A pretty decent crime thriller. Kjeld returns after a long exile to his hometown after receiving a phone call from his father who claims he has witnessed a murder.

I started reading this awhile ago, but unfortunately at the time I wasn´t in the right frame of mind to enjoy it. I picked it up again last week and 2 days later I had finished it! Thoroughly enjoyable, a complete change to the normal thrillers you get. Very moody and dark, both in the plot and location!

If you want something different, read this.

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read a copy in return for an honest review.

Incredibly atmospheric Nordic thriller that is very well written but unfortunately for some reason just did not keep my attention. I did finish it and did enjoy it but it just wasn't a page turner for me.

I don't think I would read anymore in the series when they come out.

Good debut novel if a little slow to get going. It was enjoyable but I don’t think it will be one I’ll remember and not sure it will lead me to read the rest of the series.
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

I enjoyed this Nordic thriller, set mostly in a remote area of northern Sweden. Great characters and an interesting story. I didn't guess the ending! Well written and definitely recommended for fans of Nordic thrillers.

I really enjoyed this book, the setting was very atmospheric and I was invested in the characters and storyline.

I was gripped from the first page and really loved the way the reveals unfolded. Suspicious of just about everyone in the book for various reasons and thoroughly enjoyed the revelations of who I should actually have been suspicious of.

I'm so happy to move onto the next in the series soon.

I could not believe how much I truly enjoyed this novel. Not that I didn’t think I would love it, I just had expected it to be like a lot of other mysteries. It was so much different. I was enthralled from the beginning and really &el5 like 5he author did an amazing job of adding both likable and not likable characters who pull you in and make you feel as though you are a part of the story. Definitely one that needs to be in the top 10 lists. Great story line and well written.

5++++ stars

‘Some truths are best left buried’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to HQ Digital for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Where Ravens Roost’ by Karin Nordin. My apologies for the late feedback.

This is the author’s debut novel and the first in her series of Scandinavian Noir featuring Detective Inspector Kjeld Nygaard of the Gothenburg City Police.

In the opening we learn that Nygaard is currently on suspension following his last case which had gone disastrously wrong. He is estranged from his family who live in Varsund, the small mining town where he grew up. He receives a message on his phone from his father, Stenar, claiming that he’s seen a murder.

As Stenar is suffering from Alzheimer’s and there is no evidence, the local police think that he must have imagined it. Yet Kjeld can’t stop himself from investigating. Then a dead body is discovered and the police start to suspect Stenar of the crime. It becomes a race against time to discover the truth before it’s lost forever. But will uncovering the truth expose family secrets that are best left buried?

Overall, this proved a gripping crime thriller that held my attention from start to finish. However, I found the references to the Kattegat Killer case, which resulted in Nygaard’s suspension, a little confusing. I wondered if there had been a previous book. No, this is the first though I hope at some point more details will be provided.

Being a big fan of corvids, I really loved that ravens featured in the story.

Since ‘Where Ravens Roost’ came out Karin Nordin has published a second book, ‘Last One Alive’. I hope to read it soon.

Enjoyed this very much. Lots of twists to keep those pages turning. Read in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Review hadn’t saved. Really enjoyed this one- writing what fantastic and drew me in, didn’t want it to end!

Wow! This book really surprised me. Perfect amount of twists with a good balance of likeable and not so likeable characters. The suspense was just right and I couldn't stop turning pages.

A dark scandi noir. A detective on suspension goes back to his family's home. He has been estranged for years but travelled back following a strange message from his father. Set in a small town with winter darkness for most of the day, the backdrop is dark and creepy. Throw in some ravens that are kept domestically and the setting is tense, Some great characters with lots of twists and turns.

This was a thought provoking read and very dark scandi noir novel. It took me a while to read but I am glad that I did and would look out for more from this author.

I was given a copy by HQ digital and netgalley but the review is entirely my own

Where Ravens Roost by Karin Nordin is a Scandi crime novel. The author is new to me and I enjoyed her writing. It’s gripping and fast paced. I must say that I didn’t completely become engrossed with the characters but the plot kept me reading.

My thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the complimentary copy of this book.

What a superb book. Very well written and it grabbed me from chapter one and didn't let go until the Very end. It's a story of family, relationships and the ties that bind us with a murder thrown in for good measure. It also covers the difficulties involved in loving and caring for someone with alzheimers, a subject which was handled with warmth and sensitivity. I loved this book and highly recommend it. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

If you like Scandi Noir you'll love this.
The central character is Detective Kjeld Nygaard who returns to his home town of Varsund after receiving a strange message from his father saying there's been a murder and there's a body in the barn.
This is not a journey he makes willingly as he and his father have been estranged for a long time and he couldn't get away from the small town quick enough - a small town dominated by a local mining company which is the source of most of the employment and where gossip is rife.
The father is suffering from dementia so it's difficult to know how much of the story is true bur Kjeld's sixth sense tells him this is not something to be brushed under the carpet and so he starts digging - even though he's well aware that he may not like the answers.
Lots of twists and turns,family secrets- it's all there.
The description of the scenery is brilliant and you can easily imagine how beautiful but forbidding the area is - how you're at the mercy of the elements.
I did work out one of the secrets but,even so,the ending was a surprise.A page turner

