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One True Word
The no.1 icelandic bestseller!
Why did she do it?
After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia snaps and leaves her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter, with night drawing in.
When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. She spins them a story to hide her involvement, but she can feel the net closing in.
Is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
Why did she do it?
After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia snaps and leaves her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter, with night drawing in.
When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. She spins them a story to hide her involvement, but she can feel the net closing in.
Is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2022
About the author
Snæbjörn Arngrímsson
10 books3 followersWell-known to Icelandic audiences as a children’s author, award-winning translator, and a prominent publisher both in Iceland and abroad, author Snæbjörn Arngrímsson has written three mystery novels for young readers. One True Word is his first thriller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
January 15, 2026
An Icelandic thriller with a mysterious cover and a chilling setup? Instant yes. It starts with a bang: Julia gets mad at her husband and, as punishment, leaves him overnight on a tiny rocky island off the Icelandic coast. In the North Atlantic. At night. If you know anything about that sea, you already know this is a terrible idea. When she comes back the next morning, he’s gone—and that’s when things spiral.
From there on, though, the book becomes a parade of baffling choices and increasingly irrational behavior. Julia’s thoughts are paranoid, her reactions make little sense, and the whole story has this constant “what is going on?” feeling—but not in a fun, suspenseful way. More in an exhausting way. The encounter with a smut novelist? Her thoughts or dreams about being part of a literary circle? There’s something distinctly disturbing about it. Add to that the fact that she’s clearly a pathological liar, deeply unlikeable, and generally infuriating to follow, and it’s hard to feel engaged. Her sister hates her (fair), but she’s not much better herself.
The writing and structure didn’t help. The style feels shallow and stiff, and the chapter construction is genuinely strange. At 34% in, I was already at chapter 34—and chapters don’t even represent full scenes. One single scene with detectives questioning Julia stretches across four chapters, with dialogue interrupted by chapter breaks for no apparent reason. It’s distracting and kills any flow the story might have had. By the end of my reading session, I wasn’t thrilled or intrigued—I was just tired and frustrated. This book definitely left me yearning for a drink, and not in a cozy Nordic noir kind of way.
From there on, though, the book becomes a parade of baffling choices and increasingly irrational behavior. Julia’s thoughts are paranoid, her reactions make little sense, and the whole story has this constant “what is going on?” feeling—but not in a fun, suspenseful way. More in an exhausting way. The encounter with a smut novelist? Her thoughts or dreams about being part of a literary circle? There’s something distinctly disturbing about it. Add to that the fact that she’s clearly a pathological liar, deeply unlikeable, and generally infuriating to follow, and it’s hard to feel engaged. Her sister hates her (fair), but she’s not much better herself.
The writing and structure didn’t help. The style feels shallow and stiff, and the chapter construction is genuinely strange. At 34% in, I was already at chapter 34—and chapters don’t even represent full scenes. One single scene with detectives questioning Julia stretches across four chapters, with dialogue interrupted by chapter breaks for no apparent reason. It’s distracting and kills any flow the story might have had. By the end of my reading session, I wasn’t thrilled or intrigued—I was just tired and frustrated. This book definitely left me yearning for a drink, and not in a cozy Nordic noir kind of way.
February 26, 2025
It’s all in the mind…
Júlía wakes in the morning to the memory of what she did the day before. It had been a trying day. She wanted to visit a small, bare uninhabited islet in Hvalfjörður as research for a writing project she was working on. She admits to herself that she more or less forced her husband, Gíó – partner, really, but she calls him her husband – to go with her. He was grumpy and critical all the way there, complaining that her project wasn’t worth the effort and that she really needed to learn to fend for herself. He continued to be annoying even when they arrive on the islet in the little motorised rubber dinghy they had borrowed. So, in a fit of pique, she jumped back in the dinghy and drove away, leaving him on the islet with no food or phone, on a cold November day. To be fair, she had repented of her action later and gone back, only to find the islet empty. Had Gíó attempted to swim ashore? Had he drowned? Or was he alive somewhere, perhaps angry…
And what should she do now? She’s unsure of the law – if he drowned, would she be held responsible, perhaps for manslaughter, and end up in jail? But she can’t do nothing. Eventually it will be noticed that he’s missing, by his work colleagues if no one else. So she decides she has to report him missing, but lies – he walked out after an argument, she says. It’s a while before the police will take any action, since it’s not illegal for someone to just walk away from their marriage. But then his coat is found, neatly folded, at a harbour on the fjord...
Well, this is a strange one! It very quickly becomes clear that Júlía is so far beyond unreliable that she may have entered the realms of outright insanity. But did that come before she deserted Gíó or is it as a result of her anxiety afterwards? As the police begin their investigations, Júlía lies more and more, contradicting herself and changing her story. Are the police suspicious that she killed Gíó or is she paranoid along with all her other instabilities? There are all sorts of tiny clues as to Gíó’s fate dropped in, but how much can the reader depend on their veracity? Is Júlía lying to us too – in fact, is she lying to herself? Does she have much grasp on reality at all?
All these question marks are deliberate to try to give you some idea of the confusion Júlía creates in the reader’s mind. The ambiguity is the point – while the mystery of what happened to Gíó is central and stays in focus at all times, really the book is a fascinating study of Júlía’s mental state. Gíó remains largely unknowable since we only have Júlía’s word to go on, and she is increasingly conflicted about him herself. She tells us they loved each other entirely, but then we get hints that he may have been controlling and jealous. If her account of the day on the islet is true, then he was certainly condescending and rude, even if those things don’t normally merit being left stranded in the middle of a fjord. We also soon learn – from Júlía, remember – that she had found a notebook, which sometimes she claims was in his handwriting but sometimes doesn’t seem so sure, detailing sexual liaisons he had had with a variety of women. Does the notebook exist? Or is her mind trying to belatedly justify her actions?
This is a new publication in translation but has been out for a while in the original Icelandic. It has pretty low ratings on Goodreads, which as far as I can gather, is largely because people found the ambiguities frustrating. You might gather from that that everything is not all wrapped up neatly at the end. My immediate reaction, too, on turning the last page was to think – wait, what? But what about…? And what about…? But even as I was running through my list of unanswered questions, I was realising how utterly wrong it would have been if Júlía had suddenly displayed a sanity and ability to tell a plain truth after everything we’d come to believe about her state of mind. I doubted she knew the difference between truth and lie, so how could she tell us? The question in the end is not so much what happened to Gíó but what has happened to Júlía’s mind? The whole point is that we cannot assume that Júlía has told us one true word.
