Will Dean does it again, with an explosive opening he drew me into his pages and the life of Tuva Moodyson and lost me there until the very last page!
There is something strangely hypnotic about Dean’s writing, something a little bit addictive, I reckon he bottles up some magical forest substance and laces the pages of his books with it...or more likely he’s just a bloody good writer who hooks us into the heart of his stories.
Who would have thought a prickly deaf reporter living in the back of beyond surrounded by a moose Forrest in Sweden would have captured the hearts of so many. Yet captured our hearts she has. Tuva is a kind of jaggy thistle sort of character, there is something quite brusque about her, she is made of many sharp edges, yet in her, Will Dean, has created a well-rounded and multi layered character who will take you by the hand and lead you into her world.
On the outside she is a tough and tenacious little cookie but peel away some of those layers and you will discover a vulnerable and often insecure young woman. In Dark River, her best friend Tammy goes missing and it is impossible not to feel all of Tuva’s emotions as she is determined to find her friend. But everywhere she turns there seems to be a sense of resistance and an sinister touch of inherent racism from residents of the small town of Gavrik, when a second woman goes missing, Tuva’s suspicions are confirmed as all efforts are focused on her, with Tammy’s disappearance takes a back seat.
I always feel like a spooky soundtrack should be provided with Will’s books. Creepy, atmospheric and dangerous are all words I associate with his writing. I’ll bet there isn’t one reader who hasn’t got a picture of Gavrik painted as clear as a photograph inside their head. Will Dean nails the setting in his books and I think Dark River tops the lot! It is impossible to describe the atmospheric fear he creates in this novel, he takes the small town setting and he twists it to a whole new level! A small town where secrets and lies appear to be its very foundations. A town where urban myths are perhaps not always myths.
This book takes place in the summertime and you’d be mistaken if you think this makes it less atmospheric, endless daylight can be just as creepy as the darkness and the dangers are just as prevalent too. God, I’m actually shivering with a little fear writing this review! Especially when I remember my trip to Snake River, the land time seems to have forgotten with residents who step out the pages like extras from a horror movie, Sally the “snake-woman”; the uber creepy cousins Alexandra and Axel and the EBay seller Karl-Otto, believe me, when you read this you are going to be totally creeped out. And Freddy the shoe seller…if he ever tries to sell me a pair of shoes I am so running for the hills!
Filled to the brim with the creepiest of characters I really had no clue as to who to trust. Obsessions with snakes, with feet and all sorts of strange things, it felt like being in the midst of some bizarre horror movie. The tension was palpable, the pace ramped right up to the point that if I could have read from behind a cushion over my face I would have, the words played out a chilling movie in my head.
Will Dean weaves a wonderful story in Black River, it is more than just a story of two missing women, it is an exploration of relationships, of bonds, the value of life, small town attitudes and it is laced with so much emotion I felt I was totally wrung out by the end. His descriptions are intense but enthralling, they draw you into the pages, into the setting and into the characters themselves. Black River will take you and squeeze you into the pages and it will never let you go.
My review will be on my blog as part of the blog tour

It so good to catch-up with Tuva again. It’s like getting together with a good friend you haven’t seen for a while. Having read Will Dean’s previous two novels with Tuva as the lead it feels so comfortable to pick up his third novel and off you go straight into the action from the beginning like she’s never been away.

Tuva is now living and working in the south of Sweden when she gets an urgent call saying her best friend has gone missing. Tuva rushes back to Gavrik and won’t stop up her friend Tammy is found.

This is the best one in the series so far, I got to about half way and I just couldn’t stop until I had finished. There was a point when I thought I might lose interest but then along came the ending and I wasn’t disappointed.

Tuva is a great lead character imperfectly perfect with all her flaws but the setting of this series shouldn’t be underestimated and plays an important role, from the small town atmosphere, to the great pine woods all playing their part in creating a great story. Definitely a recommended read.

This is the third book in the Tuva Moodyson series, and I swear each one is getting better than the last! Tuva finds herself back in Gavrik when her best friend Tammy goes missing, driving the search when it looks like no one else is interested - being Midsommar, everyone is more distracted by the heat and mosquitoes and getting a day off to celebrate the special day.

