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A review by booksbytheglass
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
2.75
🚨 my unpopular review alert!!!! 🚨
okay, first of all, y’all truly lied to me and said this was the creepiest book you’ve ever read. was it creepy? sure. was it gory? definitely. was it horror? I would say…. no? it’s borderline at best.
I really wanted to like this one - especially after reading all of “the girl who” series and loving the dutch nordic aspects of it. HOWEVER, this one just wouldn’t die (I mean … end …)
yes, the book is dauntingly long, and yes, it’s drawn out - but the chapters are super short which makes flipping through it super easy! it really didn’t feel as large as it looked.
the characters definitely took a bit to warm up to, and remember all of their names my goodness, and I think that’s what put me off the most. the chapters flipped POVs so quickly that I barely got one scene down before I was thrust into another with another character that I knew absolutely nothing about.
I think if the book had stuck with just thulin, hess and rosa’s POV, I would have felt a lot better about keeping up with the storyline.
and for those of you who kept telling me to wait and wait and wait for the plot twist? I did, and it really wasn’t anything to write home about. once rosa’s reveal happened, I pretty much put the pieces together myself a lot quicker than the detectives did lololol :’)
I’m very glad I dove into this one and tackled it, and I would recommend it to anyone interested - but probably not high on my re-read list 👀
rating: 2.75 stars
wine pairing: denmark claret wine
okay, first of all, y’all truly lied to me and said this was the creepiest book you’ve ever read. was it creepy? sure. was it gory? definitely. was it horror? I would say…. no? it’s borderline at best.
I really wanted to like this one - especially after reading all of “the girl who” series and loving the dutch nordic aspects of it. HOWEVER, this one just wouldn’t die (I mean … end …)
yes, the book is dauntingly long, and yes, it’s drawn out - but the chapters are super short which makes flipping through it super easy! it really didn’t feel as large as it looked.
the characters definitely took a bit to warm up to, and remember all of their names my goodness, and I think that’s what put me off the most. the chapters flipped POVs so quickly that I barely got one scene down before I was thrust into another with another character that I knew absolutely nothing about.
I think if the book had stuck with just thulin, hess and rosa’s POV, I would have felt a lot better about keeping up with the storyline.
and for those of you who kept telling me to wait and wait and wait for the plot twist? I did, and it really wasn’t anything to write home about. once rosa’s reveal happened, I pretty much put the pieces together myself a lot quicker than the detectives did lololol :’)
I’m very glad I dove into this one and tackled it, and I would recommend it to anyone interested - but probably not high on my re-read list 👀
rating: 2.75 stars
wine pairing: denmark claret wine
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Child abuse
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death