Unexpectedly, I loved it. I found Júlía fascinating and still haven’t decided if she deserves my sympathy or not. In an odd way, it kept making me think of Edgar Allan Poe’s madmen, telling their stories from the asylum – less horror, but that same sense of off-kilter unreality. There’s actually quite a lot of humour in it – this is a book that is meant to entertain. And for me it succeeded in that, and while it left me baffled, it was a pleasing kind of bafflement that I felt I was meant to feel. Well written, quirky, original, entertaining – if you feel you can cope with not have everything tied up neatly without it driving you as insane as Júlía, then my one true word is – recommended!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Pushkin Vertigo.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Júlía wakes in the morning to the memory of what she did the day before. It had been a trying day. She wanted to visit a small, bare uninhabited islet in Hvalfjörður as research for a writing project she was working on. She admits to herself that she more or less forced her husband, Gíó – partner, really, but she calls him her husband – to go with her. He was grumpy and critical all the way there, complaining that her project wasn’t worth the effort and that she really needed to learn to fend for herself. He continued to be annoying even when they arrive on the islet in the little motorised rubber dinghy they had borrowed. So, in a fit of pique, she jumped back in the dinghy and drove away, leaving him on the islet with no food or phone, on a cold November day. To be fair, she had repented of her action later and gone back, only to find the islet empty. Had Gíó attempted to swim ashore? Had he drowned? Or was he alive somewhere, perhaps angry…
And what should she do now? She’s unsure of the law – if he drowned, would she be held responsible, perhaps for manslaughter, and end up in jail? But she can’t do nothing. Eventually it will be noticed that he’s missing, by his work colleagues if no one else. So she decides she has to report him missing, but lies – he walked out after an argument, she says. It’s a while before the police will take any action, since it’s not illegal for someone to just walk away from their marriage. But then his coat is found, neatly folded, at a harbour on the fjord...
Well, this is a strange one! It very quickly becomes clear that Júlía is so far beyond unreliable that she may have entered the realms of outright insanity. But did that come before she deserted Gíó or is it as a result of her anxiety afterwards? As the police begin their investigations, Júlía lies more and more, contradicting herself and changing her story. Are the police suspicious that she killed Gíó or is she paranoid along with all her other instabilities? There are all sorts of tiny clues as to Gíó’s fate dropped in, but how much can the reader depend on their veracity? Is Júlía lying to us too – in fact, is she lying to herself? Does she have much grasp on reality at all?
All these question marks are deliberate to try to give you some idea of the confusion Júlía creates in the reader’s mind. The ambiguity is the point – while the mystery of what happened to Gíó is central and stays in focus at all times, really the book is a fascinating study of Júlía’s mental state. Gíó remains largely unknowable since we only have Júlía’s word to go on, and she is increasingly conflicted about him herself. She tells us they loved each other entirely, but then we get hints that he may have been controlling and jealous. If her account of the day on the islet is true, then he was certainly condescending and rude, even if those things don’t normally merit being left stranded in the middle of a fjord. We also soon learn – from Júlía, remember – that she had found a notebook, which sometimes she claims was in his handwriting but sometimes doesn’t seem so sure, detailing sexual liaisons he had had with a variety of women. Does the notebook exist? Or is her mind trying to belatedly justify her actions?
This is a new publication in translation but has been out for a while in the original Icelandic. It has pretty low ratings on Goodreads, which as far as I can gather, is largely because people found the ambiguities frustrating. You might gather from that that everything is not all wrapped up neatly at the end. My immediate reaction, too, on turning the last page was to think – wait, what? But what about…? And what about…? But even as I was running through my list of unanswered questions, I was realising how utterly wrong it would have been if Júlía had suddenly displayed a sanity and ability to tell a plain truth after everything we’d come to believe about her state of mind. I doubted she knew the difference between truth and lie, so how could she tell us? The question in the end is not so much what happened to Gíó but what has happened to Júlía’s mind? The whole point is that we cannot assume that Júlía has told us one true word.
Unexpectedly, I loved it. I found Júlía fascinating and still haven’t decided if she deserves my sympathy or not. In an odd way, it kept making me think of Edgar Allan Poe’s madmen, telling their stories from the asylum – less horror, but that same sense of off-kilter unreality. There’s actually quite a lot of humour in it – this is a book that is meant to entertain. And for me it succeeded in that, and while it left me baffled, it was a pleasing kind of bafflement that I felt I was meant to feel. Well written, quirky, original, entertaining – if you feel you can cope with not have everything tied up neatly without it driving you as insane as Júlía, then my one true word is – recommended!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Pushkin Vertigo.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
November 9, 2025
2.5
During a trip to an island with husband Gió, Júlia loses her temper and leaves him stranded. As her anger abates she begins to feel sorry for her actions and goes back the following day but there is no sign of Gió.
Júlia knows she has to report him missing and her childhood skill at lying comes to the fore as she spins a story for the Police, her neighbours and family about what happened. But will her lies unravel and where is Gió?
This book is possibly one of the strangest Scandi-noir I've ever read. It is almost Kafkaesque as Júlia has to continually change the narrative to avoid the blame for Gió's disappearance.
There are also some very peculiar characters - not least Júlia herself. There is a writer of erotic fiction whose appearances seem beyond random, a Police officer who is efficiently inefficient and Júlia's paranoia almost becomes a character in its own right.
If you like circuitous novels that draw the strings tighter with each chapter rather than unravel then you'll enjoy One True Word. It wasn't for me.
Thankyou to Netgalley for the advance review copy.
During a trip to an island with husband Gió, Júlia loses her temper and leaves him stranded. As her anger abates she begins to feel sorry for her actions and goes back the following day but there is no sign of Gió.
Júlia knows she has to report him missing and her childhood skill at lying comes to the fore as she spins a story for the Police, her neighbours and family about what happened. But will her lies unravel and where is Gió?
This book is possibly one of the strangest Scandi-noir I've ever read. It is almost Kafkaesque as Júlia has to continually change the narrative to avoid the blame for Gió's disappearance.
There are also some very peculiar characters - not least Júlia herself. There is a writer of erotic fiction whose appearances seem beyond random, a Police officer who is efficiently inefficient and Júlia's paranoia almost becomes a character in its own right.
If you like circuitous novels that draw the strings tighter with each chapter rather than unravel then you'll enjoy One True Word. It wasn't for me.
Thankyou to Netgalley for the advance review copy.
February 26, 2025
I really enjoyed the first two thirds of One True Word. I liked the scenario and the setup, and it was interesting to get to know the background of the relationship between the two characters that led to the marooning. Their history kept the reader on the fence as to who was really at fault in the relationship and whether Júlia's suspicions about Gíó were true or not. However, as the story approached the end, my enthusiasm waned and I wasn't thrilled by the way it concluded, which felt to me both sudden and somewhat anticlimactic after all that had gone before, and full of potential plot holes that had me questioning whether it was even workable. As such, I am giving this book 3.5 stars. It started strongly, but the ending was a bit of a let down.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
February 7, 2026
I tried, I really tried to read this book. Several times even. Although I usually love Icelandic thrillers, this one fell completely flat for me. I couldn't relate to the story nor the characters.
Next time better!
Next time better!
