Chris OuldRecensioni

This is the first in a crime series set on the Faroe Islands. The detective is a British policeman who had left the Faroe Islands as a small child with his mother when she left his father. Now, his father, with whom he has had no relationship over all these years, has been found shot, and the British policeman, Jan, returns to the islands and is soon helping the Faroese police solve the mystery.
I did enjoy learning about the geography, history and culture of the Faroes, but I'm not sure I will continue on with the series. This entry did leave an open-ended question in that Jan had wanted to find out why his mother left his father, and the answer to that question is not disclosed by this book.
As far as I can tell, the author is not Faroese (he is a British TV writer) so I'm also not sure how authentic the Faroese elements are.

2 1/2 stars½

A native Faeroese who grew up & became a detective in England comes back to the islands to see his ill father. He gets sucked into the investigation into his father’s near-death injuries, a murder, a kidnapping & more. Well-written with realistic dialog & storyline, & kept me guessing. Compelling characters. Terrific narrator, but the breaks sometimes were nonexistent. Poor audio editing, but I’d listen to book 2 because it’s a good story & narrator.

British DCI visits Faroe Islands to see father after CVA. Becomes involved in police investigation of a series of peculiar family-related mysteries/crimes. Book ending does not conclude the majority of ongoing mysteries. And the DCI continues in several other investigations/books.

A cold case involving a body on the site of a former commune may have connections to the last days of Jan Reyná’s mother. I liked that this narrative thread continued through all three of the books in this series, and I did like the setting, particularly the interactions between the Faroese and the Danish. I also liked the plot line about Hjalti being forced to be acting inspector (to say he’s not thrilled is an understatement). But Jan’s mum’s story went in a really creepy direction (abuse, trauma, sick criminal) and I had to skip to the end to find out whodunnit because I didn’t want to wade through too much of it. (And then I ended up reading more than I wanted to because I didn’t skip far enough ahead.) If you’re planning to read this series, the first two books are much safer than the third; that is, there is less creepiness in those installments.

This is the third of the trilogy set on the Faroe Islands. I’ve enjoyed all three books. The continued story has built slowly at a measured pace. The last book is faster with many complicated intertwined stories and characters. There is also more tension as the plot moves to the end. It has been like watching a great storm building on the horizon and then advancing over a long horizon. I guessed some of what might be coming but was fascinated with how the threads merged and mysteries resolved. There were some surprises for me, particular the final resolution of the principal characters. I am not sure if there will be more stories with these characters or who would be the protagonist. Maybe a shift of protagonist. This is different than most books where we can clearly see how the characters could move forward. If there more, I will surely be reading them. Thanks to the author for a well written and interesting series.

I enjoyed this mystery. I liked it's steady pace and reluctance to dwell on violence. The mystery was interesting and the glimpse into life on the Faroes was intriguing. I plan to read the next book in the series.

The second installment in the Faroes series features a clash between traditional lifestyles and modern sensibilities: the whale hunt is being protested by environmental activists who are not afraid of making more overt demonstrations to get their message across. It may therefore not be a surprise that a woman affiliated with the activists is later found murdered. Things get tricky for the Faroes police—murder in a small community is bound to have personal connections. Meanwhile, Jan Reyna is still on the islands after his father’s funeral, and now he’s looking for more information about his mother.

This was a good follow-up to The Blood Strand, a solid mystery. Nobody’s injuries wandered around their body this time, although a logo for the environmental activists’ organization was implied to be on the front of their sweatshirt, and later it was suggested that the logo was on the back. Maybe there were logos on both sides of the sweatshirt? I realize this is an incredibly nitpicky thing to notice, but I was on alert after the wandering injuries in the first book.

I also think that the mix of first person for Jan and third person for everybody else doesn’t really work. I don’t get the sense of Jan being a different person from the third-person narrator, especially when his narrative segments begin in the same chapter as a third-person narration. If you’re going to change POV, probably better to start a new chapter.

Overall, I would recommend this book and this series.½

Great end to the trilogy. The plot is intricate with several story lines that Ould skillfully pulls together for an exciting finish. Some of the regular characters have changes in store & their futures are left up in the air but we (and Jan) finally get answers concerning the death of his mother 40 years ago. A really satisfying read.

