The Creak on the Stairs

This was a really good mystery. I kept thinking I'd figured it out and then, nope! It was great. Elma was such a good detective too. I didn't love some of the misdirection, especially when it wasn't relevant, but that's a mystery for you. I could see reading more of this series.

(This was also particularly good for me in that I'd been to Akranes in 2007. I remembered a couple of the places talked about and have a book I could pull out to look at other things. I liked that a lot.)

An Icelandic crime procedural. This taps into the strong history of Nordic noir novels. The Icelandic setting provides a suitably bleak setting for a grim story of abuse, emotional damage and murder in a small tight nit community. The Nordic countries have been producing some of the best crime noir novels over the last couple of decades. The powerhouses of the genre all seem to come from this region. As a resident in Norway, it always fascinates me seeing the references to Scandi culture. The ironic thing is that these countries are in reality some of the safest in the world with a very low level of violent crime. Eva Bjorg definitely follows in the veins of the Nesbø and Larsson type novel, with a gritty realism and emotional trauma. The images of abuse that we get teased with are frightening in their realism. All the protagonists are in some way damaged or compromised. The small community setting lends a claustrophobia to the proceedings - everyone knows everyone and there are several possible motives out there.

The pacing of the novel is good - the way the jigsaw pieces are gradually placed together makes the reveal at the end feel well earned. There is nothing especially innovative in the story here, but the way it is constructed and the genuineness of the voice gives it a powerful dynamic. Definitely a new voice in Nordic Noir that I will have to follow more!