With the first two being set in the cold of winter, it was unusual having it be daylight nearly 24 hours a day & there being no barrier to Tuva's investigations, weather-wise! That being said, the weather gave it an oppressive feel and really racked up the tension with all the heat and bugs. The new areas of Gavrik that are explored along with the new characters introduced are really interesting, and feel well fleshed out alongside the characters we already know & love (or find extremely creepy, naming no names), I hope we get to see more of them in future books. I really thought I knew whodunnit, but I was completely wrong and I am not disappointed in that at all.

When I saw this available for review I jumped at the chance to read it, having enjoyed the previous two titles in the series, but this can be read as a stand-alone. I would definitely recommend picking up the first two books in the series though!

Another brilliant title from Will Dean!

I would like to thank OneWorld Publications and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Black River is the third book to feature reporter Tuva. Whilst you could read it as a stand alone, I do think readers would get more out of it if they have read previous books in the series.

I was quite sad to see Tuva leave Gavrik and her friends, so was intrigued as to what the author would bring us in his latest novel. Whilst I was glad that the story is set back in Gavrik, I wish it had been on better terms. Tuva’s fears for her good friend, whilst I was fearing for Tuva. She always manages to land herself in trouble in her relentless efforts to reveal the truth.

If you have had the pleasure of reading the previous novels, you will know how many unsavoury characters live in this town. The residents who Tuva comes across whilst digging for information, sent shivers down my spine. They really don’t come much weirder or scarier. Snake River also lives up to it’s name, making me want to hide behind my cushions.

Black River is another dark and tense read with a protagonist who I can’t get enough of. I’m sure I’ve said it before but this would make such a great crime series on the telly. Tuve is an unlikely hero as she is quite unassuming for someone in her line of work. She is like a dog with a bone though and her lines of enquiry wholly consume you. A page turner of a read that had me hooked.

Well, I’ve just finished the latest installment of Tuva Moodyson and the residents of Garvik. It was a welcome distraction from Storm Dennis!

This is the third in the series by the wonderfully talented Will Dean and I tried really hard to read it slowly as I just did not want it to end!

I don’t like putting spoilers in my reviews so will try not too. In Black River Tuva returns to Garvik as 2 women go missing, as usual, the descriptions of the residents of this small Swedish Kommune are wonderfully intricate and Mr Dean brings them easily to life from the written page.

Tuva gets involved emotionally and physically in the search and in Black River we see her personality really start to shine through the story. I liked the way this storyline made me feel almost claustrophobic in ToyTown which is how Tuva feels, also in writing so wonderfully I was transported to the Swedish Midsommer and all its Traditions…..and it’s bugs! (Made me shudder!)

The storyline is intricate and compelling, leading you down the wrong paths to its crescendo of a finish…… and no I did not guess the perpetrator! (which means it’s an excellent book IMO)