DI Jan Reyná is in limbo. He’s still on the Faroe Islands, weighing his future while recovering from a case he worked with local detective Hjalti Hentze. There’s nothing really keeping him here but he’s in no hurry to return home where a meeting with professional standards awaits.

He’s a British copper who came to the islands to meet his father. His mother Lýdia was born here & at age 18, married a much older man after getting pregnant. She soon grew restless & fled to Copenhagen with Jan in tow. When he was 5, she killed herself & he ended up being raised in the UK by her sister. He came back to get answers but after a brief & chilly meeting, his father suffered a stroke & never recovered.

So he’s hanging out in cousin Fríđa’s guesthouse pondering his next move & using the time to dig into his mother’s past.

Hjalti is also dealing with fallout from the last case. He’s a smart, quiet man with no time for office politics. Things were returning to normal until a group of activists arrived to protest whale hunting. They’re a dedicated, savvy bunch who hired Faroese photographer Erla Sivertsen to capture the bloodiest shots possible for social media & online response has been swift. International condemnation ramped up tension between islanders & activists & is putting a major strain on police resources.

When a young woman’s body is found beneath anti-activist graffiti, Hjalti & his colleagues are under pressure to solve it ASAP before there’s any more violence. The evidence points in one obvious direction but Hjalti’s not sure it’s that simple. Before he knows it, one of his family members is implicated & he finds himself removed from the investigation.

There’s much more to the plot that is slowly revealed as Hjalti quietly keeps digging. Jan spends most of his time researching his mother’s past but becomes involved in the case when Hjalti needs help. They make a good team. Despite their differences, they’ve come to trust & appreciate each other’s methods. There are some odd things happening within the police force & Hjalti values having an outsider to bounce things off of.

Location plays a huge role & the author does a great job describing the physical beauty & traditional fishing culture of the Faroes. It’s a richly atmospheric read with a subtle, rising tension as it becomes clear there’s much more going on here than one tragic death. We get a bit more info on Jan’s family to add to what we learned in book #1 but there are still unanswered questions.

I’m hoping this signals book #3 is in the works but it will be a tricky balancing act for the author. The Faroes is a quiet, peaceful place with low crime rates & there’s a danger more murders will result in it becoming a Scandi version of Cabot Cove.

Perhaps it will focus more on the MC’s & that’s fine with me. I really like these interesting, complex characters & enjoy their interaction. By the end of the story, both have some decisions to make & I look forward to seeing where they end up next.

Having mostly enjoyed my first visit to the Faroes in Ould's The Blood Strand, I was eager to read this second book in his series. I found it to be better than the first, although hampered by some of the same problems. However, one of the problems is not the pronunciation of Faroese words and names. A simple pronunciation guide is right in the front of the book, and I found it to be invaluable.

The Faroe Islands are a commanding, almost otherworldly, setting, and the author certainly knows how to bring it to life by including cultural traditions like the grind (pronounced "grinned") or traditional whale hunt. The landscape is awe-inspiring. Many of the roads that connect the islands take advantage of existing volcanic tubes, although I doubt very much that I could persuade myself to travel through this particular one:


" So far all the tunnels I've been through had had two traffic lanes, and they were all lit. The Árnafjarđartunnilin took me by surprise because it had no lights and the road narrowed to a single lane. It was like driving into a mine, with no indication of how far and how deep you would have to go. It was unnerving and the roughly cut passing places carved out of the rock didn't make it any less so."


Jan Reyna is still there trying to learn more about his mother. He's much more comfortable with the people and culture than he was in the first book, and he does help Hjalti Hentze with the murder investigation from time to time. Reyna's chapters are written in the first person to separate his opinions from those of his Faroese counterpart. Hentze is by far the more interesting character in my opinion. This investigation is complex and extremely interesting-- and made more difficult by Hentze's relationships with some of the suspects.

Once again, like The Blood Strand, there is a lot to like about this book, but The Killing Bay also suffers from way too much middle that does little to advance the characters or the plot. I will continue to read this series for the simple reason that I am very intrigued by the mystery that surrounds Jan Reyna. I must know what it is!

