The Blue Place by

10 August 2015


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When you read that a series of books are “brilliant and heartbreaking and made of awesome sauce and everybody should read them but go into them blind or you won’t get their full impact” (MartinWisse on Metafilter) well then you simply have to give the first book a try, don’t you?

Well, I did and I have to agree with MartinWisse after just reading the first book in the series. In The Blue Place we are introduced to Aud Torvingen, an ex-police officer, the daughter of a Norwegian diplomat and an American father. Someone who grew up in England but is so very Norwegian. A woman who knows danger and violence and who always plays to win.

I just loved this book. Aud is such a great character. I’ve skimmed through a few reviews on Goodreads1 and I just can’t get over how many people dismissing this as a “lesbian romance”, I mean, yes Aud is a lesbian. And there is romance, so both of those words are accurate and true. But would you usually describe James Bond as a straight romantic hero? I mean, he always gets the girl, doesn’t he? And that aspect is usually quite important in the story. But we never do, do we? Straight male authors who pursue a romantic storyline never get dismissed as just a romance. So why do so many people seem to do that when it is a female lead?

I will allow that this is more of a character study than a plot driven thriller or mystery. But I am perfectly fine with that. More character than plot is a plus for me. Your reading may vary.

I loved it and will be reading the sequel soon.

Other reviews : Novels about queer people : Val’s random comments : James Nicoll reviews


  1. I only do this after I finish a book. So much spoiler-danger if you do it before 

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3 Responses

  1. Caroline says:

    This sounds really good. I love the first sentence.
    Caroline´s last blog post ..Banana Yoshimoto: Asleep – Shirakawa Yofune (1992)

  1. 17 August 2015

    […] won’t get their full impact.” as described by MartinWisse – read the first one, The Blue Place & loved […]