BLURB
When Hedda Hellberg fails to return from a retreat in Italy, where she has recently been grieving for her dead father, her husband discovers that her life is tangled in mystery. Hedda never left Oslo, the retreat has no record of her and, what's more, she appears to be connected to the murder of an old man, gunned down on the first day of the hunting season in the depths of the Swedish forests...
MY THOUGHTS
Wow, what a novel. This is the first book I have
read by Thomas Enger, and you can label me a big fan, it only took me a couple
of days to finish, and I’ll certainly be looking out for more on Henning Juul.
Gripping from the first page to last.
The novel opens with a striking scene: a man is
walking through his forests with his dog, and in no time at all, he is dead,
shot. I loved the eerie atmosphere that Thomas created: ‘He knew that, right
now, the forest would smell raw and cold, but soon the adders would slither
out, unsure about what time of year it was.’ And so begins a dark and dangerous journey
which will take our characters right to the terrifying edge in their quest to
find answers.
Nora, a journalist, working for a newspaper, is
surprised when she is paid a visit by the husband of an old friend of her’s,
Hedda Hellberg who she studied and shared accommodation with. Hedda’s husband
is concerned for his wife’s whereabouts after she failed to return from a three
week trip to Italy. The police have done little in their investigation to help
find Hedda, and her husband’s concerns are increasing, and he has their son to
think about who is missing his mother. Nora agrees to take on the case, and she
soon begins to build a picture which hides a dark past. But as Nora gets closer
to the truth, she finds that she might be putting herself in danger.
Meanwhile, Nora’s former partner, Henning, who is
also a journalist is trying to find the man who set fire to his flat a couple
of years ago while he is on leave. The fire killed his son, and Henning is
still reeling from what happened, whereas Nora has attempted to move on with
her life. Searching for answers as to who was behind the plot is the only thing
keeping him going and focused on staying alive. But when the case with Hedda
and Henning’s quest for answers is connected, they have no idea what they are
going to find.
This is Nordic Noir at its best. I haven’t read much
in this genre since I read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
series which was a few years ago, but I’ll definitely be reading more now. Thomas
grabs you by the throat with this one, and I found the novel impossible to put
down. I think my favourite scenes were probably the chapters when he followed
Nora’s story as she delves into the Hellberg family unmasking a history of lies
and deceit. There is also an added layer to the mystery of the Hellberg family
that has haunted the family for decades: the disappearance of Hedda’s aunt. Is
it possible that history is about to repeat itself? Can the past finally be put
to rest?
I hope that Thomas is writing fast because that
twist at the end really did knock me off balance. I really wasn’t expecting
that revelation!
I think I have definitely found a series that I will
keep coming back to with this one, if you enjoy Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo,
this is a book for you.
Thank you to Karen Sullivan at Orenda for sending me a copy
to review!
Publisher: Orenda
Publication date: 15th February 2017
Print length: 342 pages
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