It is hard to give a good review of this book without giving too much away. I will say this is my first book by Reginald Hill and I don't know how I missed him! This was a surprising but enjoyable read, and I was able to fly through it in one sitting.At first, the style of writing was a bit odd - it’s slightly whimsical and fairytale-like as can be expected, and I didn’t always know exactly what was going on but I really enjoyed how all the fairytales we know were brought into this story in such a unique way. I loved that the forest itself was more or less a creature on its own, and had its own special magic that also flowed through the Woodcutter. It reminded me a little bit of the forest in Uprooted by Naomi Novik, combined with the fairytale characters from Once Upon A Time. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. So, that said, I bet you my bottom onion ring that this is a bit of fanfic that got a little bit big in some secret community and Danley got told this could be, like, a real book! And everything! And yes, I'm exaggerating. I'm sure it didn't happen like that. But it comes across like that. It's a tepid little exploration of a metanarrative that goes down the Aarne-Thompson list of types and tries to hit as many of the high points as coyly as possible. But what you're really left with is the idea that you're not getting the full story. You weren't in on the conversation that led to the story and so are left out of all the assumptions that go into it. She's just telling the story! Except she forgot that not everybody is in on the canon. How I missed Reginald Hill's unique writing style from the Dalziel and Pascoe series (I wanted to take a break from his slightly overt sexism). This standalone was equally brilliant, though with the fault I have mentioned. The end seemed fitting but somewhat expected; exciting read overall.

It’s possible that I would have liked The Woodcutter better in print than audio because I was irritated by Sarah Coomes’ narration. She reads it with a breathy sing-song voice that is regularly but indiscriminately passionate, almost groaning and straining in places (hear a sample). I think many readers will approve of Coomes’ interpretation, but I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that I was supposed to be taking this story seriously and oh-so-tragically when I really felt like I was eating popcorn at Disney World and that the characters would soon be tossing me candy as they passed.Wilkie Collins. Καμία σχέση βέβαια. Μάλλον το σκέφτηκα επειδή στην νέα του έκδοση το ενέταξαν στην κλασική λογοτεχνία. Αργότερα μια φίλη μου είπε ότι η γραφή του Hill φέρνει λίγο στην Minnete Walters, εδώ θα συμφωνήσω, αν και η γραφή του Hill μου άρεσε πιο πολύ. Το βιβλίο ξεκινάει πολύ καλά και η ιστορία του Γούλφ σε κρατάει μέχρι και το τέλος. Ειδικά το πρώτο μέρος του βιβλίου με την αφήγηση της ιστορίας μέσω τετραδίων που έδινε στην Άλβα - την ψυχολόγο του στις φυλακές - και τις σκέψεις αυτής για τα γραφόμενα, την βρήκα εξαιρετική. I'm still not sure if I liked this book or not. I liked it enough to read it in a couple of sittings. I liked it enough to want to know what was going to happen and to care about some of the characters. But ultimately I came away feeling a bit cheated; as if I'd been given an old pair of shoes in a sparkly box and for a second I'd actually believed they were new. Nur dieses Buch ist einfach nur furchtbarst geschrieben. Eine sinnlose Aneinanderreihung von altbekannten Märchencharakteren und neuen. Allerdings lieblos aneinander geklatscht und an keiner Stelle macht man sich die Mühe, mal irgendwas zu erklären oder die Personen weiter vorzustellen.

A fast-moving, stunning new stand-alone psychological thriller from the award-winning author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series.

Wolf Hadda ζει το happily ever after του μέχρι που ένα πρωί όλα διαλύονται ξαφνικά.Ζει την τέλεια ζωή,είναι πλούσιος,επιτυχημένος,παντρεμένος με τον έρωτα της ζωής του την πριγκίπισσα του παραμυθιού και έχουν μια κόρη και ξαφνικά βρίσκεται κατηγορούμενος για ειδεχθείς πράξεις και οικονομικές απάτες και τα χάνει όλα.Είναι αθώος ή ένοχος;��ο ερώτημα μένει να αιωρείται σε ένα μεγάλο κομμάτι του βιβλίου μια που ο ίδιος στην πρωτοπρόσωπη αφήγηση του επιμένει οτι είναι αθώος αλλά δεν είναι σίγουρο οτι λέει την αλήθεια αφού προσπαθεί να υπερασπιστεί τον εαυτό του.Είναι όμως πολύ γοητευτικός χαρακτήρας αν και λίγο στερεοτυπικά βγαλμένος απο παραμύθι. Blending magic, heart-pounding suspense, and a dash of folklore, The Woodcutter is an extraordinary retelling of the realm of fairy tales. Eίμαι λίγο μπερδεμένη.Όταν ξεκίνησα να διαβάζω τον Ξυλοκόπο ενθουσιάστηκα απο τις πρώτες σελίδες και συνέχισα να διαβάζω με μεγάλη όρεξη αφού είναι ένα βιβλίο που κρατάει το ενδιαφέρον του αναγνώστη αμείωτο σχεδόν μέχρι το τέλος.Αυτό το τέλος όμως με άφησε λίγο...ανικανοποίητη να το πω;Απογοητευμένη να το πω;Πάντως δεν το βρήκα αντάξιο των προσδοκιών που μου είχε δημιουργήσει ο συγγραφέας μέχρι εκείνη τη στιγμή. Some spoke gentle words; some remained silent. But he understood. Understood that the pain he endured thinking he was leaving them was nothing compared to the pain they endured knowing he was gone. So together they rejoiced in life." Deep within a Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity…

Pepe the woodcutter's life in an idyllic Finnish village is torn apart over the course of a few days, but he seems fine with it all, as though he knows a profound truth about existence. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.Linnell's own marriage to Mary Ann Palmer (1796 – 1865) lasted until her death and resulted in nine children. His first child, Hannah, went on to marry the influential artist, Samuel Palmer, whose unique talent Linnell had helped nuture. A deeply religious man, Linnell was none-the-less critical of the hierarchical structures of the Christian church and questioned the accuracy of the authorised version of the Bible. For this reason he insisted that his own marriage was a civil ceremony, which, because this was not possible in England at the time, involved an arduous and expensive journey to Scotland. The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown. As the story unfolds Hadda questions his family’s complicity in his downfall. His wife, Imogen? His mother-in-law, Kira? His father-in-law, Leon? Who else at his side has betrayed him? But the main question readers will ponder is Wolf’s innocence. Hill's plotting… is brilliant, the jokes first-rate, the prose supple: it's his humble awe at the power of the English language that enables him to be a minor master of it." - Daily Telegraph (UK) So glad to find this lovely pub. The staff made us... welcome and could not do enough for us. They topped up my clients sippy cup with water after all she is partial to a refreshing glass of water. Also I was flagging after pushing her chair along the various roads and uneven paths to get there so finding this was a pleasant surprise.