Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Good morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's latest, Home Before Dark. 

1966: Marsi's sister, Stina, goes missing on her way home from a friend's house. With no leads and just bloody clothes left behind, the case goes cold. But Marsi has a secret she doesn't dare tell anyone. Marsi had a penpal. A friend she'd written letters back and forth with, pretending to be her older more popular sister. And on the night of the disappearance, Marsi was supposed to meet her penpal at the very spot where her sister vanished. 

1977: Marsi has received another letter. Now, details she'd missed a decade ago are starting to reveal themselves and the mystery of her sister's disappearance might finally be solved. If Marsi survives.

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir has done it again! Vivid characters and a strong sense of place are hallmarks of her work. This time, she gives us a story set in 60s and 70s Iceland: no cell phones, no cloud, no streaming services. Just a small town and the secrets and mysteries that have plagued it for a decade. 

Marsi is the quiet younger sister. She envies Stina, which is why when she signs up for a penpal she decides to assume certain aspects of her sister's life as her own. To seem more interesting and exciting.  But she doesn't know what's actually going on in Stina's life. 

Relationships between sisters, families, friends, and even close knit neighbors all play a part in this psychological suspense as the story moves back and forth from 66-67 to 77. And as Marsi learns more about her sister--more than she was able to see as a child--the story becomes more clear to the reader as well. 

 

Yet another masterfully written tale that pulls the reader in from the start! If you haven't yet read the Forbidden Iceland series, this is a good place to start since it's a standalone. I promise you'll love it; and then you'll have the series itself to dive into!

Home Before Dark is out now in the UK and will be out in the US in November. 

You Can't See Me by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for the prequel to Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's Forbidden Iceland series, You Can't See Me.

On what would have been the family patriarch's 100th birthday, the Snæberg family has scheduled a reunion at a posh new hotel in rural Iceland. Modern and stark, the hotel is nonetheless breathtaking. But certain family members are less than impressed. 

With a storm looming and alcohol in the mix, tension is particularly high. And then one of the guests goes missing. 

Two days later, the police are on site. But what happened between the guests' arrival and then?

The story alternates in timeline and POV. Some of the narrators include Petra, an interior designer, her daughter Lea, who may have been followed to the hotel by an online stalker, and Irma, a hotel employee (to name a few). 

The book begins with a prologue of sorts, set on Sunday, November 5, but then jumps back to Friday, November 3, the day the family is set to arrive at the hotel, and the reader is given a brief introduction to the family by way of Irma, who's done ample research to prepare for the family's stay at the hotel. But then the story jumps back to Sunday and the arrival of the detectives. 

So less than three days before what's supposed to be a family reunion turns into something much more sinister!

The author perfectly sets the stage for a snowed in thriller that's excellent fun! And there's plenty of ominous foreshadowing for what's to come!

This is a perfect entry and introduction to the series for readers who are new to Ægisdóttir. If you're a fan of dark crime fiction and/or Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Ragnar Jónasson, you need to be reading Eva Björg Ægisdóttir!

As mentioned, this is a prequel to the Forbidden Iceland series. Reading order, after You Can't See Me is:

The Creak on the Stairs

Girls Who Lie

Night Shadows

Night Shadows by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's third Forbidden Iceland title, Night Shadows. 

Everyone knows everyone in Akranes, which is why, when a fire breaks out in a family home killing a young man, everyone is devastated. And when the police immediately find proof that the fire was the result of arson, there are soon more questions than answers. 

Elma is one of the detectives on the case. One of whom begins to realize that it could be tied to that of a missing au pair. But as the investigation becomes more drawn out, it becomes clear that there is a tangle of secrets at the center of this perplexing case. 

I love this Icelandic suspense series so much! If you've not read them, you are truly in for a treat! And you can easily start with Night Shadows if you like! (If you're a completionist, like me, the series in order is: The Creak on the Stairs, Girls Who Lie, Night Shadows.)

One of my favorite things, plots and human characters aside, is the strong sense of place conveyed in the series. I've never been to Iceland, much less, Akranes, but the author draws such a vivid picture of the town and what life is like there that it truly makes reading the series a rich experience!

Night Shadows is out in e format later this month. The paperback will release in the States in November. 

Girl Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Happy first day of July! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for the second book in Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's Forbidden Iceland series, Girls Who Lie. 

Two boys out playing on the Grábrók lava fields stumble over a body and Elma and her fellow CID officers are called to investigate. 

From the start, they're certain the body is that of Maríanna, a woman who went missing seven months ago. And they're also certain that this wasn't an accident. But Maríanna's story is complicated and it quickly becomes clear that the suspect list isn't a short one. Worse yet, Maríanna's own daughter, Hekla, is suspicious in her own right. 

But the truth to this murder lies hidden in the past and it's up to Elma and her team to unravel the clues if they're to discover the person behind it all. 

As mentioned above, this is the second book in the series, following Ægisdóttir's debut, The Creak on the Stairs. Which I am ashamed to say that I have not yet read! (Don't worry, I will very soon!)

I've been pretty up front about the fact that Nordic Noir as a whole was one of the things that's helped me cope with the continuing Covid Times. There's a very clear style to the writing, even when many of the titles are translated, as is the case with Girls Who Lie. And a little shout out to Victoria Cribb who does a truly wonderful job with the translation here. 

(I've sung the praises of translators before. Theirs is a job that consists of way more than simply translating words! They have to maintain the author's voice while also translating in such a way that the narrative reads smoothly—not always an easy task considering there are turns of phrase and speech that don't necessarily translate easily into another language!)

In addition to the style that's unique to Nordic Noir, there's also the sense of place. And in this Ægisdóttir truly excels! Iceland itself is more than the setting for this story. It takes on an almost character-like aspect from the very beginning of the book. It's details like Elma's observation of the landscape as they're traveling to the crime scene. And the note that the boys who discover the body thought it was a dark elf (Icelandic lore is some of the most fun I've ever read!). 

And the characters themselves are so carefully crafted! Maríanna's story is heartbreaking. We meet her when she's just given birth and it's clear that she's suffering from postpartum depression. She never does connect with her daughter and, as a single mother, the two of them exist in an atmosphere that is hard to read. 

Elma, on the other hand, really thought that she'd be living the quiet life in her new position. Boy was she wrong! But her new job does allow her to spend more time with her family, particularly her nephew. 

Small details like that make it clear that Ægisdóttir is putting a lot of thought and consideration into every aspect of her writing! And Girls Who Lie really is the whole package, because the plot and pacing are fabulous!

I loved every bit of this book! Ægisdóttir is absolutely one to watch and one I highly recommend, right alongside two of my other Icelandic favorites, Ragnar Jónasson and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir! I cannot wait to read more from this author. She's a welcome addition to my auto-buy list!