November 21, 2023
Ef ég gæti gefið núll stjörnur væri það mín einkunn. Byrjaði vel og var vongóð að þetta væri geggjuð spennusaga og ákvað því að gefa henni séns. Svo bara var endalaust rúnk um allt og ekkert! Aðalpersónan er greinilega lygasjúk og er eiginlega ekkert annað en óþolandi. Alltof mikið af lausum endum í lok bókarinnar, maður veit ekkert hvað er í gangi og ég varð bara pirruð þegar ég kláraði því ég eyddi því miður tíma í að lesa næstum 400 bls. bók sem var svona glötuð!
September 4, 2025
It was a strange story. It started out well, then meandered for most of the book. I’m not sure what the point of it was.
April 18, 2026
I received a free copy of this audiobook from libro.fm and I am providing my honest opinion voluntarily.
I've read some Scandinavian mysteries and found them to be really enjoyable. So I went into this with high hopes, and hopefully a new appreciation for Iceland. The setting was one of the big draws of the story for me.
To start with, while the narrator, Liv Austen, had a wonderful voice and a great command of the Icelandic words that were so unfamiliar to me. I appreciated hearing them pronounced by a speaker of the language, since I would probably never be able to come close to being able to pronounce them.
Unfortunately, this one fell far short of the mark for me. It's a good thing that I liked the narrator, because I kept having to go back and listen to chapters repeatedly. I became disenchanted after the fourth time this occurred, and there were several additional times after that. The plot became increasingly convoluted, and I always felt like I was missing something important that tied things together.
Reader, I don't think I was actually missing anything important, because the ending was ridiculously open-ended. Literally none of my questions from the story were actually resolved by the end of the book. Júlia doesn't exactly capture hearts in the story - she becomes increasingly unlikable and unreliable as the plot moves forward, and it felt like there were some tentative threads that just never fully panned out, while the threads that kept me reading to find the answers were never tied up.
Additionally, I struggled with resolving past Júlia and present Júlia. As she flashes back to her days abroad and the initial dating stage, we see a confident, independent, and even adventurous woman. In the present day, she's isolated, dependent, and immensely impacted by the red flags that were just starting to appear in her early days with Gío. I started out disliking him, and although I can understand why Júlia left him on the deserted, isolated island in the fjord, I had a hard time with her choices.
Leaving him behind on an island with no shelter and no way off except a distant swim in cold weather without even his phone was definitely a choice. The follow-up decision to leave him there and go back home was something I definitely judged her for, and by the time she went back to the island the next day, he was nowhere to be found.
This leads to a fracturing of Júlia's mind. Instead of coming clean, she opts to lie to the police about just about everything other than the fact that Gío is missing. Over time, she continues to embellish her story until there's no way she isn't going to come under suspicion of having been involved with his disappearance and assumed death. As her mind fractures, she becomes increasingly paranoid and thus the book is like watching a woman unravel in slow-motion as a result of the consequences of her choices. However, it's never clear what is true or not because the whole story is told through Júlia's perspective, and we never get to see what others are thinking.
Just a side note, there was one characteristic of Júlia's that made me like her less and less every time it appeared on page, and that was how judgmental she is towards basically anyone around her. She consistently has internal comments about people's appearance, weight, the size of someone's head (wondering if his neck gets tired holding up his overly large head), and even the weight of someone else's dog. I had a really hard time empathizing with someone who is so critical of everyone around her.
Ultimately, it's clear that this wasn't a good fit for me. I like to have things move a little faster and my books have to provide at least some sense of closure, while this didn't answer any of my questions by the end, which was especially vague.
I've read some Scandinavian mysteries and found them to be really enjoyable. So I went into this with high hopes, and hopefully a new appreciation for Iceland. The setting was one of the big draws of the story for me.
To start with, while the narrator, Liv Austen, had a wonderful voice and a great command of the Icelandic words that were so unfamiliar to me. I appreciated hearing them pronounced by a speaker of the language, since I would probably never be able to come close to being able to pronounce them.
Unfortunately, this one fell far short of the mark for me. It's a good thing that I liked the narrator, because I kept having to go back and listen to chapters repeatedly. I became disenchanted after the fourth time this occurred, and there were several additional times after that. The plot became increasingly convoluted, and I always felt like I was missing something important that tied things together.
Reader, I don't think I was actually missing anything important, because the ending was ridiculously open-ended. Literally none of my questions from the story were actually resolved by the end of the book. Júlia doesn't exactly capture hearts in the story - she becomes increasingly unlikable and unreliable as the plot moves forward, and it felt like there were some tentative threads that just never fully panned out, while the threads that kept me reading to find the answers were never tied up.
Additionally, I struggled with resolving past Júlia and present Júlia. As she flashes back to her days abroad and the initial dating stage, we see a confident, independent, and even adventurous woman. In the present day, she's isolated, dependent, and immensely impacted by the red flags that were just starting to appear in her early days with Gío. I started out disliking him, and although I can understand why Júlia left him on the deserted, isolated island in the fjord, I had a hard time with her choices.
Leaving him behind on an island with no shelter and no way off except a distant swim in cold weather without even his phone was definitely a choice. The follow-up decision to leave him there and go back home was something I definitely judged her for, and by the time she went back to the island the next day, he was nowhere to be found.
This leads to a fracturing of Júlia's mind. Instead of coming clean, she opts to lie to the police about just about everything other than the fact that Gío is missing. Over time, she continues to embellish her story until there's no way she isn't going to come under suspicion of having been involved with his disappearance and assumed death. As her mind fractures, she becomes increasingly paranoid and thus the book is like watching a woman unravel in slow-motion as a result of the consequences of her choices. However, it's never clear what is true or not because the whole story is told through Júlia's perspective, and we never get to see what others are thinking.
Just a side note, there was one characteristic of Júlia's that made me like her less and less every time it appeared on page, and that was how judgmental she is towards basically anyone around her. She consistently has internal comments about people's appearance, weight, the size of someone's head (wondering if his neck gets tired holding up his overly large head), and even the weight of someone else's dog. I had a really hard time empathizing with someone who is so critical of everyone around her.
Ultimately, it's clear that this wasn't a good fit for me. I like to have things move a little faster and my books have to provide at least some sense of closure, while this didn't answer any of my questions by the end, which was especially vague.
December 7, 2025
Is this a crime novel? I wasn't sure. Is the crime that after a row Julia heads for home leaving her "husband" to get over it? Is the crime that she left him on a tiny island and took the boat? In Iceland, in the dark? in winter? She has second thoughts and goes back to fetch him but he is not there.
Our protagonist is at best an unreliable narrator but also declares her history of untruths. It is up to the reader to unravel what truths/untruths she tells when reporting him missing. Ambiguity insinuates itself through the narrative in discoveries, back story and the search for the missing man.
It is Scandi Noir incarnate. Darkness, cold and red herrings in abundance.
I found it rather head scratching!
Our protagonist is at best an unreliable narrator but also declares her history of untruths. It is up to the reader to unravel what truths/untruths she tells when reporting him missing. Ambiguity insinuates itself through the narrative in discoveries, back story and the search for the missing man.