Jan Reyna left the Faroe Islands at a very young age, and he has never known much about his past on the islands. But when an illness in the family brings him back, he ends up trying to make sense of his family history and also unofficially helping to solve a murder.

This is a first book in series and as such has a few hiccups. The biggest hiccup was the fact that injuries tended to wander: a dislocated right shoulder was said to be the left shoulder later on, while a left ankle transferred its sprain/fracture to the right foot once a cast was put on. But other than that, it was pretty good. The Faroes, of course, are a nicely exotic setting, and the author makes judicious use of Faroese to lend local colour and realism to the story. The mystery plot itself was solid, and while there was one unseemly element, it was not wallowed in excessively.

The book ends with the main mystery solved, but with more for Reyna to explore in his past. Readers who don't feel the need to continue with the series will be satisfied, but there's scope for readers who wish to return. I will likely return.½

An English detective who has been suspended from his job visits the land of his birth, the Faroe Islands, to confront his estranged father, but when he's murdered he ends up helping the local police. The narration shifts between the local detective (a grounded, decent detective, in third person) and the British cop (in first person) who not only pushes most people in life away, he seems to keep the reader at arm's length. Though the action picks up toward the end, it took me a long time to get through this one because it seemed to be a sleeping pill between covers.

This is the 1st book of a new mystery series set in the Faroe Islands. The main character, detective Jan Reyna, was taken from the Faroes as a child when his mother left his father. He grew up in Britain but is now back to see his estranged father & explore his roots. Of course he becomes involved in a murder that is somehow connected to his father and even though he has no official status there, he's right in the thick of things.

I enjoyed learning about the Faroes, and its people immensely. Next to no graphic violence, it's more of a straight forward puzzler with plenty of family drama thrown in. Oddly, it actually felt more like a translated novel even though the author lives & writes in the UK. Also the ending leaves you with a few questions which I'm sure will be answered in the next two installments.
But I loved the change of pace & really look forward to the next one in this series. Highly recommended!

Promising start to a series set in a unique location.½

Really enjoyed this. Not a thriller but a thoughtful, intricate murder mystery mixed with family drama that features 2 intriguing MC's in the beautiful Faroe Islands. Hope there's a book #2.

The Faroe Islands are midway between Norway and Iceland in the North Atlantic and therefore, from a geographical standpoint, mysteries from that region should have the noir-ish bent of say an Arnaldur Indridason Icelandic mystery or a Jo Nesbo Norwegian mystery. And while The Blood Strand describes the bleak setting of a cold, windy, rainy group of islands, it doesn’t have that overall bleakness that Indridason incorporates into his novels.BloodStrand.jpg

Signar Ravnsfjall, noted Faroe businessman, is found unconscious in his car in a lay-by in Tjornuvik, a remote part of the island of Streymoy. There are blood splatters on the car, a shattered window, a shotgun in the passenger foot well and an attaché case of money in the boot.

CID Detective Hjalti Hentze is in charge of the case. Soon after, another body is found, that of Tummas Gramm, a laborer and ne’er-do-well, who has what looks like a shot gun wound in his stomach. Are these two incidents related?

Upon hearing that his estranged father, Signar, is unconscious and hospitalized, Police Detective Jan Reyna is convinced by his Aunt Ketty (who raised him after his mother’s death) to leave England and visit his father. They haven’t spoken in years and their previous encounter was not cordial…as a matter of fact, it ended in a fist fight.

Reyna is met at the hospital by his half brother, Magnus, as strong willed as their father, and equally stubborn and willing to do anything to preserve the family reputation. He is also met by Frida, a cousin who is Magnus’ opposite.

As should be expected, Reyna becomes involved in the investigation, with Hentze and his boss juggling his utility against his kinship with the Ravnsfjall family.

I really enjoyed The Blood Strand which is more than just a murder mystery. Reyna is trying to learn about his family, since he and his mother left the islands when he was three. While doing so, he struggles to figure out where he stands within the family and how much he actually cares about them. Meanwhile, he and Hentze are trying to solve the murder.

Hentze and Reyna play off of each other very well and should author Ould decide that Reyna should remain in the islands and make this into a series, I personally would be quite happy.

P.S. I just learned that The Blood Strand is the first book in a planned trilogy. Excellent!

