francesmthompson's Reviews (976)

Divine.

 Am really enjoying working my way through this series of books, and this one was my quickest read yet. If you like crime/mystery stories that develop fairly quickly and have multiple layers to them, AND you love Iceland, these books will tick a lot of boxes. I also really enjoyed the setting on the Westman Islands as I have visited this part of Iceland and written about it so knew the story of the 1973 Eldfell volcano eruption. I also liked that it was more modern history and a different type of story to previous two books that had "other worldly elements". My biggest criticism with this one was that I guessed 75% of the Whodunnit by about half-way through the story, which was satisfying until it was annoying because I was reading on for a long old time with no big reveal. Aaaand again I personally took some issue with there being some comments that felt misogynistic and fatphobic,

and I also felt some elements of the rape culture which was touched on in various different ways could have been done with greater depth or exploration

. 

Downloaded and read this almost immediately after finishing the first in the series and it offered much the same as that book with some slightly different themes. I will say that there were A LOT of characters in this story and with much of the action taking places over 50+ years it was hard to fully understand who was who and how they were all related (both as family but also in the investigation) and so around 70% in I sort of gave up trying to "solve" the mystery, which is sometimes half the fun for me, but also sometimes not. Again I felt some of the language and key characterisations and plot points were ableist and dated, and I wonder if this will change as the books in the series have more recent publication dates... 

A must-read for any feminist, poet or human-being doing the heart-work that is unlearning.

While this book flowed along quite comfortably and kept up with many a Nordic noir trope, it also wasn't as dark, fast-paced or tense as some of the stories I've read in this genre, and I was surprised how the main character was very relatable and "normal". The book had a lot of historical detail (which I haven't checked if it's true or not) that was woven into the plot better than some efforts. I do have to say, however, the writing hasn't aged well

with fatphobic comments and a very ableist plot twist thrown in without a backward glance

so do keep it in mind that it was published before many socio-political movements that have thankfully educated (some of!) us to know and do better.