About The Book
Reykjavík detective Soffía finds herself struggling to cope with a single-handed investigation into a spate of malicious acts taking place across the city, and enlists help from an unexpected direction.
Her psychologist ex-husband Adam has advised the police before, but with Covid raging in the city, would prefer to stay holed up in his basement flat as he deals with challenges in both his working and private life.
He grudgingly agrees to work with Soffía, as the stakes in the investigation are continually raised.
Working out who bears a grudge that goes deep enough to lead to murder, they unravel complex family ties, lingering enmities and a dark past that the victims would prefer to keep secret, while Adam encounters a young woman in a race against the clock to find the father she has never seen, but for what purpose?
My Review
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I have read books set in Iceland before but thought that they concentrated more on the area they were set than its inhabitants. One of the strongest points of this novel was its characters.
Soffía is the only detective who is assigned to the case concerning needles that have been used to cause harm and she enlists the help of Adam, ex husband and ex pat psychologist. Throughout the entire novel I couldn’t work out how they were ever married, they had absolutely nothing in common. Their relationship showed the differences between the British and the Icelanders. Adam was a little more uptight than many Brits but I found him believable. I thought Soffía was wonderful, impatient and tactless, at times ruthless but I also could see her humour and determination to get a result despite the setbacks caused by the pandemic. Another prominent character was Jenní, you didn’t see that much of her, but she was definitely one who I wanted to know more about.
I always told myself I wouldn’t read a book that concerned the pandemic but in hindsight nobody can pretend that it didn’t happen. The author used it to show its impact on the police force, in the number of officers available, how interviews had to be conducted with social distancing etc. She also showed the differing views : Adam was very strict, Soffía more inclined to take chances both professionally and in her personal life.
This was an interesting case involving a mostly awful family with a completely unexpected ending, but for me the strongest part of the novel were the characters. I see huge potential for further novels.
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