sets of players:
the cops, the politicians, and a family with
problems. Muck occurs everywhere.
It isn't a bad read but goes on too long. I
suppose that is due to the nature of the
episodic TV show lending it its structure.
Just did not work for me a second time
after having enjoyed the first one.
the place and so-o-o many people in it "lose"
their jobs that it really becomes a joke.
It is very formulaic in that it follows the first
book. Both books have three sets of players:
the cops, the politicians, and a family with
problems. Muck occurs everywhere.
It isn't a bad read but goes on too long. I
suppose that is due to the nature of the
episodic TV show lending it its structure.
Just did not work for me a second time
after having enjoyed the first one.
alexauthorshay's review against another edition
3.0
Each book got smaller than the last, so in terms of being able to remember everything that happened, this book was the best. It was based more heavily on action than psychology or motive, so it was easier to follow along and remember which players were which.
Some of the characters seemed to have inconsistent personalities this go round though. I questioned several character choices both for character consistency reasons and for blatant obviousness. It takes the cops a very long time to catch onto certain things that I saw right away. And while the ending is a surprise, it feels a bit like a character consistency as well.
I'm not quite sure how to feel about the ending, or about the book as a whole. Very tired of having politicians brought into everything, especially because it was almost all the same ones from before. Lund and Borch's relationship seemed a bit contrived in its convenience, and I was definitely worried that, with her track record of partners in previous books, things would not turn out well for Borch at all (not because I cared about him at all, because I didn't. It was just a pattern I was hoping I wouldn't see again). Throwing in Mark out of nowhere adds to her drama a little bit but also seems contrived and, especially with how dismissive Lund is of personal matters, it could have been cut out entirely and made no difference at all.
For the number of pages this book had, overall it felt like not very much honestly happened. I related very little to the characters and felt the farthest from them of the three books. The plot was alright but could have been paced better, with several reductions. It also read too similarly to the first book and the Birk Larsen's case. The connections were done on purpose, since Lund pulls that file and starts going through it again, but it felt like a rehash of the same thing done over again, and, as with any other series, the effect is lost the second time around.
Some of the characters seemed to have inconsistent personalities this go round though. I questioned several character choices both for character consistency reasons and for blatant obviousness. It takes the cops a very long time to catch onto certain things that I saw right away. And while the ending is a surprise, it feels a bit like a character consistency as well.
I'm not quite sure how to feel about the ending, or about the book as a whole. Very tired of having politicians brought into everything, especially because it was almost all the same ones from before. Lund and Borch's relationship seemed a bit contrived in its convenience, and I was definitely worried that, with her track record of partners in previous books, things would not turn out well for Borch at all (not because I cared about him at all, because I didn't. It was just a pattern I was hoping I wouldn't see again). Throwing in Mark out of nowhere adds to her drama a little bit but also seems contrived and, especially with how dismissive Lund is of personal matters, it could have been cut out entirely and made no difference at all.
For the number of pages this book had, overall it felt like not very much honestly happened. I related very little to the characters and felt the farthest from them of the three books. The plot was alright but could have been paced better, with several reductions. It also read too similarly to the first book and the Birk Larsen's case. The connections were done on purpose, since Lund pulls that file and starts going through it again, but it felt like a rehash of the same thing done over again, and, as with any other series, the effect is lost the second time around.
zara89's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
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