It is Scandi Noir incarnate. Darkness, cold and red herrings in abundance.
I found it rather head scratching!
December 31, 2025
Another Icelandic noir that I am putting right up there was one of my favourite reads for the year (Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's "The Creak on the Stairs" was my first Icelandic thriller - aside from the Icelandic Sagas of old.).
Not only is the reader compelled to finish this mystery, but also impelled by the unreliable narrative of Julia and the investigation into the disappearance of "husband" Gíó. The concise chapters move back and forth as Julia recounts current events and those from her past in an effort to draw the reader into her mindset. But we know her version of events is unrealiable as she constantly lets us know that she is a habitual liar, who lies easily and unaffectedly.
Is this mystery solved .... well, that is for each reader to decide.
Not only is the reader compelled to finish this mystery, but also impelled by the unreliable narrative of Julia and the investigation into the disappearance of "husband" Gíó. The concise chapters move back and forth as Julia recounts current events and those from her past in an effort to draw the reader into her mindset. But we know her version of events is unrealiable as she constantly lets us know that she is a habitual liar, who lies easily and unaffectedly.
Is this mystery solved .... well, that is for each reader to decide.
April 3, 2026
Don’t believe the blurb! Structure didn’t work for me, loose strands in storyline, no conclusion or plot twist…
November 16, 2025
Just not for me. It sounded intriguing, but we know so little about the characters when she leaves her husband on the island, that it’s hard to care much for either person. After that, there’s precious little investigation - she veers between lying to the police and her sister (even framing her sister as having an affair with her husband) and paranoia, haring off after vague leads the police mention, where she talks to various random people, and spends the rest paranoid or existentially wondering. At the end… well as others have said, I’m not sure there really is an end.
I want to try and think of some positives, but sadly this is a rare total miss for me. The one good thing is it ticks off Iceland for my read around the world challenge, but I have others I could have used.
I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.
I want to try and think of some positives, but sadly this is a rare total miss for me. The one good thing is it ticks off Iceland for my read around the world challenge, but I have others I could have used.
I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.
March 2, 2026
Unfortunately, this was not a good story experience. The audiobook narrator was good, and probably why I stuck through it. But I do feel it would have been nice to have a true Icelandic voice narrating this story for the sake of immersion. The structure was disjointed. The chapters were short and often ended abruptly. But the most difficult part was that I really never knew or cared what was happening. The FMC was unlikable all the way through, and nothing made sense. Overall, this was a really strange story with no payoff.
Read
November 4, 2022Grípandi framan af en fannst of sagan svo of langdregin og mér fór að leiðast. Síðan var bara skellt í sögulok à núll einni. Svo efnileg saga en það er eins og vanti eitthvað smà upp á til að hún sé stórfengleg. Aðalpersónan er einstök sköpun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2022
Frumleg, spennandi, vel skrifuð flétta alvöru og lúmskrar fyndni. Aðalpersónan heillar en finna má að smáatriðum varðandi td vissar aukapersónur. Lesið endilega.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: A #1 bestselling hypnotic psychological thriller from Iceland, in which a woman abandons her husband on an uninhabited island.
“So gripping I simply couldn't put it down. . . Atmospheric and original with an ending I did not see coming” — Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, author of The Creak on the Stairs
Why did she do it?
After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia finally reaches breaking point. In a fit of fury she makes a reckless decision—leaving her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter. As the cold dark of night swiftly approaches, she leaves without looking back.
When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. There is no trace of him, and no sign of where he may have gone. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. In an attempt to shield herself from their speculation, Júlia weaves an elaborate net of lies, trying to convince the police—and herself—of her innocence. But as her story starts to crumble, dark secrets start coming to light.
As time runs out, Júlia races to discover what really happened. But is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
One True Word is a #1 bestseller in Iceland that has been acclaimed by authors such as Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the former Icelandic Prime Minister.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Júlía has a psychotic break and abandons her justifiably irritable "husband" on a little rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. At night. In winter.
Despite the psychotic break, and the probable underlying paranoid personality disorder, she regrets her action and returns...the next day, after realizing she can't explain his disappearance away well enough to avoid legal problems, and fearing manslaughter charges...but he is not there.
This is bad. Epically bad. Contacting the police and spinning them a fantastical pack of lies, as she has done to evade blame her whole life (we meet the sister who hates her guts, and rightly so) she lives in fear that 1) the police will find his body, and b) he's alive and out there waiting to get revenge for what she did to him. And no blame on him if he is.
Her lies are ever more baroque and untenable. The legal system does what it is set up to do, poke into every corner and demand all the information, all the data, all the facts...but would Júlía even know a fact? Is there some...reason...for this psychotic break that she just can not face? Is she retrofitting details suggested, innocently enough, by the questions she has to answer?
In extremely short chapters and unadorned prose, this Icelandic thriller unwinds the worst moment of a wounded soul's life. It's tightly focused on Júlía, we never hear anyone else's thoughts or feelings except as they're expressed to, recalled by, her. It's not a nice place to be, Júlía's head...her perceptions are disturbingly off-kilter from the things she's reporting that she heard. Paranoid personality disorder? Abuse survivor? Both?
It's a book of questions, ambiguities, uncertain footings. If that and a very disjointed flow of story are not enjoyable to you, this ain't your read. I was drawn in by the sheer brio of a writer who focuses a noir thriller in the tightest focus on a woman who's undergoing a breakdown around her "husband"'s possible death, positive disappearance, at her own hands...unless she's dissociating, dissembling, desperately gnawing off her metaphorical arm to escape...what?
I detested Júlía, and thought her life was enough of a fantasyland that I was never fully sure Gíó, the vanished man she's not legally married to, was real. Could I even trust her to tell me the truth about that? Is it a lie or is her paranoia destabilizing my readerly radar that much?
I can't give five stars to the read despite the engagement and investment it elicited from me. Its ending was not on the same level of inventiveness as the rest of the story. It felt to me as though I was being dumped the minute after having brain-melting sex. Reality does this to me all the time; fiction should not!
I've also shaved off the partial stars because the short, choppy chapters that (I think) are intended to be in the places Júlía experiences breaks in her reality feel distancing, are in fact impediments to my connection to an already unlikable narrator. So I land on four of five stars but with the caveat that it's a better story, if not read, than this rating suggests.
The Publisher Says: A #1 bestselling hypnotic psychological thriller from Iceland, in which a woman abandons her husband on an uninhabited island.
“So gripping I simply couldn't put it down. . . Atmospheric and original with an ending I did not see coming” — Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, author of The Creak on the Stairs
Why did she do it?
After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia finally reaches breaking point. In a fit of fury she makes a reckless decision—leaving her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter. As the cold dark of night swiftly approaches, she leaves without looking back.
When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. There is no trace of him, and no sign of where he may have gone. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. In an attempt to shield herself from their speculation, Júlia weaves an elaborate net of lies, trying to convince the police—and herself—of her innocence. But as her story starts to crumble, dark secrets start coming to light.
