Book Review: The Owl Always Hunts At Night by Samuel Bjork

When I started reading The Owl Always Hunts At Night , I had no clue what to expect from it. Something in the description had int...
When I started reading The Owl Always Hunts At Night, I had no clue what to expect from it. Something in the description had intrigued me, but now I don't remember what it was. 
The novel is the second in a Norwegian crime thriller series, but I wasn't aware of that until after I had started reading it and went to add it on Goodreads. The good news is it works fine as a stand-alone. I'm definitely interested in getting my hands on the first book to get more background on the main characters - Holger Munch and Mia Kruger. From my understanding, the series is based around them, so I would definitely enjoy getting to know them (and their dysfunctions) a little further by delving into novel one of the series. 

Sidenote: I've actually read a few novels this year that were translated to English and have enjoyed the stories very much. (See: As Red As Blood)

Owl is an interesting and disturbing novel, if not also over-the-top. The story follows Holger (a higher-up on the police force with some family drama) and Mia (a report/partner of Holger's who has a lot of personal issues) as they hunt down a murderer. The murderer is sadistic - he has arranged his victim naked upon a bed of bird feathers within a pentagram. As the story goes on, you come to find out how disturbing the killer really is. 

My biggest dislike with this story is the abundance of characters- there are a ton and it gets difficult to keep up with them all. Not to mention, within one family there's a Marion, Marianne, and Miriam. If that's not confusing, I do not know what is!

I think another issue I have has to deal with me having no prior background knowledge of the series. There are some random scenes in the book that make absolutely no sense to me and aren't wrapped up at the end of the novel, which I'm assuming means there will be a third book in the series. So now I have two additional books I need to read because I read this one. 

While I think the plot and characters were confusing at first, I think the story is interesting and unique. I definitely enjoyed this book and will probably delve further into the series with books one and three. 

Do you often read novels that have been translated? What are some that you've enjoyed?


The Owl Always Hunts At Night will be released in the U.S. next month.











I received this book free for review, however, all opinions, as always, are 100% my own.

Kayla Whitter is a 30-something INFJ and Hufflepuff. She enjoys reading avidly, binge-watching tv shows, and occasionally venturing out into the world. She can often be found drinking coffee, and eating burritos or Chick-fil-a.

You Might Also Like

2 comments

  1. Kasi KelleyMay 4, 2017 at 8:39 PM

    This book sounds neat! I don't think I've ever read any books that take place in Norway but if they're anything like the crime books that take place in Sweden they should be really good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kayla | A Paper ArrowMay 4, 2017 at 8:47 PM

      YES! As Red As Blood (mentioned above) is a Swedish crime thriller and Owl reminded me of that. Different plot line, but lots of similarities! You would probably like this one. :)

      Delete