Dark Pines by Will Dean

Dark Pines by Will Dean

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After moving to a rural Swedish town to be closer to her terminally ill mother, Tuva Moodyson finds herself working on a once in a lifetime story for the local newspaper. Tuva starts investigating the murder in connection with a series of similar cold case murders that took place in the same forest. Unfortunately for Tuva, she is forced to keep facing her fear of nature by constantly having to return to the forest during her investigation, which puts her on edge during this already dangerous story.

Tuva is such a well-written protagonist who is relatable from the very beginning. She's continuing the struggle with the death of her father, which leads her to strive to report the facts delicately so that she doesn't cause any additional suffering to the victim's families. Tuva also has a rocky relationship with her mother, which makes her feel guilty even though her feelings are justified. Plus, she's smart, strong, and driven, which makes her an extremely interesting character to follow. She's also deaf and bisexual, and neither of these characteristics are the sole reasons for her presence in the book. It's nice to see some positive representation!

In addition to Tuva, there's a cast of characters that range from fascinating to bizarre and suspicious. There's an eccentric ghost-writer, a man who is believed to have hoarding disorder, sisters who create trolls with a variety of items including some of their own hair, and a seemingly perfect couple hiding failing marriage. There's also Tuva's close friend Tammy, who is being submitted to racism at the hands of the people living in their rural town, and a cast of supportive to silently grumpy co-workers and acquaintances. Each of these characters and their circumstances are brought to life in a way that is easy to see them living their lives somewhere in reality.

The murder mystery is well planned and had me glued to the pages. I found a handful of characters highly suspicious and zeroed in on a character that was not the murderer on the loose in the forest. The way that Dean develops the murder plot is gripping and had me wanting to continue reading even when I couldn't. The case is eerie and jarring but, unfortunately, the killer's motives lack depth. The big reveal is also a bit rushed and the story has an open ending that I wish had been tied up. I think the story could benefit from an additional chapter or two to wrap things up. Regardless, I enjoyed following Tuva through the twists and turns the story takes her through and find myself looking forward to reading more from Dean.