At the end of the last book we saw reporter Tuva leave Gavrik to work in Malmo. At the scene of a burned car she gets a call from her ex-boss Lena telling her that her best friend Tammy has gone missing and that the Police aren't really too interested. Obviously she feels she has to do something so she abandons her new job and rushes back to Gavrik. The fact that she wasn't really settled in Malmo helps that decision. Anyone who has read the first two books, and I do recommend that you do, will know that Gavrik is a dark and remote place. Well, it was in them, in this book we meet Gavrik at the height of midsommer which throws up a whole host of other difficulties; insects, snakes, wildlife, and of course, strange residents acting weirdly. But no one is interested in Tammy's disappearance. Flyers are torn down, the police just give lip service. Until, that is, a blonde, minor celebrity, Lisa also goes missing. Then the searches begin in earnest. But Tuva believes that they are looking in all the wrong places and, in her own inimitable way, steps up her investigation...
I loved the previous two books, mainly for their atmospheric content as Tuva battles with the snow and cold. As I have already mentioned, this book shows a whole different side of Gavrik so Tuva comes up against a whole host of different challenges and I found that to be a breath of fresh air. Where the first two books, set in winter, were quite oppressive and claustrophobic due to the darkness, here we have hours and hours of oppressive sun, Tuva having to tape her curtains to have a chance of sleep. She also meets some very interesting people in her adventures. I won't spoil things but I have a whole new appreciation for snakes after finishing this book! I also cringed at the foot thing but I'll leave that for you to discover at your own speed!
Tuva continues to be the strong, but also quite fragile, woman she has shown herself to be in the previous two books. She's gutsy and loyal and shocked when she finds out that people don't care about Tammy due to her non-local heritage. She's also battling to stay sober, something that I do have to admit did get a bit intrusive for me along the way. But it's part of who she is...
The story gets on with itself very well and kept me in the dark pretty much all the way through. As well as the main story, we also have a couple of side plots with the shenanigans of some of the other suspects along the way which kept me on my toes throughout. And with an ending (not a cliffhanger) that left me excited for the next book.
All in all, a cracking addition to what's shaping up to be a wonderful series. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is my first Will Dean book,but certainly won't be my last.
It took a little while to get my head around who was who,but once I did,I didn't stop reading until the book was done.
Gavrik (especially Snake River)seems to be full of weird creepy people,any of whom you could well imagine kidnapping two young women.
Everytime Truva went into the forrest I almost felt myself itch at the descriptions of all the insectlife,and the constant sun was making ME weary.
Between this and the film,I don't ever need to go to Sweden at Midsommar.
A super central character,and a small town that looks like it holds plenty of secrets... I'll definitely be there for book 4.

Another creepy tale of downtown Gavrik that relentlessly makes one squirm! All the characters from the previous tales are there and suspicious as ever . The Utgard forest is beautifully described and again is central to the astonishing climax, a clever addition at the end seems to indicate even weirder characters to come further into the forest next time. Spooky stuff indeed!

I've loved all of Will Dean's books, but, the first 2 for me were missing that undefinable something that makes a book an amazing 5* as opposed to a fabulous 4*. Whatever it is, this book has it.
I absolutely loved this book and the only reason I didn't devour in one sitting is that I wanted to savour the descriptive writing for as long as possible. Well, if I'm really honest, that and the fact that there are key elements of the book that I'm just too squeamish for and so, couldn't read if I was eating / had eaten / was thinking of eating.... you get it.

Tuva is an incredible character, a deaf journalist who lives and works in Sweden. This book can absolutely be read as a stand alone but, honestly, I'd urge you to firstly read the other 2 books; Dark Pines and Red Snow. Mainly because they're great and also it will help set the scene for this dark thriller where 2 young women have disappeared.

The town and surrounding area where the book is set is rugged, dangerous terrain that's filled with strange happenings and even stranger characters. I'll not be booking a trip here anytime soon, but, I was so hooked on the constant daylight descriptions and the affect of living in such a remote, challenging location as well as this riveting storyline, tense and harrowing searching and brilliant conclusion.

A fabulous, fabulous read!

Congratulations and thanks so much to Netgalley and OneWorld Publications for the opportunity to preview such an amazing read.

I love the Tuva character and great to have her back on the pages.

Tuva has moved to Malmo, but news of her best friend Tammy's disappearance leads her to race back to Gavrik in order to join the search for her. We have a change of season from the first two books of this series, and summer brings mosquitoes, ticks, wasps, bees, midges... and snakes!

Another totally addictive read and I'll be surprised if you can pick where this story leads.

Will Dean returns us to the creep-fest that is the remote Swedish town of Gavrik with his intriguing protagonist, the deaf reporter Tuva Moodyson, this time she races against time to find her missing best friend, Tammy Yamnim, practically a sister to her. It begins with Tuva working in Malmo on the Sundhumn Enquirer, doing all that she can to impress her new editor, Anders. She has been living a clean life, no drink, but what with refusing all social invitations, she is lonely, filling her time with her demon gaming. So when Lena contacts her to inform her of Tammy's disappearance, Tuva drops everything immediately to drive to Gavrik, knowing that no-one will be as committed as her in finding Tammy. Tammy's food van has drops of blood that terrify Tuva, who has taken her and why? The police are reluctant to look for her just yet, despite the concerns of Lena and Tuva.