As time runs out, Júlia races to discover what really happened. But is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
One True Word is a #1 bestseller in Iceland that has been acclaimed by authors such as Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the former Icelandic Prime Minister.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Júlía has a psychotic break and abandons her justifiably irritable "husband" on a little rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. At night. In winter.
Despite the psychotic break, and the probable underlying paranoid personality disorder, she regrets her action and returns...the next day, after realizing she can't explain his disappearance away well enough to avoid legal problems, and fearing manslaughter charges...but he is not there.
This is bad. Epically bad. Contacting the police and spinning them a fantastical pack of lies, as she has done to evade blame her whole life (we meet the sister who hates her guts, and rightly so) she lives in fear that 1) the police will find his body, and b) he's alive and out there waiting to get revenge for what she did to him. And no blame on him if he is.
Her lies are ever more baroque and untenable. The legal system does what it is set up to do, poke into every corner and demand all the information, all the data, all the facts...but would Júlía even know a fact? Is there some...reason...for this psychotic break that she just can not face? Is she retrofitting details suggested, innocently enough, by the questions she has to answer?
In extremely short chapters and unadorned prose, this Icelandic thriller unwinds the worst moment of a wounded soul's life. It's tightly focused on Júlía, we never hear anyone else's thoughts or feelings except as they're expressed to, recalled by, her. It's not a nice place to be, Júlía's head...her perceptions are disturbingly off-kilter from the things she's reporting that she heard. Paranoid personality disorder? Abuse survivor? Both?
It's a book of questions, ambiguities, uncertain footings. If that and a very disjointed flow of story are not enjoyable to you, this ain't your read. I was drawn in by the sheer brio of a writer who focuses a noir thriller in the tightest focus on a woman who's undergoing a breakdown around her "husband"'s possible death, positive disappearance, at her own hands...unless she's dissociating, dissembling, desperately gnawing off her metaphorical arm to escape...what?
I detested Júlía, and thought her life was enough of a fantasyland that I was never fully sure Gíó, the vanished man she's not legally married to, was real. Could I even trust her to tell me the truth about that? Is it a lie or is her paranoia destabilizing my readerly radar that much?
I can't give five stars to the read despite the engagement and investment it elicited from me. Its ending was not on the same level of inventiveness as the rest of the story. It felt to me as though I was being dumped the minute after having brain-melting sex. Reality does this to me all the time; fiction should not!
I've also shaved off the partial stars because the short, choppy chapters that (I think) are intended to be in the places Júlía experiences breaks in her reality feel distancing, are in fact impediments to my connection to an already unlikable narrator. So I land on four of five stars but with the caveat that it's a better story, if not read, than this rating suggests.
April 13, 2026
My first hint that this book was going to annoy me was that the author kept forgetting that Júlía had a smartphone.
I have a pet peeve where in fiction, if the character would conceivably have a smartphone, they often say "oh, I can't go into that dark room, I don't have a flashlight!" Yes you do. You have a smartphone. It completely takes me out of the story, and is something that authors need to work around in the plot for the story to be believable.
This book somehow found a way to do that, but worse. One of the many plot points that doesn't get an explanation is that a note is found with a line of a poem on it. Júlía says that it sounds really familiar, but she can't place it. My immediate thought was "don't you have a phone?"
She also gets lost while driving and is confused as to how that happened. I again thought "you have a smartphone?????" It got to the point that I actually Googled smartphone usage rates in Iceland. (Fun fact, they have very high smartphone usage!)
I get that she might not have a smartphone. She does have *a* phone though, and if your story is set in Iceland in 2022, the assumption is going to be that any phone being used is a smartphone with Internet access. If you don't want your character to be able to use the Internet at a moment's notice, find a way to address that in the narrative.
This all happened within the first half of the book. Later, Júlía states that her phone is stone dead, doesn't mention charging it, and then uses the flashlight, which is the opposite of my pet peeve but is infinitely more annoying.
As the book ended, I realized that the smartphone thing was just one example of the many, many plot issues with this book. The following list is plot points that were never given any kind of explanation, conclusion, or even discussion outside of the scene in which they are mentioned. I initially thought that many of these plot points were hints at the larger plot, but they aren't, because there is no larger plot:
There were so many plot points that could have made for a really intricate plot, yet they functioned just as random scenes with no actual bearing on the story. There was no great coming together of all the plot points. The story just...stops. There's no resolution or explanations, but not in an "ambiguous ending" way. It's in a "the story literally just stops" way.
I have a pet peeve where in fiction, if the character would conceivably have a smartphone, they often say "oh, I can't go into that dark room, I don't have a flashlight!" Yes you do. You have a smartphone. It completely takes me out of the story, and is something that authors need to work around in the plot for the story to be believable.
This book somehow found a way to do that, but worse. One of the many plot points that doesn't get an explanation is that a note is found with a line of a poem on it. Júlía says that it sounds really familiar, but she can't place it. My immediate thought was "don't you have a phone?"
She also gets lost while driving and is confused as to how that happened. I again thought "you have a smartphone?????" It got to the point that I actually Googled smartphone usage rates in Iceland. (Fun fact, they have very high smartphone usage!)
I get that she might not have a smartphone. She does have *a* phone though, and if your story is set in Iceland in 2022, the assumption is going to be that any phone being used is a smartphone with Internet access. If you don't want your character to be able to use the Internet at a moment's notice, find a way to address that in the narrative.
This all happened within the first half of the book. Later, Júlía states that her phone is stone dead, doesn't mention charging it, and then uses the flashlight, which is the opposite of my pet peeve but is infinitely more annoying.
As the book ended, I realized that the smartphone thing was just one example of the many, many plot issues with this book. The following list is plot points that were never given any kind of explanation, conclusion, or even discussion outside of the scene in which they are mentioned. I initially thought that many of these plot points were hints at the larger plot, but they aren't, because there is no larger plot:
There were so many plot points that could have made for a really intricate plot, yet they functioned just as random scenes with no actual bearing on the story. There was no great coming together of all the plot points. The story just...stops. There's no resolution or explanations, but not in an "ambiguous ending" way. It's in a "the story literally just stops" way.
January 26, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of One True Word by Snaebjorn Angrimsson in Icelandic and translated into English. It was a best seller in Iceland, where the story is set. Its publication is s scheduled for February 03/2026.
Julie is the unreliable narrator and is pleased with her talent for lying since childhood. She is a freelance writer and is travelling to a bleak, uninhabited island with her husband, Geo. The purpose of the journey is for research for an article she has written. They are arguing, and he is grumpy and critical, feeling he has been forced to accompany her. He states that the trip is unnecessary and that she needs to become more self-reliant rather than depending on him. We get the sense that some of the blame for the tension lies with Julie. She has become stressed and angry with him.
They rent a dinghy to reach the island. Once they arrive, her temper snaps, and she sails away on the dinghy. Geo is left marooned on the isolated island in winter as a dark, freezing night approaches. He is without food or phone connection.