I hope one day to visit the Faroe Islands. Even though it is not a climate I typically enjoy, it seems an interesting place, with 50,000 residents on 540 square miles of islands between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic, halfway between Iceland and Norway. Chris Ould has done a nice job of portraying life and crime there without bombarding the reader with too many factoids about the island nation. He's also, in a low-key way, shown the differences between British law enforcement and Faroese, without impugning either as to their respective shortcomings. The story line is interesting as it builds, and the main characters are believable and appealing, you want to learn more as you go along. I felt the pace of the book was reflective of life in the islands, slower, less frenetic than what we expect is the norm in the US or England, or even Denmark, for that matter. Well-done and I look forward to his next offerings in 2017 and 2018 - "The Killing Bay" and "The Fire Pit".

Two years ago I read another crime novel set in the Faroes, and I've become intrigued with these remote islands that are found between Iceland and Norway. Author Chris Ould gives readers a good feel for the setting and the customs of the people and even provides a brief basic pronunciation guide to the language which comes in very handy (although the book is not overloaded with Faroese words).

Local policeman Hjalti Hentze was my favorite character, due in part to the fact that he explained local procedure and customs, but also because of his dedication and attitude. Jan Reyna, on the other hand, was abrasive and secretive-- understandable when readers take into consideration that he was spirited away from his home as a small child and-- to his knowledge-- none of his Faroese family tried to get in touch with him. We soon learn that one of the secrets he's hanging tight to involves his life in the UK, and we should be learning more about that in the next books in the proposed trilogy.

Reyna's negative attitude toward most of what he encountered in the islands made me a bit impatient with him, and it was interesting to see how the author dealt with this as the story progressed.

There's an awful lot to like about this book, but I found it hampered by "too much middle" which slowed the pace down to a crawl. Yes, a small part of that slowness was due to the fact that most of the evidence had to be flown to Copenhagen for analysis (the Faroes are a part of Denmark), but it cannot be held accountable for it all.

Chris Ould has a marvelous setting and two main characters that deserve to be fleshed out even more. Although I did find The Blood Strand to have a flaw or two, I'm still looking forward to the next book in the series.

Chris Ould's previous outings as a screen writer and author of YA crime fiction titles means that he has brought a polished style to THE BLOOD STRAND which promises to be the beginning of a trilogy, even perhaps a series.

Faroes-born Jan Reyna comes back to the Faroes from England because his father has been shot and seems to be dying. His adoptive parents encourage him to attempt one last reconciliation. Inevitably his policeman's detective brain kicks in and he realises there are mysteries to be solved. He meets up with his half-brothers, one of whom is very hostile, the other very friendly, and so he decides to approach the police to see what they have found out. This leads to him teaming up with local policeman Hjalti Hentze, in an unofficial way, becoming part of the investigative team. At first he is treated by Hentze's boss as a suspect, but then it becomes clear that he could really have had nothing to do with the original incident. Faroese police procedures are a little different to British ones and so he looks at the crimes scenes with different eyes.

As the book progresses we learn little snippets of Reyna's background but the author keeps us constantly hungry for more.

As I usually do, I weighed the clues up, and came up with a workable scenario which led to the shooting of Jan's father and then explained the subsequent chain of action. But I was wrong!

I very much enjoyed the unique setting of the novel too.

Jan Reyna and Hjalti Hentze make an interesting and effective team and I look forward to meeting them again in

THE KILLING BAY due to be published Feb 2017
THE FIRE PIT dues to be published Feb 2018.

Sixteen-year-old Holly Blades is working as a TPO (Trainee Police Officer). Her first case involves fourteen-year-old Ashleigh Jarvis who is knocked down by a lorry and whom she accompanies to the hospital. Whilst there they discover there is far more to the accident than first assumed and Holly's suspicions will lead her even deeper into a tangled web.

A fantastic and gritty crime story from author Chris Ould. His main character, Holly, was such a strong and believable protagonist. I think the cover was fantastic and the extra information such as the glossary and list of police ranks incredibly useful. This book is a great read - highly recommended.

Highly recommended to teenager's who like The Cherub series. Sutied to aged over 15 years.½

Three and a half stars