The Girl in the Woods by Camilla Lackberg

 

Synopsis :

A MISSING CHILD…
When a four-year-old girl disappears from in the woods just outside Fjällbacka, the community is horror-struck. Thirty years ago, a young girl went missing from the exact same spot, and was later discovered, murdered.

A MURDER…
Back then, two teenage girls were found guilty of the killing. Could it really be a coincidence that one of the girls – now a world-famous actress – has just returned to Fjällbacka? Detective Patrik Hedström starts investigating, with his fearless wife, Erica Falck, by his side.

A TRUTH BURIED LONG AGO…
But as Patrik and Erica dig deeper, the truth becomes ever murkier. For centuries ago, a woman burned at the stake for witchcraft cursed the Fjällbacka families who accused her, and now it seems the past may be coming back to haunt them…

This is what I say :

This is the tenth title in the universe of Erika and Patrik of Fjallbacka.  I am happy to share that I have read all ten titles and the crime thrillers by Camilla Lackberg are all very good.  They are well written with just enough excitement and also give an opportunity to sleuth out the killer(s).

However, in The Girls in the Woods, it got a bit confusing at times and the back story of yesteryear do not really linked to the current timeline story.  The author try to justify the linkage at the final chapter but I find it rather vague. I mean she can use almost any backstory and it might have worked equally well.  If she had only linked it in earlier chapters and elaborate on it, I feel it might have worked better.  I always loved all this back stories from yesteryear from Camilla so this time round, I am super disappointed.

I also do not know her intention with the story on the refuge (maybe she just want to highlight the plight of refuges) but I can't find the connection to the story and it could have been omitted totally.

Having said that, it was a good story anyhow. It wasn't the best but it was still nice.

I think at this point, there are no other new titles under the Fjallbacka series. By the way, all her titles under this universe are stand alone titles and you can just read them independently.  However, you might then get confuse on the development of the personal stories of the regular characters  but that's quite ok. 

I will be checking out Camilla's other titles which is independent of this series soon. Stay tune!

Forever In Blue (The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood) by Ann Brashares

 

Synopsis :

With unraveled embroidery and fraying hems, the Traveling Pants are back for one last, glorious summer.

Lena: Immerses herself in her painting and an intoxicating summer fling, fearing that the moment she forgets about Kostos will be the moment she sees him again.

Carmen: Falls under the spell of a sophisticated college friend for whom a theatrical role means everything and the heritage of the Pants means nothing.

Bridget: Joins a dig for an ancient city on the coast of Turkey and discovers that her archaeology professor is available in every way except one.

Tibby: Leaves behind someone she loves, wrongly believing he will stay where she has left him.

Join Ann Brashares's beloved sisterhood once again in a dazzling, fearless novel. It's a summer that will forever change the lives of Lena, Carmen, Bee, and Tibby, here and now, past and future, together and apart.

This is what I say :

At one point in my reading habits, I felt like collecting all the titles in the Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants Series just because.  And I want to purchase them second hand and they have to be in pristine condition.

I started with the fourth book because it's the only copy that fitted my conditions.  For a while, I will faithfully be on a lookout for the other titles but after a while I got bored and I ended up with just this sole copy and the last book of the series.

Having spent the past few years living in my bedroom shelf (yes, I have a a book shelf in my bedroom, I have a couple in the study room and I have one in the main hall. Don't judge me.)  I just felt like giving it a read to see if I can just read this last story without knowing the earlier stories.

It was doable.  It will not be the ideal thing to do if you happen to be emotionally invested in the characters but since I was not and with totally no expectations, Forever in Blue was a rather ok read.

It is the last book in the series and the girls are more grown and more matured in their thinking and in dealing with lives.  There are characters who popped out for a while (must be from the other titles) probably to give everything a closure.

It would be advisable for you  to read from the first title, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants which was made into a motion picture and then progress on from there for different reading experience.