The next morning, she tells us she is worried that he tried to swim to safety in the cold, churning sea, and perhaps she would be charged with manslaughter if he drowns. She returns to the island to rescue him, but he is nowhere to be found. She decides to notify the police that he left from their residence and never returned. Search parties are set up, but without results. Julie must lie to the authorities to avoid blame, and she responds to their questions with a series of lies that often contradict her previous answers. Her narration is deceitful, unreliable, and gradually unhinged. She lies not only to the police, but to the reader, and to herself. She reminisces about their early love story and how they were devoted to each other.
Geo's neatly folded coat is found at the harbour, and the police are concerned about her veracity. She is losing her grasp of reality and descends into paranoia. How much of her lies are deliberate, and how many spring from her shaky imagination? She spreads the story that Geo was involved in an affair with her sister, which her sister denies. Her story contains much ambiguity. It has elements of a mystery involving a missing person, a police procedural, and a psychological thriller, but none of them fully apply to her odd, meandering tale.
She finds hints that Geo may still be alive, or is this wishful thinking and a figment of her imagination? Is he capable of revenge? She begins searching for him. She goes to a remote cottage, thinking he might be there. Why the cottage? She either believes or wants others to know that this is where Geo used to hold sex orgies. He doesn't show up, and she is spooked by its isolation and darkness, imagining she is being watched.
I continued reading, hoping that its conclusion would address the unresolved issues and perhaps offer a surprising twist. There was no conclusion. The story simply stopped.
I believe readers who enjoy stories set in a dark, Icelandic location and following a narrator with a deteriorating mental condition will like 'One True Word,' even if not a single word is true.
Julie is the unreliable narrator and is pleased with her talent for lying since childhood. She is a freelance writer and is travelling to a bleak, uninhabited island with her husband, Geo. The purpose of the journey is for research for an article she has written. They are arguing, and he is grumpy and critical, feeling he has been forced to accompany her. He states that the trip is unnecessary and that she needs to become more self-reliant rather than depending on him. We get the sense that some of the blame for the tension lies with Julie. She has become stressed and angry with him.
They rent a dinghy to reach the island. Once they arrive, her temper snaps, and she sails away on the dinghy. Geo is left marooned on the isolated island in winter as a dark, freezing night approaches. He is without food or phone connection.
The next morning, she tells us she is worried that he tried to swim to safety in the cold, churning sea, and perhaps she would be charged with manslaughter if he drowns. She returns to the island to rescue him, but he is nowhere to be found. She decides to notify the police that he left from their residence and never returned. Search parties are set up, but without results. Julie must lie to the authorities to avoid blame, and she responds to their questions with a series of lies that often contradict her previous answers. Her narration is deceitful, unreliable, and gradually unhinged. She lies not only to the police, but to the reader, and to herself. She reminisces about their early love story and how they were devoted to each other.
Geo's neatly folded coat is found at the harbour, and the police are concerned about her veracity. She is losing her grasp of reality and descends into paranoia. How much of her lies are deliberate, and how many spring from her shaky imagination? She spreads the story that Geo was involved in an affair with her sister, which her sister denies. Her story contains much ambiguity. It has elements of a mystery involving a missing person, a police procedural, and a psychological thriller, but none of them fully apply to her odd, meandering tale.
She finds hints that Geo may still be alive, or is this wishful thinking and a figment of her imagination? Is he capable of revenge? She begins searching for him. She goes to a remote cottage, thinking he might be there. Why the cottage? She either believes or wants others to know that this is where Geo used to hold sex orgies. He doesn't show up, and she is spooked by its isolation and darkness, imagining she is being watched.
I continued reading, hoping that its conclusion would address the unresolved issues and perhaps offer a surprising twist. There was no conclusion. The story simply stopped.
I believe readers who enjoy stories set in a dark, Icelandic location and following a narrator with a deteriorating mental condition will like 'One True Word,' even if not a single word is true.
December 26, 2025
I think this book might have been a little mismarketed and needs to find it’s audience. If you like unreliable, odd, unsettling (without feeling like it’s trying to be) type stories, give this a try. I really liked it. It reminded me of Big Swiss or Ottessa Moshfegh in vibes. Could also be a fun book club pick because almost everything is left to reader interpretation.
Energy: Strange. Unexpected. Wry.
🐕 Howls: Every single plot point is unresolved (but I kind of liked that too).
🐩 Tail Wags: The MC’s odd, flat-toned reactions to everything. The internal tangents will just drop a line here or there to add insight, strangeness, or mystery. The execution of the deceitful/unreliable/unhinged narrator and how she morphs. The Icelandic atmosphere. The translation style (the dialogue matches what it’s like watching Icelandic noir). Almost nothing is explained outright, and everything is open to interpretation.
Scene: 🇮🇸 Geirshólmur and Reykjavík, Iceland
Perspective: The main character makes an impulsive, angry decision that puts their spouse in danger. We follow them as they navigate guilt, suspicion, and the realities they construe.
Timeline: Linear. Oct-Nov 2022. 🥶🌧️ Cold, windy, and rainy.
Narrative: Confined to the MC’s mind (first person)
Fuel: What happened to the husband? How much of the MC’s story can we trust? Does she even know what really happened? What does her marriage look like? Strangeness and intrigue.
Cred: Surreal plausibility
Stakes: Medium. Psychological. Mental stability, self-mythology, strained marriage. What is the truth? What happened to the husband?
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Metallic grey sea. Biting wind. Rainy streets. Red notebook. Fog. Holiday cottage.
• Detached, blunt, understated writing style
• Strange, erratic, questionable main character
• Character focused ennui lit fic + noir + psychological weirdness
• Where-did-we-go-wrong relationship ennui and doubts
• Strained sibling conflict
• Police questioning and suspicions
• Solitude, reinvention, emotional drift
• Missing husband mystery
• Stream-of-consciousness introspection
• Deceit, masking, omission
Content Heads-Up: Abandonment (by spouse). Animal death (dog, natural causes; brief mention). Infidelity (suspected). Mentally ill parent (depression, despondency). Nicotine (cigarettes). Potential false accusation. Sexual content (brief mentions).
Rep: Icelandic. Balkan ancestry. Danish ancestry. Cis. Hetero.
📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Steerforth & Pushkin, and NetGalley
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Energy: Strange. Unexpected. Wry.
🐕 Howls: Every single plot point is unresolved (but I kind of liked that too).
🐩 Tail Wags: The MC’s odd, flat-toned reactions to everything. The internal tangents will just drop a line here or there to add insight, strangeness, or mystery. The execution of the deceitful/unreliable/unhinged narrator and how she morphs. The Icelandic atmosphere. The translation style (the dialogue matches what it’s like watching Icelandic noir). Almost nothing is explained outright, and everything is open to interpretation.