Lena offers Tuva the friggebod guest hut with its compost toilet to stay in, and the two of them organise flyers for distribution, whilst utilising social media and the press. However, not everyone is happy, they have no desire to put off potential tourists at the height of midsommar with stories of missing women, and besides to many, despite Tammy being Swedish, her Thai background makes her a suspect foreigner. However, everything changes when another local woman, Lisa, a minor celebrity, galvanises townsfolk to join search parties with hunt dogs in the menacing and dangerous Utgard forest with its torrents of mosquitos, snakes and other dangers. Flyers on Lisa now virtually eclipse those on Tammy, and nothing underlines the difference in the way the two missing women are valued when a huge reward is offered for Lisa. Tuva relentlessly looks for Tammy, certain the weird, sinister strange folk by the Snake river, such as the snakewoman Sally, ebay trader Karl-Otto and the odd cousins, Alexandra and Axel have answers. Will she be able to find Tammy before it is too late?

Dean excels when it comes to portraying the horrors of the forest, akin to the darkest of fairytales where the worst nightmares hang heavy in the air. The storytelling practically drips with atmosphere, Dean gives us a town populated with a host of suspicious and freakish characters, not to mention the scary animals, reptiles and insects, that fit right in with the terrors, fears, evil and monsters of myths, folklore and fairytales. This is a disturbing and unsettling read, particularly given the ending when it becomes clear what happened to Tammy and the dangers faced by Tuva. I found this a compulsive and intense read, I love the character of Tuva and her female friendships that take precedence in the novel with Lena, Tammy and Constable Noora. I am curious as to where Dean will go next as it looks as if Tuva will return to the area where those who care for her live, something she would not have envisaged previously. Many thanks to Oneworld Publications for an ARC.

Tuva is back and better than ever as she returns to Gavrik to join the hunt for her missing friend Tammy.

But Tammy isn’t the only person to have gone missing, another young woman has also disappeared escalating the man hunt to desperate levels. With no clues to go one apart from a small splatter of blood found outside Tammy’s work place the community comes together to search the inhospitable Utgard forest.

Packed to the brim with some of the shadiest characters in recent fictional history and some of the most spectacular settings, this book is jam-packed full of atmosphere and tension. On top of that it has one of my favourite female protagonists in recent history.

This has been one of my favourite books in the whole of 2019 and a brilliant book to mark the start of a new year.

My review maybe lacking but the book most certainly is not!

Be prepared to enter the dark, creepy depths of Utgard forest and come face to face with some characters that match their surroundings.

If you have read the first two books in this series then you will know what to expect with the knowledge that this is his best book so far, but if you are new to this series then don’t fear, there is enough backstory to make this read just as well as a standalone novel. However, saying that, I can not recommend all three books highly enough and all three need to be on everyones tbr pile!

Black River is due to be published on 12 March 2020 and is available to preorder now from the link below or your local bookshop.

A massive thank you to the author Will Dean, publishers Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

This is the third book in the Tuva Moodyson series as she is again pulled back to Gavrik when she hears that her best friend Tammy Yamnim has gone missing. The place doesn't have good memories for her but the loyalty she has to her friend make her overcome her fears. The sweltering heat and holiday season work against Tuva as the investigation seems to be quite low key with little urgency about it until a second young woman disappears. A young woman with celebrity status and a family with money to fund publicity. With Tammy always seeming like an afterthought, Tuva presses on with her own searches.
Tuva knows that no-one will look for Tammy as keenly as her. Now I had already met some of the residents of Gavrik in a previous book, with some of them more than a little strange, well that was just the tip of the iceberg. The search reached out through the insect-infested woods and Snake River. Boy did I feel like I was there and the people who lived out there was a breed on their own. It was quite hypnotic, with the snakes and relationships that felt far from normal.
Tuva is deaf without her hearing aids which can be greatly affected by the environments that she goes in but her mind stays as sharp as ever. There were so many suspects that I kept jumping to conclusions on. A brilliant edgy storyline that ensured that I read the book in one sitting. Very highly recommended.
I wish to thank Aimee Oliver-Powell of Oneworld Publications for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.