THE BOOK - WILL DEAN AND BLACK RIVER

A Book Review

Black River by Will Dean

Point Blank at one world-publications.com

Another Swedish forest mystery or is it Midsommar Madness?

There's nothing better than the feel of a hardback in your hands. And there is no better pleasure than to enjoy a great read.

Because of Theakestons Old Peculier Crime Writers Festival in Harrogate we have unearthed (for us anyway) many new authors. There is a certain satisfaction about finding new ones and talking about them. Will Dean was one.

I have read his previous ones, Dark Pines and Red Snow and they are both set in a wild Swedish forest. Black River is his third drama and he has pushed the boundaries out further to create a different kind of suspense. When two young women go missing and with one there are fragments of evidence to suggest that she has not gone freely. Tammy Yamnim is the first and we already know she is part of Gavrik life by being the owner of a Thai Takeaway. Then another women goes missing.

By this time,Tuva Moodyson, a journalist on The Gavrik Posten, has been our super investigative sleuth in past stories has fled ‘the toy town’ of Gavrik. She returns at a fair lick to try and locate her missing friend, Tammy, hopefully before it's too late. Dean weaves back in other characters from before and that gives a feeling of familiarity. Of course there are some with issues and others that appear anything but ‘ordinary’.

All his stories have had a different ‘bent’ and this one has broke further out and away from what can be considered as the norm. We don't like to read the same old rubbish anyway! He has included some very odd people with very strange lifestyles. You can enjoy reading about them as the story unfolds. The search for the missing ones include tramping through Elk forests and bogs and we soon get to understand the unpleasantries that exist among the trees.

No way will I ever give a plot away. So no more detail except to say if you want something different then give it a try. Michelle read it before I did and proclaimed it was his best so far.

Upon reflection I found that there was far too much time spent searching, re-visiting venues and checking on possible perpetrators to the extent where I failed to see what was being achieved. We had surprises that were not relevant to the main story that only added a little more suspense. I liked the odd scenario that was different and this writer seems to excel in throwing in the unusual. The ending was quirky and needs to be read to find out who survived or not! Enough for now and we even learn that another adventure could be on the way for Tuva.

I am a fan and I will read that one when it's published.