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A review by bookph1le
The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe
4.0
Very good, and also very bleak. More complete review to come.
Full review:
Scandinavian crime fiction has become one of my favorite mystery sub-genres, and I'm always happy to try out a new author. Camilla Grebe hits all the notes that I've come to think characterize the genre: the bleakness, the unflinching look at human frailty, the pointed observations about social issues. She weaves together a group of characters while slowly unraveling her mystery, yet while the mystery itself is compelling, what's even more interesting is the well-developed psychology of her characters. Some spoilers to follow, but I promise not to give away the ending.
Peter is the first character the reader meets in the book, and I think he's the first character I want to address anyway. The grizzled, disenchanted, disillusioned police detective is not a new character. However, I think the depiction of a character like this is a very delicate thing. They can easily come across as self-indulgent and whiny which may make the reader lose sympathy for them and ultimately end up hating them. To be honest, this is why I tend to cringe and back away from crime fiction that uses this device.
Peter is different, though. I was fascinating by the twists and turns of his mind, by his self-awareness. He knows he's self-destructing, and it's not so much that he feels powerless to stop it, but that he just can't bring himself to try. His portrayal is so unflinching that it's harsh, and since it's told in his own voice, that makes it all the more startling. This guy would give a therapist a field day, and so while I was engrossed in the mystery itself, I think I found it just as fascinating to watch Peter's character evolve.
After Peter, I'm not sure if I'd say Emma was the second most interesting character, or if Hanne was. There are some similarities between the two, in that it's obvious that neither comes from a healthy environment. Hanne is the more straightforward of the two, with Emma's story doled out in much more mysterious bits, like a camera lens that slowly pulls back until the entire shot comes into the frame.
Through Hanne, Grebe delves into the dynamics of relationship violence, which are further complicated by Hanne's illness. But, then again, a huge part of the dynamic of such relationships is that the victim often has many valid reasons for not wanting to leave the relationship. I found Hanne extremely sympathetic for a variety of reasons, and I thought the portrayal of her disastrous marriage was very realistic, and one that doesn't seem to get as much play in books, since psychological relationship violence is more nuanced and often harder to understand because it's not obvious the way physical violence is. I think a good manifestation of how Grebe crystallizes Hanne's marriage is when Hanne wonders if she'd be better off staying with her husband. I think any time someone has to question whether they'd be better off with a partner, it's probably a sign that all is not well.
As I said, Emma's portrayal isn't as straight-forward. Grebe does a lot of contrasting Emma's tenuous situation with that of Jesper Orre, the spoiled, rich, privileged CEO of the company Emma works for. Emma's passages also get into questions of corporate power, and the way corporations often pit employees against one another, first with regard to Emma's boss, Bjorne, and then, later in the novel, with regard to her co-worker and friend, Mahnoor. There is a common thread between Emma and Hanne in that Emma is also involved in what appears to be an unhealthy relationship, though Emma does not show the same level of self-awareness as Hanne.
Hanne's psychology wasn't less interesting to me than Emma's, but Emma's was thornier, harder to get a handle on. This is a good thing as it shows the skill with which Grebe spins her threads, drawing the reader deeper and deeper into Emma's mind.
The book's ultimate revelation is astonishing, but it doesn't come from nowhere. Instead, the book is like a jigsaw puzzle. Pieces are scattered everywhere, but when they come together, the picture is very clear. And though this is a crime novel that opens with a murder that must be solved, it's as much a character study as it is a mystery novel--another thing I find characteristic of this genre.
This means that some readers might be frustrated with what seems like a slow pace, if what they're looking for is a fast-paced whodunnit. Crime books like these, though, are my favorite, where the revelation is slow and made all the more horrifying because I've spent so much time rooting around in the characters' heads. Each of Grebe's characters are very distinct and very well-drawn. She handles their complex psychologies with a deft touch. I look forward to reading more of her fiction in the future.
Full review:
Scandinavian crime fiction has become one of my favorite mystery sub-genres, and I'm always happy to try out a new author. Camilla Grebe hits all the notes that I've come to think characterize the genre: the bleakness, the unflinching look at human frailty, the pointed observations about social issues. She weaves together a group of characters while slowly unraveling her mystery, yet while the mystery itself is compelling, what's even more interesting is the well-developed psychology of her characters. Some spoilers to follow, but I promise not to give away the ending.
Peter is the first character the reader meets in the book, and I think he's the first character I want to address anyway. The grizzled, disenchanted, disillusioned police detective is not a new character. However, I think the depiction of a character like this is a very delicate thing. They can easily come across as self-indulgent and whiny which may make the reader lose sympathy for them and ultimately end up hating them. To be honest, this is why I tend to cringe and back away from crime fiction that uses this device.
Peter is different, though. I was fascinating by the twists and turns of his mind, by his self-awareness. He knows he's self-destructing, and it's not so much that he feels powerless to stop it, but that he just can't bring himself to try. His portrayal is so unflinching that it's harsh, and since it's told in his own voice, that makes it all the more startling. This guy would give a therapist a field day, and so while I was engrossed in the mystery itself, I think I found it just as fascinating to watch Peter's character evolve.
After Peter, I'm not sure if I'd say Emma was the second most interesting character, or if Hanne was. There are some similarities between the two, in that it's obvious that neither comes from a healthy environment. Hanne is the more straightforward of the two, with Emma's story doled out in much more mysterious bits, like a camera lens that slowly pulls back until the entire shot comes into the frame.
Through Hanne, Grebe delves into the dynamics of relationship violence, which are further complicated by Hanne's illness. But, then again, a huge part of the dynamic of such relationships is that the victim often has many valid reasons for not wanting to leave the relationship. I found Hanne extremely sympathetic for a variety of reasons, and I thought the portrayal of her disastrous marriage was very realistic, and one that doesn't seem to get as much play in books, since psychological relationship violence is more nuanced and often harder to understand because it's not obvious the way physical violence is. I think a good manifestation of how Grebe crystallizes Hanne's marriage is when Hanne wonders if she'd be better off staying with her husband. I think any time someone has to question whether they'd be better off with a partner, it's probably a sign that all is not well.
As I said, Emma's portrayal isn't as straight-forward. Grebe does a lot of contrasting Emma's tenuous situation with that of Jesper Orre, the spoiled, rich, privileged CEO of the company Emma works for. Emma's passages also get into questions of corporate power, and the way corporations often pit employees against one another, first with regard to Emma's boss, Bjorne, and then, later in the novel, with regard to her co-worker and friend, Mahnoor. There is a common thread between Emma and Hanne in that Emma is also involved in what appears to be an unhealthy relationship, though Emma does not show the same level of self-awareness as Hanne.
Hanne's psychology wasn't less interesting to me than Emma's, but Emma's was thornier, harder to get a handle on. This is a good thing as it shows the skill with which Grebe spins her threads, drawing the reader deeper and deeper into Emma's mind.
The book's ultimate revelation is astonishing, but it doesn't come from nowhere. Instead, the book is like a jigsaw puzzle. Pieces are scattered everywhere, but when they come together, the picture is very clear. And though this is a crime novel that opens with a murder that must be solved, it's as much a character study as it is a mystery novel--another thing I find characteristic of this genre.
This means that some readers might be frustrated with what seems like a slow pace, if what they're looking for is a fast-paced whodunnit. Crime books like these, though, are my favorite, where the revelation is slow and made all the more horrifying because I've spent so much time rooting around in the characters' heads. Each of Grebe's characters are very distinct and very well-drawn. She handles their complex psychologies with a deft touch. I look forward to reading more of her fiction in the future.