Scene: 🇮🇸 Geirshólmur and Reykjavík, Iceland
Perspective: The main character makes an impulsive, angry decision that puts their spouse in danger. We follow them as they navigate guilt, suspicion, and the realities they construe.
Timeline: Linear. Oct-Nov 2022. 🥶🌧️ Cold, windy, and rainy.
Narrative: Confined to the MC’s mind (first person)
Fuel: What happened to the husband? How much of the MC’s story can we trust? Does she even know what really happened? What does her marriage look like? Strangeness and intrigue.
Cred: Surreal plausibility
Stakes: Medium. Psychological. Mental stability, self-mythology, strained marriage. What is the truth? What happened to the husband?
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Metallic grey sea. Biting wind. Rainy streets. Red notebook. Fog. Holiday cottage.
• Detached, blunt, understated writing style
• Strange, erratic, questionable main character
• Character focused ennui lit fic + noir + psychological weirdness
• Where-did-we-go-wrong relationship ennui and doubts
• Strained sibling conflict
• Police questioning and suspicions
• Solitude, reinvention, emotional drift
• Missing husband mystery
• Stream-of-consciousness introspection
• Deceit, masking, omission
Content Heads-Up: Abandonment (by spouse). Animal death (dog, natural causes; brief mention). Infidelity (suspected). Mentally ill parent (depression, despondency). Nicotine (cigarettes). Potential false accusation. Sexual content (brief mentions).
Rep: Icelandic. Balkan ancestry. Danish ancestry. Cis. Hetero.
📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Steerforth & Pushkin, and NetGalley
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
December 7, 2025
📚One True Word
✍🏻Snaebjorn Arngrimsson
Blurb:
The no.1 icelandic bestseller!
'So gripping I simply couldn't put it down' Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, author of The Creak on the Stairs
'A truly unusual crime novel which kept me reading until the very end... highly enjoyable' Katrín Jakobsdóttir, former Icelandic Prime Minister and author of A Crime Story
______Why did she do it?
After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia snaps and leaves her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter, with night drawing in.
When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. She spins them a story to hide her involvement, but she can feel the net closing in.
Is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
My Thoughts:
Júlía wakes in the morning to the memory of what she did the day before. It had been a trying day. She wanted to visit a small, bare uninhabited islet in Hvalfjörður as research for a writing project she was working on. She admits to herself that she more or less forced her husband, Gíó – partner, really, but she calls him her husband – to go with her. He was grumpy and critical all the way there, complaining that her project wasn’t worth the effort and that she really needed to learn to fend for herself. He continued to be annoying even when they arrive on the islet in the little motorised rubber dinghy they had borrowed. So, in a fit of pique, she jumped back in the dinghy and drove away, leaving him on the islet with no food or phone, on a cold November day. To be fair, she had repented of her action later and gone back, only to find the islet empty. Had Gíó attempted to swim ashore? Had he drowned? Or was he alive somewhere, perhaps angry…
And what should she do now? She’s unsure of the law – if he drowned, would she be held responsible, perhaps for manslaughter, and end up in jail? But she can’t do nothing. Eventually it will be noticed that he’s missing, by his work colleagues if no one else. So she decides she has to report him missing, but lies – he walked out after an argument, she says. It’s a while before the police will take any action, since it’s not illegal for someone to just walk away from their marriage. But then his coat is found, neatly folded, at a harbour on the fjord...
Thanks NetGalley, Pushkin Press and Author Snaebjorn Arngrimsson for the advanced copy of "One True Word" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#PushkinPress
#SnaebjornArngrimsson
#OneTrueWord
⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Snaebjorn Arngrimsson
Blurb:
The no.1 icelandic bestseller!
'So gripping I simply couldn't put it down' Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, author of The Creak on the Stairs
'A truly unusual crime novel which kept me reading until the very end... highly enjoyable' Katrín Jakobsdóttir, former Icelandic Prime Minister and author of A Crime Story
______Why did she do it?
After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia snaps and leaves her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter, with night drawing in.
When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. She spins them a story to hide her involvement, but she can feel the net closing in.
Is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
My Thoughts:
Júlía wakes in the morning to the memory of what she did the day before. It had been a trying day. She wanted to visit a small, bare uninhabited islet in Hvalfjörður as research for a writing project she was working on. She admits to herself that she more or less forced her husband, Gíó – partner, really, but she calls him her husband – to go with her. He was grumpy and critical all the way there, complaining that her project wasn’t worth the effort and that she really needed to learn to fend for herself. He continued to be annoying even when they arrive on the islet in the little motorised rubber dinghy they had borrowed. So, in a fit of pique, she jumped back in the dinghy and drove away, leaving him on the islet with no food or phone, on a cold November day. To be fair, she had repented of her action later and gone back, only to find the islet empty. Had Gíó attempted to swim ashore? Had he drowned? Or was he alive somewhere, perhaps angry…
And what should she do now? She’s unsure of the law – if he drowned, would she be held responsible, perhaps for manslaughter, and end up in jail? But she can’t do nothing. Eventually it will be noticed that he’s missing, by his work colleagues if no one else. So she decides she has to report him missing, but lies – he walked out after an argument, she says. It’s a while before the police will take any action, since it’s not illegal for someone to just walk away from their marriage. But then his coat is found, neatly folded, at a harbour on the fjord...
Thanks NetGalley, Pushkin Press and Author Snaebjorn Arngrimsson for the advanced copy of "One True Word" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#PushkinPress
#SnaebjornArngrimsson
#OneTrueWord
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Freelance author Júlía is taking her partner on a quick research trip to an uninhabited islet in one of the Icelandic fjords, much to his reluctance. He mopes on the way there, and she has found something incriminating about him, so when they get there she abandons him – just heads the boat back to shore alone. Later, thinking his daft lesson learnt, she goes all the way back – but he's not there. How can she action this as a missing persons case, to cover things up, when she has such culpability?
This is an intriguing read, and at its best it's really quite readable. It really can slip from that high, mind – OK, she cannot get back into her routine mindset very well, but the interview she takes from an author straight after the incident is very weird indeed, and scenes in hotels (both Italian and in Reykjavik) could do with some red pen action.
Also it has to be said that Júlía is a sore, judgemental person – and if the shoe were from the other half of the shop she would definitely be thought of as lookist and sexist. She practically shouts at us that she's an unreliable narrator. But all this makes her a rounded character, and I think that where this wins is with the portrayal of the flighty mentality of the everyday person put in such a rarefied situation.
All told, though, the jury is somewhat out on this. It has many hallmarks of a regular thriller – the aforementioned unreliability and dalliance with the truth, a missing person, a police procedural as seen from whom it's being applied to. At the same time it's a character study, of someone potentially going right off the rails. But that's the word – potential. It does leave a lot hanging, from the notebook to the blue tank, and the way this book misses its potential leaves it far too easily becoming something other than what you intended to be reading. It might delight and it might infuriate, and I wouldn't know whether to recommend this or tell you to steer well clear. I'm still somewhat disappointed in it, hence my rating.
