A solid murder mystery.

I swear I’ve tried to sprinkle in other genres, but I just can’t get out of Icelandic noir at the moment.

Good series with likeable main characters and flawed bad characters, just as crime books should be.

Night Shadows is the third book I have read by Icelandic Noir author, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, and the third in the Forbidden Iceland series. Set in the West Iceland town of Akranes, the series features Detective Elma, now ensconced back in her home town after years away.

I do love a good Scandi Crime series, and Ægisdóttir has done a great job of building familiarity and layered storylines in the series that create a common thread throughout each book. Night Shadows sees further consolidation of the relationship between Elma and Sævar and we share something of the grief journey of Hörður after losing his wife.

That aside, Night Shadows has a fairly solid crime plot, centred around the death of twenty year old Marínó, in a house fire. As the death is investigated and arson is found to be the cause of the fire things take a complicated twist. In true Ægisdóttir style, parallel, related storyline’s reveal elements of the story that eventually braid together wrapping around each other to arrive at a cohesive conclusion.

Again, as I wrote in my last review of book two in the series, I’m not the biggest fan of the translation. It is almost a bit simplistic for my liking. I would love much more about the landscape, psyche of the characters and other atmospheric elements that contribute to everything I love about the Nordic Noir genre. 4 satisfying stars.

Another brilliant addition to the series that sees Elma investigating a strange murder and fire. None of the clues make sense and she has her own problems to distract her from the investigation.

The plot is complex and yet it seems deceptively simple. At one point he murderer seems obvious but new information on new information throws Elma and her colleagues for a loop, especially when the body of an au pair is found.

The backdrop is as stunning and intriguing as story itself. I felt fully immersed in the Icelandic scenery and the fascinating character and place names, for which I truly appreciated the pronunciation guide for, but probably still didn’t do justice to!
The plot is edgy and dark and slowly unravels piece by piece until the glorious ending which explains all and kept me guessing right until the last.
I loved the characterisation which felt very real and believable and also captured the flightiness and uncertainty of teenage years and relationships and the big issues that present during that time and feel insurmountable. There are some sensitive areas covered but very sensitively and empathically so. An absolute recommend from me, privileged to have read this.

Forbidden Iceland series continues in this third instalment. I really enjoy Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's writing and Victoria Cribb's translations. There's just enough tension to keep it interesting and some reveals are easy to guess while others are not. There seems to be something about twist endings with Icelandic writers!?