Melanie

I'm not enjoying this one so far. It's taking me a long time to feel invested in the main characters. Am I alone in this?

This book was pleasant surprise for me. It melded two genres together that of history and mystery. This series has become my new “summer read” quick, easy, beach reading fun!

Lovely little story, just not my cup of tea. Too predictable. I am also not a fan of the “serial” book trend. This was my first Brunstetter book. I will perhaps try an earlier novel.

This book has good information. Anyone living with chronic pain or facing any number of difficult diagnosis will benefit from the concepts within this book. That being said I am giving this only a 2 of 5 stars. It is simply far too repetitive. I understand that real life examples stick with the reader and bring the medical facts and statistics into my world. I just believe that the book could have included such examples and still cut to the point of each chapter a bit quicker. Several times as I listened to the audio book ( yes I admit this was an audio read for me) I paused to ensure I was not re-hearing something from a previous chapter. Although the authors narration is slow, clear and methodical which is a good thing, I did find it a bit too slow and a bit too methodical to the point of boredom. This boredom is not from the intended content but from the delivery both in the written and spoken word. All of this being said, pick up this book and skim through it. If you are facing any medical issues there is definite benefit to Dr. Rankin's take on medical care and healing.

I did eventually warm up to this book however I am not raving about the series just yet. I will give Harry Hole another shot at catching my interest as the book absolutely caught my interest as it progressed and was a definite puzzler until the reveals began.

So...it is 2023 and I have just re-read The Bat. I guess my review from 2015 was correct because I've warmed even more to this book which many told me to skip. I love knowing the history of characters and this book did an excellent job of painting the history of Harry Hole. For fans of Nordic Crime I think this series is a win.