Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

This is the first of a series of novels featuring Freyja, who works with children and young people and Huldar, a detective who in this novel is newly promoted and well out of his comfort zone. But it's not the first I've read about these two, which is lucky, because I doubt if I'd have read more if it had been. It's clever, intricately plotted and the characters are well fleshed-out. But the more I read, the less I believed. Coincidence piled upon coincidence and the murders were committed in increasingly nasty ways. Having read one other in the series, I was eager to read another, but it'll be a while before I have the stomach to do so.… (altro)

The Undesired is a gripping Nordic Noir by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. Ódinn Hafsteinsson works as an investigator for the State Supervisory Agency and is tasked with looking into the Króker Boys Home for any suggestion of abuse or mistreatment. Króker housed juvenile delinquent boys in rural Iceland in the 1970s. The more Ódinn investigates, the more secrets he begins to unearth. The story moves back and forth between Ódinn’s present life, coming to terms with raising his daughter Rún alone after his ex-wife’s mysterious death, and the events at Króker in the 1970s. The home is set in an isolated, icy location, adding to the chill factor of the story. It is run by Lilia and Vega who have secrets of their own, assisted by cook and cleaner Aldís. When handsome new boy Einar arrives the tensions increase and Ódinn is left to sift through how two boys ended up dead.

This was an atmospheric read that had me completely engaged for the whole story. There were some unexpected twists, plenty of dark secrets and a hint of the paranormal, enough to be creepy without being scary. This was my first Nordic Noir and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. 4.5 stars.… (altro)

This was an excellent piece of Scandicrime. Once I got reading the book, I could hardly put it down.

In Hofn, a small village on the south coast of Iceland, the new owners of a house find find some boxes left behind by the man who sold them the house. They return them, and the former owner notices an old muddied child's shoe among the items, with the name " Salvor" written on the sole. He is puzzled by this , not knowing anyone by the name Salvor. Shortly after the return of these items, the nursing home where his mother , an Alzheimer's patient, lives, calls to say his mother has had a heart attack, and asks him to tell his sister Salvor as well. His mother has been after asking her. But who is Salvor?

Meanwhile, a group of inexperienced hikers have gone missing in the midst of a harsh winter near the Hofn area. Johanna, a part of the search and rescue team, is out trying to locate the the hikers, who are feared dead.

In a remote, deserted radar station in Hofn, Hjorvar works mainly by himself, with one other worker taking the alternate shifts. One night, the phone that is connected to the entry/exit gate of the station rings. Horvar answers and a child's voice asks for her mother. Chillingly, it turns out that this phone has been disconnected for years.

Are these events connected? This novel had my blood running cold at times, and glad that I don't live alone.

Highly recommended.… (altro)