Rainer Maria Rilke

"Live a while in these books, learn from them what seems to you worth learning, but above all love them. This love will be repaid you a thousand and a thousand times, and however your life may turn,-it will, I am certain of it, run through the fabric of your growth as one of the most important threads among all the threads of your experiences, disappointments, and joys."--Rainer Maia Rilke


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Saturday, June 2, 2012

A Bit Cold For My Tastes

Nordic Nights:  The Alix Thorssen Mysteries by Lise McClendon
(Adult Mystery Thriller)

Alix Thorssen is an art gallery owner.  How that translates into being a detective is lost to me but is perhaps described in an early book.  Her mother and stepfather are visiting for a town festival called 'Nordic Nights' that celebrates the town's Nordic heritage.  Alix's gallery is hosting a showing for a famous Norwegian artist and her stepfather is rebuilding some type of sailboat for the festival.  When the Norwegian artist turns up dead, Alix has to clear her stepfather's name, if only for her mother's sake.

This one is not the first in the series and I felt very lost for quite some time.  Obviously I had missed something very important about the main character in the first book and the second never really fully explains her character or motivations.

I didn't really enjoy the book.  The main character is, well, boring.  If Alix Thorssen were to ever call me for a lunch date, I would lie and make up some excuse.  She has absolutely no personality at all.  The author seems to blame her lack of spirit on her Norwegian ancestry but I hate to think of an entire culture as being so boring.  However, almost every motivation and decision in the book is attributed to the 'Norwegian' in Alix.  I just can't believe it, though.  Weren't the Vikings Norwegian?  They certainly don't seem so cold and colorless. 

I did enjoy the scene with Bjarne, though, and the mystery was engaging.  Overall, just too cold for my tastes.

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