Dark Pines

Tuva Moodyson, Book 1

By: Will Dean

Narrated by: Maya Lindh

An isolated Swedish town. A deaf reporter terrified of nature. A dense spruce forest overdue for harvest. A pair of eyeless hunters found murdered in the woods.

It's week one of the Swedish elk hunt, and the sound of gunfire is everywhere. When Tuva Moodyson investigates the story that could make her career, she stumbles on a web of secrets that knit Gavrik town together.

Are the latest murders connected to the Medusa killings 20 years ago? Is someone following her? Why take the eyes? Tuva must face her demons and venture deep into the woods to stop the killer and write the story. And then get the hell out of Gavrik.

©2018 Will Dean (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

Tuva and the dark pines

Cleverly written crime fiction with some really interesting characters. The setting makes a perfect and authentic backdrop for this murder mystery. Excellent narration as well.

Great

I bought this a while back and could not remember what made me buy it. It was great. I sped up the narration a little and I enjoyed it more. Looking forward to this guy’s other books in the series.

Interesting mystery, somewhat predictable, unusual main character

Overall a solid mystery. The setting is interesting, and the narrator is truly excellent. However, the culprit was a little predictable. While the main character is clearly someone you’re supposed to like, she is somewhat frustrating and at times really kind of dumb, which makes it difficult to like her fully. I think the only reason I liked her was the narrator really, otherwise she would have been too annoying.

Brilliantly Written and Read

Will Dean has created a memorable character in a memorable setting dealing with memorable murders. That's right, you won't forget this one after you read it.

Tuva Moodyson is a deaf, small-town reporter with more than her fair share of hang ups. With that kind of protagonist, it might be tempting for an author to slip into easy cliches, but Dean never does. Instead, he delivers a compelling but flawed hero who has you pulling for her with each step in those dark pines. Dean also provides an interesting gallery of murder suspects who range from the subtle to the bizarre and the result is wonderfully entertaining.

Maya Lindh's narration brings Tuva to life in a five-star performance that's filled with personality.

Least deaf protagonist, I this I that

The first issue, which might be my problem, is that I despised the first person voice in this novel. There is perhaps meant to be the opportunity for greater insight into how the character is living the story, but this is written so childishly. Odious.

The gimmick of the main character supposedly being deaf seems like it was added as an afterthought after the book was already written because with her hearing aids on she’s not deaf she’s perfectly normal. In fact she seems to have better hearing than normal.