- this edition published by Hodder & Stoughton UK 2017
- first published in 2014 as DNA
- translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb
- ISBN 978-1-473-62152-7
- 455 pages
The first in a thrilling new crime series from international bestseller and prizewinning author Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
The first in an exciting new series from the author of THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel.
The murder was meant as a punishment - but what sin could justify the method?
The only person who might have answers is the victim's seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she's not talking.
Newly promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja and the Children's House for their expertise with traumatised young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn't best pleased. But she's determined to keep little Margret safe.
It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues: warnings in text messages, sums scribbled on bits of paper, numbers broadcast on the radio. He's telling a dark and secret story - but how can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next?
[From the bestselling Queen of Nordic Noir, THE LEGACY, is the first in a new serieswith intriguing, flawed investigators, and crimes as chilling as they come]
My Take
I came away from this novel feeling that the author didn't quite play fair with the reader, that essential information in solving the case wasn't revealed until the very last chapters - or maybe I just didn't pick up on it.
There are three horrendous murders eventually, all connected, and the clues the murderer is leaving don't help the police investigation much. So much depends of the answers given by Margret, the young daughter of the first victim, who was hiding under the bed during her mother's murder. Margret needs to be interviewed carefully so that her evidence is not tainted.
The other clues are found by some students who are interested in short wave radio transmissions.
The plot develops in complexity and from that point of view it is satisfying reading.
Euro Crime has labelled this as the first in The Children's House series, with a second THE RECKONING due in 2018. Fantastic Fiction confirms that we will meet Huldar and Freyja again.
My rating: 4.5
I've already read
4.8, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
5.0, THE SILENCE OF THE SEA
4.5, ASHES TO DUST
4.5, THE UNDESIRED
4.8, WHY DID YOU LIE?
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