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The small community of Akranes is devastated when a young man dies in a mysterious house fire, and when Detective Elma and her colleagues from West Iceland CID discover the fire was arson, they become embroiled in an increasingly perplexing case involving multiple suspects. What’s more, the dead man’s final online search raises fears that they could be investigating not one murder, but two.
A few months before the fire, a young Dutch woman takes a job as an au pair in Iceland, desperate to make a new life for herself after the death of her father. But the seemingly perfect family who employs her turns out to have problems of its own and she soon discovers she is running out of people to turn to.
As the police begin to home in on the truth, Elma, already struggling to come to terms with a life-changing event, finds herself in mortal danger as it becomes clear that someone has secrets they’ll do anything to hide…
It's such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Night Shadows today. Many thanks to Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, Orenda Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advanced copy of the novel.
Night Shadows is the third book in Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's superb Forbidden Iceland series and it cements her place as one of the most exciting current writers of character-driven, literary crime fiction. The Creak on the Stairs and Girls Who Lie were both excellent novels but Night Shadows is surely her best yet.
The mournful start to Night Shadows sets the scene perfectly for a storyline that is as achingly tragic as it is chilling. The death of a young man, particularly in such disturbing circumstances is almost too awful to contemplate, especially when it quickly becomes apparent that arson wasn't the only terrible crime committed. As Elma and Sævar begin questioning those closest to Marinó, there seems to be no obvious motive besides the possibility of a revenge attack – until his online history reveals an ominous recent search.
The intricate plotting in Night Shadows is so effective because Eva Björg Ægisdóttir invests her characters with such richness and depth. This isn't a fast-paced novel but it is utterly compulsive as the lives of these people are explored with nuanced empathy that explains why they behave as they do. There are shocking revelations, of course, but they seem obvious in retrospect, which is the mark of a great crime writer. The writing is sublime throughout and as much as this is a whodunnit, it's also a perceptive study of human behaviour; while I ached for some characters, one is almost blatantly repugnant – and only too believable...
The chapters in the second part of the book alternate between the present and the recent past. Nothing is rushed, the narrative meanders from one character to the next, gradually revealing little insights into their lives while the inevitability of a further tragedy casts a menacing chill over proceedings. Meanwhile, Elma is also undergoing great changes in her own life and what this means for her is as intriguing a subplot as the main storyline. She is a wonderful character because she is so ordinary; her working, familial and romantic relationships aren't overly dramatic yet they are an entirely believable portrait of the ebb and flow of real lives.
I'm mindful not to give anything away because this is a novel that should be savoured, however, I can say that this is an intense, intimate look at love and how it can inspire both the best and worst in people. The clever misdirections and hints ensured I was never sure who was guilty, even though I had my suspicions and the tense denouement had me holding my breath. The evocative sense of place captures small town life perfectly; Akranes is simultaneously the sort of community where people look out for one another and yet a place where the apparently happiest of families are hiding dark secrets.
Victoria Cribb's translation is as seamless as ever and this atmospheric, emotionally-charged thriller flows beautifully throughout. Night Shadows is consummate crime fiction; suspenseful, moving and unsettling. I loved every word and cannot recommend this exceptional novel highly enough. A must-read.
Night Shadows is published by Orenda Books and can be purchased from their website, bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Amazon or from your favourite independent bookshop.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Victoria Cribb studied and worked in Iceland for many years. She has translated more than 25 novels from the Icelandic and, in 2017, she received the Orðstír honourary translation award for services to Icelandic literature.
Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in Globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland and deciding to write a novel – something she had wanted to do since she won a short-story competition at the age of fifteen. After nine months combining her writing with work as a stewardess and caring for her children, Eva finished The Creak on the Stairs. It was published in 2018, and became a bestseller in Iceland, going on to win the Blackbird Award, a prize set up by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jónasson to encourage new Icelandic crime writers. The Creak on the Stairs was published in English by Orenda Books in 2020, and became a number-one bestseller in ebook in three countries, and shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Awards in two categories. Girls Who Lie, the second book in the Forbidden Iceland series, is published in 2021. Dubbed the ‘Icelandic Ruth Rendell’ by the British press, Eva lives in Reykjavík with her husband and three children.
About the Translator
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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