4 stars
About a year ago I picked up The Second Deadly Sin by Asa Larsson. I didn't know at the time that it was the latest in a series of books. That sometimes happens to me where I start reading a book and then realize later on that it is a book in a series, and it is not the first one. Sometimes it doesn't seem to matter if you read books out of order. Other series it totally does.
During the Christmas break I decided to read all of the books in Asa Larsson's Rebecka Martinson Series. Christmas isn't Christmas without murder and mayhem, right? Do you do that sometimes? Binge read a series that has been out for a while so you feel all caught up?
Synopsis
The series is set in northern Sweden, and when I looked at the map it actually is very northern, in the area surrounding Kiruna. The stories are centred around the character Rebecka Martinsson, a native of Kiruna, who had moved south, and is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life and the events that haunt her.
My Thoughts
This is a great series. While it may not be as dark, or as long, as some nordic crime novels, it is definitely a great series to whet your appetite for the genre.
None of the books are overly long or drawn out. This makes the pacing nice. Since I knew where the story arc was heading, since I had read the last published book in the series first, the stories and characters probably unfolded differently had I been going into it blind. I did enjoy learning the back story of the characters, not just Rebecka, but also Anna-Maria and Krister and Sivvig.
I love how Larsson really builds relationships and shows the characters' lives beyond their job. I love seeing Anna-Maria dealing with laundry and other household chores that make us all tick. I love seeing Rebecka outside the office. I like that there are friendships and relationships that seem real and that you get. You can tell that all the characters, even secondary ones, are well thought out. They could literally step right off the page and be totally believable people. They are definitely not flat.
Bad things happen in this series, and I appreciated that we got to see the emotional fallout from it. Rebecka is fragile yet strong and that is refreshing to see. In so many books things happen to characters which would make a normal person need therapy or something, but the therapy never happens they just keep on trudging through. Larsson didn't shy away from showing vulnerability.
The first book is not her best, but Larsson has definitely honed her craft throughout. It is such a great series. You should read them without delay.
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