In Karin Nordin's Where Ravens Roost, the first installment in the Det. Kjeld Nygaard mystery series, this Swedish mystery debut will give you goosebumps and leave you at the edge of your seat. It all started for Kjeld, a suspended police detective from Gothenberg from a previous case, when his father called him about a discovery of a body in his rookery in Varsund. So he drove all the way and dealt with his father's Dementia and his sister's standoffish behavior when he haven't been home in visit his family in years. As he learned more about the dead body that was found in the hole, he begun to question his father's lucidity and learned more about the NorrMalm Mining Industries connection to their land and the Lindqvists, one of the richest families in Sweden, when he discovered family photos in a closed tackle box in the attic. Without trying to agitate his father's mental state, he dug closer and closer to the truth with a missing contract and a shocking twist in the end on what it could mean for him in the end.

Really enjoyed this book. Brilliant descriptions….well written characters…..and a plot that keeps you intrigues to the end. Loved it.!

Kjeld Nygaard is a Detective Inspector based in Gothenburg. When he receives a rambling phone call from his estranged father, Stenar, he is compelled to return home to investigate. What he uncovers is a complex situation involving a body, ravens, a mining company, and his own identity.

Karin Nordin has written a tightly constructed storyline, weaving deftly between the present day and glimpses of the past as the truth slowly emerges. There are a lot of secrets to be uncovered and not all of them expected. When Kjeld discovers the central truth, it hits him hard, forcing him to re-evaluate his life.

As the story progressed, I felt the oppressiveness of the landscape coming through. I also liked the sympathetic way the author dealt with Stenar's illness with Alzheimer's disease, which suggested a personal understanding, and how this was woven into the narrative.

The way that Kjeld found it difficult to relate to so many of the people in his life - estranged husband Bengt, father, sister Sara, police colleague Esme, local police chief Gunnar - was authentic and established him as a character that you believed in and wanted to succeed. I hope that there are more stories to tell with him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Karin Nordin.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by HQ, in return for an honest appraisal.

3.5 stars

Detective Inspector Kjeld Nygaard left his home in rural Varsund, Sweden over a decade ago. Kjeld's beloved mother was dead and his father Stenar - with whom Kjeld always had a fractious relationship - made it clear he never wanted to see Kjeld again. So Kjeld moved 800 kilometers south to Gothenburg and climbed the career ladder to become a police investigator with the Violent Crimes Division of the Gothenburg City Police.

Now, twelve years later, Kjeld receives a disturbing voicemail from his father. The elder Nygaard says he went to feed his pet ravens in the barn and saw someone being murdered. As it happens Kjeld is on temporary suspension for irregularities in his last case, so he makes the 10-hour-drive back to Varsund.

Upon arrival, Kjeld finds his sister Sara .taking care of their father Stenar. Sara insists that Stenar has Alzheimer's, gets confused, and didn't see any murder. This was confirmed by Police Inspector Gunnar Ek, who searched the barn and found nothing. Kjeld went to police college with Gunnar, and considers him barely competent, So Kjeld searches the barn himself and finds a human tooth. Before long a body is discovered beneath the barn's dirt floor.

Once the body is exposed, Gunnar wants to question Stenar. So Kjeld calls a lawyer named Erik Norberg, whose phone number is in Stenar's old Rolodex. As it happens Norberg is also the attorney for Roland Lindqvist, the CEO of Norrmalm Industries - a mining company that provides most of the jobs in Varsund. Roland is in the process of selling Norrmalm, and doesn't want anything to interfere with the deal.

Kjeld fears Gunnar might arrest his father for murder, so he decides to look for the killer himself. Kjeld is assisted by his police partner Esme Jansson, who drives up from Gothenburg to help. As Kjeld investigates, he learns secrets that have been hidden for decades. Kjeld also discovers that Norrmalm may have been illegally mining on Stenar's land, which - if exposed - would create trouble for the company.

It seems that Kjeld's probe disturbs someone, because the detective is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant.

As Kjeld gets close to exposing the truth and uncovering the killer, the story threads come together in surprising ways.

The novel has an interesting array of characters, many of whom have their own concerns. For example, Kjeld has a short temper, chain smokes, and rarely gets to see his 7-year-old daughter Tove, who lives with Kjeld's ex-husband; Detective Sergeant Esme Jansson is frustrated by Kjeld taking off and leaving her to deal with the fallout from their last case; Kjeld's sister Sara is overwhelmed with the responsibilities of looking after her sick father as well as taking care of her own home, two children, and semi-employed husband; Police Inspector Gunnar Ek is worried about an event in his past; Attorney Erik Norberg knows things that weigh on his conscience; and CEO Roland Lindqvist's adult children are lazy spoiled spendthrifts.

This first book in the Kjeld Nygaard series is an excellent debut novel for Scandi-noir author Karin Nordin.

Thanks to Netgalley, Karin Nordin, and HQ Digital Publishers for a copy of the book.