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chelseaterrisscott's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wonderful sense of place! I adored the detailed character and setting descriptions, so evocative of Icelandic society and culture.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, and Sexual assault
shelfofunread's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Night Shadows is the third book in Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s excellent ‘Forbidden Iceland’ series, following on from The Creak on the Stairs and Girls Who Lie, and I have to say I think it might be her best yet!
Picking up a few months after the events of Girls Who Lie, Night Shadows sees Detective Elma and her colleagues from West Iceland CID investigating the death of a young man in a house fire. What looks like a tragic accident soon turns into a murder investigation when it becomes apparent that Marinó Finnsson was not killed by the fire. But who would want to murder a seemingly popular young man from the suburbs? And, if the Finnsson family are the only people with keys to the property, how did Marinó end up locked inside a burning building?
A case already filled with questions only gets more complicated when online searches made by Marinó in the days before his death suggest that Elma and her team might be looking at not one murder, but two. As the investigation into Marinó’s death progresses, Elma finds herself tracing the fate of a young Dutch au pair whilst also coming to terms with her own life-changing news.
As with previous entries in the series, Night Shadows works perfectly well as a standalone mystery (although I’d urge new readers to go back and read both The Creak on the Stairs and Girls Who Lie as they’re excellent!), featuring a self-contained investigation. Some developments in the personal lives of Elma, her colleagues Sævar and Hörður, and their respective families do develop over the course of the series – and probably more so in this novel than in previous entries – but significant interpersonal connections and the historical developments in those are explained clearly and concisely, allowing new readers to catch up without bogging down the narrative for readers already familiar with the team at West Iceland CID.
I don’t want to give away any story spoilers but I will say that I really enjoyed Elma’s personal story in Night Shadows. Elma is already one of my favourite detectives – smart, dedicated, and hard-working – but in this novel we see a little more of her home life and some of her vulnerabilities as she confronts a major life change. I also love that we are getting to know her colleagues Sævar and Hörður a little more and, for a returning reader, it was nice to see some returning characters from the rest of Akranes too. Getting an insight into the community is one of my favourite aspects of this series.
That said, the focus of Night Shadows does remain on the police investigation. Alternating between the perspective of the police investigation and that of various people connected with the crime, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir deftly weaves together a number of complex narratives strands into a compelling and page-turning mystery thriller. As in the previous novel in the series, Girls Who Lie, there’s also a chilling and atmospheric psychological thriller element amidst the twists of the police procedural narrative, with occasional flashbacks to events before the fire as well as glimpses into the mind of Marinó’s killer.
Although never gory or overtly violent, Night Shadows doesn’t shy away from touching upon darker themes or difficult topics so content warnings for arson, descriptions of fire/fire injury, infidelity, pregnancy, alcohol/drug use and, of course, murder.
Victoria Cribb’s skilful translation is smooth and effective. The emotions and linguistic inflections of the characters are really well conveyed and I really appreciated the pronunciation guide of names and place that was included at the start of the book. I prefer character names not to be anglicised as part of a translation because it evokes a greater sense of character and place – but I also appreciate getting the pronunciation right, even if that’s only in my head!
As with previous novels in the series, Night Shadows is sure to appeal to existing fans of Icelandic/Scandi/Nordic noir. However, with its taut plotting, attention to detail, and chilling psychological undertones, it’s also the perfect read for fans of police procedurals and psychological thrillers. If you love TV shows such as Broadchurch, Hinterland and Vigil, or books such as Ann Cleve’s Vera Stanhope books or Lin Anderson’s Rhona Macleod series, I’d urge you to venture into Forbidden Iceland and give Eva Björg Ægisdóttir a try!
NB: This review appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Picking up a few months after the events of Girls Who Lie, Night Shadows sees Detective Elma and her colleagues from West Iceland CID investigating the death of a young man in a house fire. What looks like a tragic accident soon turns into a murder investigation when it becomes apparent that Marinó Finnsson was not killed by the fire. But who would want to murder a seemingly popular young man from the suburbs? And, if the Finnsson family are the only people with keys to the property, how did Marinó end up locked inside a burning building?
A case already filled with questions only gets more complicated when online searches made by Marinó in the days before his death suggest that Elma and her team might be looking at not one murder, but two. As the investigation into Marinó’s death progresses, Elma finds herself tracing the fate of a young Dutch au pair whilst also coming to terms with her own life-changing news.
As with previous entries in the series, Night Shadows works perfectly well as a standalone mystery (although I’d urge new readers to go back and read both The Creak on the Stairs and Girls Who Lie as they’re excellent!), featuring a self-contained investigation. Some developments in the personal lives of Elma, her colleagues Sævar and Hörður, and their respective families do develop over the course of the series – and probably more so in this novel than in previous entries – but significant interpersonal connections and the historical developments in those are explained clearly and concisely, allowing new readers to catch up without bogging down the narrative for readers already familiar with the team at West Iceland CID.
I don’t want to give away any story spoilers but I will say that I really enjoyed Elma’s personal story in Night Shadows. Elma is already one of my favourite detectives – smart, dedicated, and hard-working – but in this novel we see a little more of her home life and some of her vulnerabilities as she confronts a major life change. I also love that we are getting to know her colleagues Sævar and Hörður a little more and, for a returning reader, it was nice to see some returning characters from the rest of Akranes too. Getting an insight into the community is one of my favourite aspects of this series.
That said, the focus of Night Shadows does remain on the police investigation. Alternating between the perspective of the police investigation and that of various people connected with the crime, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir deftly weaves together a number of complex narratives strands into a compelling and page-turning mystery thriller. As in the previous novel in the series, Girls Who Lie, there’s also a chilling and atmospheric psychological thriller element amidst the twists of the police procedural narrative, with occasional flashbacks to events before the fire as well as glimpses into the mind of Marinó’s killer.
Although never gory or overtly violent, Night Shadows doesn’t shy away from touching upon darker themes or difficult topics so content warnings for arson, descriptions of fire/fire injury, infidelity, pregnancy, alcohol/drug use and, of course, murder.
Victoria Cribb’s skilful translation is smooth and effective. The emotions and linguistic inflections of the characters are really well conveyed and I really appreciated the pronunciation guide of names and place that was included at the start of the book. I prefer character names not to be anglicised as part of a translation because it evokes a greater sense of character and place – but I also appreciate getting the pronunciation right, even if that’s only in my head!
As with previous novels in the series, Night Shadows is sure to appeal to existing fans of Icelandic/Scandi/Nordic noir. However, with its taut plotting, attention to detail, and chilling psychological undertones, it’s also the perfect read for fans of police procedurals and psychological thrillers. If you love TV shows such as Broadchurch, Hinterland and Vigil, or books such as Ann Cleve’s Vera Stanhope books or Lin Anderson’s Rhona Macleod series, I’d urge you to venture into Forbidden Iceland and give Eva Björg Ægisdóttir a try!
NB: This review appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Infidelity
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