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Fatal Isles

By: Maria Adolfsson
Narrated by: Hattie Ladbury
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Summary

A remote island. A brutal murder. A secret hidden in the past....

In the middle of the North Sea, between the UK and Denmark, lies the beautiful and rugged island nation of Doggerland.

Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby has returned to the main island, Heimö, after many years in London and has worked hard to become one of the few female police officers in Doggerland.

So, when she wakes up in a hotel room next to her boss, Jounas Smeed, she knows she's made a big mistake. But things are about to get worse: later that day, Jounas's ex-wife is found brutally murdered. And Karen is the only one who can give him an alibi.

The news sends shockwaves through the tight-knit island community, and with no leads and no obvious motive for the murder, Karen struggles to find the killer in a race against time.

Soon she starts to suspect that the truth might lie in Doggerland's history. And the deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that even small islands can hide deadly secrets . . .

©2021 Maria Adolfsson (P)2021 Bonnier Books UK
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What listeners say about Fatal Isles

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good character and plot

Doggerland is a wonderful creation and Karen is a great character, tough and damaged as all crime cops seem to need to be. The plot ended up being quite satisfying.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable and well read

Scandi noir murder investigation with differing and relatable personalities. A very enjoyable and intriguing listen from start to finish.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Felt relentlessly negative about everything

I didn't feel the story was very plausible, though I persevered. Perhaps the storyline , & opinions expressed by the main character, would have been less bleak if we could have had some insights into a few positive thoughts & feelings from this central figure; what a miserable view of life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Imaginary but believable location

The characters and plot are very slow to develop but after the murder investigation starts, move at a good pace.

The denouement is satisfying and follows the development of the story well.

It is a little disappointing that sexism in this imaginary police force seems 20 years behind the times, but I suppose the lot needs the tension.

Overall a good listen. The narrator is good, with natural speech patterns and good delineation. The only criticism of the narrator is a slow delivery which is easily fixed by using the 1.1 speed setting.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very different but enjoyable

I think my craving to hear some names from the Nordic countries pulled me onto this .. Very different heating so many names and places I have never heard of , but story line was great and so was the narration.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great start to a series

Slow start to the series - but it gradually warmed up and proved to be a great tale.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it!

gotta love scandi ! this is no exception, complex at times and a real curved ball ending, will be reading more by the authour- foot note the description of the location and lifestyles were sooo real it had me googling Doggerland!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A but long, convoluted but still a good story

I confess to dropping in and out of this one so perhaps that is why there were elements of the narrative which didn’t seem to make sense.

The last few listens were like an attempt to finish a marathon and completed by shear determination, BUT it all started to calm down hold itself together and tidy up ‘most’ loose ends.

I really liked the ending and suddenly felt there was coherence and genuine emotion between the main characters. There are issues dealt with which go beyond the main storyline which ask good questions to anyone with or separated from a family.

There were issues particularly violent element of the story which I felt were left hanging. Maybe I missed them resolving, maybe n they were in a different story, maybe I just fell asleep too many times, or maybe there were two sets of stories with one of them leading to a sequel. Apologies if this is a [spoiler] for anyone!

In summary, perhaps I’m being a bit harsh by knocking of a star in my review, but the narrator’s voice kept going off not a most irritating sing-song style and her excellent voice characterisation was so good that it undeservedly has been docked a star, because some of the other voices see are really really good, sound genuinely in character without being hammed up. Perhaps it’s because the sing-song voice reminded me of a sister-in-law. Sorry.

The other reductionsninnstars is because it is all a bit too looonnnggg.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent “Scandi Noir”

Got this book from a Sunday Times review. So glad I took the chance. This is true to the Scandi Noir genre and has those hooks that just won’t let go.
I would certainly recommend this title.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hang on in there

It’s a slow start but patience is rewarded. I promise you that. Excellent characters in the novel.

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