This author is new to me. I saw the book listed on Goodreads and it sounded really good so I requested it from our towne library. Really good book set in Iceland. It's a family drama, town drama, with a bit of mystery thrown in. I really needed this fiction book the last couple of weeks because I am at the end of a very heavy, very deep Bible study with my small group and I needed some thing "light" to read in my off hours from that study.
STORY SUMMARY
Forty years ago, in 1979, a young Danish woman (age 26), married to an Icelandic man and mother to 9 year old son Magnus and newborn daughter Agnes, is found frozen to death with her throat slit. On a snowy field not far from her farmhouse in Iceland. In her arms is her frozen baby girl who had been drowned. The person who stumbled across this gruesome scene was 6 year old Ingvar whose family lived nearby the farmhouse.
This case was never solved and rumor has been circulating all of these 40 years that it was Marie's husband Einor who killed her and the baby because shortly after this, he took Magnus and fled to California. In the eyes of just about every townsperson, Einar is guilty although he was never charged.
It is now 2019 and Agnes, the daughter of Magnus (granddaughter of Einar) is slowly recovering from a horrible surfing accident that left her with a shattered knee and broken ankle. She is desparate to clear her grandfather's name once and for all. He recently died and she is now in Iceland to see if she can figure out what happened all those years ago, along with the help of a nationally known podcaster who specializes in helping to solve or expose cold cases. Nora Carver, the true crime podcaster invites Agnes to her grandfather's hometown of Bifrost, Iceland, outside of Reykjavik. They are staying in the big house across the road from the farmhouse where Magnus and Einar lived until the Marie's murder. Thor, a gentleman in his late 50s, is the owner of the home. He plans on turning the old farmhouse, which he now owns with his father Thor senior (who is in a memory care facility), into a retreat type vacation setting.
When Agnes arrives in Bifrost there is a search party going on for a young college aged woman who has disappeared after attending a party. The party was in the farmhouse! Now Agnes' and Nora's investigation is turned upside down because everyone is focused on finding Asa, the college girl. Some people think she simply left town with not telling a soul. Others think she committed suicide. Still others think it has to do with a secret boyfriend. But who's the boyfriend?? None of her friends know.
Agnes begins to uncover new....and old....secrets and soon finds herself in a web of lies that threaten the redemption she was hoping to deliver regarding her grandfather.....and also they threaten her very life!
Will Agnes and Nora figure out where Asa is? Will they finally solve the question of who exactly killed Agnes' grandmother Marie? Is it really Einar? or is it someone who also knows Asa??
MY THOUGHTS
This was a really good book. I liked the character development. I liked the picture of Agnes and her difficult relationship with her father Magnus, and I also liked the back story of Ingvar and his mother. I began to suspect who might have killed Marie and baby Agnes in 1979 around the middle of the book. But it's so well developed...the plot....that I wasn't totally sure because there are several people it could be. And then the twist that I was wrong about the suspect.
I didn't care for the character Nora Carver. Perhaps because I'm just not a true crime podcast enthusiast but I think it's more that the author does a good job in showing all the wackiness that comes out from people who try to solve true crimes and are not really forensic pathologists or detectives. I know her character is fiction but she reminded me of some of the wacky theories I've heard surrounding the Nancy Guthrie disappearance and it just irks me.
This is a fast-paced book but I actually took time to savor it. The description of Iceland and the real town of Bifrost really drew me in. I have several friends who have gone to Iceland and although it's not on my bucket list, it sounds beautiful and stark. The winter setting was perfect for me to read this past week with our return of winter like temperatures.
Some of the themes in this story include: same sex relationships, pain killer addiction, kidnapping, father-daughter relationship, facing fears, perseverance, justice, redemption, love, grief.
There are some chilling moments in this story along with some tightly woven plot lines and twists.
If you can only read one book this month, make it this one! I highly recommend it.
I didn't find any editing errors in this book, nor were there "f bombs" which I totally appreciate. I think this is the author's 2nd novel. I do plan on looking for her first one at our library at some point. I like her style!
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
