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Um Estranho Lugar Para Morrer (2012)

by Derek B. Miller(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Edições Asa

review 1: This book is why we need really harsh reviewers. It looks good. It has the requisite New York Time quote and an award emblem (The 2013 CWA Dagger) on the front and a quote from one of my favorite writers, Gary Shteyngart, on the back. It's a murder mystery set in Scandinavia. It features unlikely heroes (an old man, a Jew and a little boy) against overwhelming odds (Albanian gangsters). It's has all my favorite ingredients, which is probably why my family got it for me but...unfortunately I didn't think it was very good. There are so many flashbacks it's hard to keep a grip on the action. The characters are so over the top --an 80 year old sniper, really?-- that it's hard to accept. There are so many narrators (the policewoman, the old man, the daughter, the bad guy), all ... moreof which are done well, but makes the book unbalanced. Not trying to be a hater but, I'd recommend waiting for Mr. Miller's future efforts or just go back and read Henning Mankel to get your Scandinavian crime fix.
review 2: I loved this book and its characters, especially the aging Jewish New Yorker grandfather, Sheldon Horowitz, who has moved to Oslo after the death of his to be with his granddaughter (who he raised) and his Norwegian son-in-law. Sheldon comes to the rescue of a little boy who is at risk of being kidnapped by his father (a refugee from the Yugoslavian wars, as is his mother.) This is in reparation - in part - for the silence of so many during the Holocaust (this may sound far-fetched but it really works in this story) and the death of his son during the Vietnam War. Sheldon was a sniper during the Korean War - or maybe he wasn't. We never know for sure but this is an important part of the story. This is not your typical thriller - there is a lot more to it, all making for rewarding reading. less

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