This is an intriguing read, and at its best it's really quite readable. It really can slip from that high, mind – OK, she cannot get back into her routine mindset very well, but the interview she takes from an author straight after the incident is very weird indeed, and scenes in hotels (both Italian and in Reykjavik) could do with some red pen action.
Also it has to be said that Júlía is a sore, judgemental person – and if the shoe were from the other half of the shop she would definitely be thought of as lookist and sexist. She practically shouts at us that she's an unreliable narrator. But all this makes her a rounded character, and I think that where this wins is with the portrayal of the flighty mentality of the everyday person put in such a rarefied situation.
All told, though, the jury is somewhat out on this. It has many hallmarks of a regular thriller – the aforementioned unreliability and dalliance with the truth, a missing person, a police procedural as seen from whom it's being applied to. At the same time it's a character study, of someone potentially going right off the rails. But that's the word – potential. It does leave a lot hanging, from the notebook to the blue tank, and the way this book misses its potential leaves it far too easily becoming something other than what you intended to be reading. It might delight and it might infuriate, and I wouldn't know whether to recommend this or tell you to steer well clear. I'm still somewhat disappointed in it, hence my rating.
May 6, 2026
A tense character study of a young Icelandic woman whose husband has . . . gone missing? . . . died? . . . gone into hiding?
Julia, a self-described liar, tells us at the beginning of the book that she abandoned her husband, Gio, on an unsheltered island in the middle of a deep Icelandic fjord. When she regrets her actions, she says she went back, in the dark, to find him. But she also drove to an isolated coast to throw his phone into the sea.
After a day or so, Julia calls the police to report her husband missing. The more she talks to the police and to her semi-estranged sister, the more Julia seems to lose control of the situation. What parts of what stories are real and what parts are made up? It's difficult to sort out. Her job is to try to stay consistent and to stay out of jail.
Meanwhile, the police and media ask the public to come forward with any possible information. This leads to phantom sightings and disturbing texts. Julia further learns a couple of surprising things about her husband and recklessly follows up on questionable leads.
While events unfold during the missing person hunt, Julia fills us in on her and Gio's relationship: how they met and how they changed over the years. We readers must sift through her thoughts and actions to figure out what is true.
This is a gripping story, but the ending is ambiguous. You'll end up mulling over the details, asking yourself, What just happened?
The audiobook is performed by Liv Austen, who is fluent in both English and Norwegian. Though Icelandic isn't very similar to the Scandinavian languages, Austen's accents and cadences sounded fine to my untrained ear. She very much picked up on Julia's changing & changeable mental state, pulling readers ever deeper into Julia's view of the world. Well done audiobook.
Thanks to Tantor for the review copy via Libro.fm.
Julia, a self-described liar, tells us at the beginning of the book that she abandoned her husband, Gio, on an unsheltered island in the middle of a deep Icelandic fjord. When she regrets her actions, she says she went back, in the dark, to find him. But she also drove to an isolated coast to throw his phone into the sea.
After a day or so, Julia calls the police to report her husband missing. The more she talks to the police and to her semi-estranged sister, the more Julia seems to lose control of the situation. What parts of what stories are real and what parts are made up? It's difficult to sort out. Her job is to try to stay consistent and to stay out of jail.
Meanwhile, the police and media ask the public to come forward with any possible information. This leads to phantom sightings and disturbing texts. Julia further learns a couple of surprising things about her husband and recklessly follows up on questionable leads.
While events unfold during the missing person hunt, Julia fills us in on her and Gio's relationship: how they met and how they changed over the years. We readers must sift through her thoughts and actions to figure out what is true.
This is a gripping story, but the ending is ambiguous. You'll end up mulling over the details, asking yourself, What just happened?
The audiobook is performed by Liv Austen, who is fluent in both English and Norwegian. Though Icelandic isn't very similar to the Scandinavian languages, Austen's accents and cadences sounded fine to my untrained ear. She very much picked up on Julia's changing & changeable mental state, pulling readers ever deeper into Julia's view of the world. Well done audiobook.
Thanks to Tantor for the review copy via Libro.fm.
October 11, 2025
I was so excited when I got approved for this ARC, and it truly did not disappoint! One True Word is such an interesting and unique story, a clever mix of mystery, humor, and relationships.
The writing style feels a bit weird at first; it doesn’t always flow perfectly, but that might be due to the translation. The pacing in the first few chapters also felt a little odd, but as I kept reading, I realized it was intentional. You gradually get used to the rhythm of the story, and it ends up working really well with the story.
There are lots of Icelandic references throughout, which can be a little hard to follow if you’re not familiar with them, but they really help set the scene and the setting was one of the main reasons I wanted to pick up this book in the first place.
The author’s dry humor in the middle of serious moments reminded me so much of Fredrik Backman — fans of his would absolutely eat this up! The unreliable narrator adds another fun layer, keeping you on your toes the whole time.
Around the 40–50% mark, the story slows down as we go back in time to explore the main couple’s relationship and their connections with others. It’s still interesting but not as fast-paced, with a few absurd (and entertaining) tangents that again felt very Backman-esque.
I really enjoyed the balance between the mystery and the character work. The back and forth between conversations and the main character’s little “adventures” while searching for her husband kept me hooked and I didn’t want to put it down! The double-layered mystery is so clever and makes for a really engaging read.
I do wish there had been just a bit more closure at the end, but overall, I was very satisfied. This was a strong 4-star read for me. It was funny, smart, and completely absorbing. I’m so glad I got the chance to read this ARC, because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise, and I ended up devouring it!
The writing style feels a bit weird at first; it doesn’t always flow perfectly, but that might be due to the translation. The pacing in the first few chapters also felt a little odd, but as I kept reading, I realized it was intentional. You gradually get used to the rhythm of the story, and it ends up working really well with the story.
There are lots of Icelandic references throughout, which can be a little hard to follow if you’re not familiar with them, but they really help set the scene and the setting was one of the main reasons I wanted to pick up this book in the first place.
The author’s dry humor in the middle of serious moments reminded me so much of Fredrik Backman — fans of his would absolutely eat this up! The unreliable narrator adds another fun layer, keeping you on your toes the whole time.
Around the 40–50% mark, the story slows down as we go back in time to explore the main couple’s relationship and their connections with others. It’s still interesting but not as fast-paced, with a few absurd (and entertaining) tangents that again felt very Backman-esque.
I really enjoyed the balance between the mystery and the character work. The back and forth between conversations and the main character’s little “adventures” while searching for her husband kept me hooked and I didn’t want to put it down! The double-layered mystery is so clever and makes for a really engaging read.
I do wish there had been just a bit more closure at the end, but overall, I was very satisfied. This was a strong 4-star read for me. It was funny, smart, and completely absorbing. I’m so glad I got the chance to read this ARC, because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise, and I ended up devouring it!
January 5, 2026
If you want a book to read with the most unreliable narrator you will ever find, this is the book for you! This is a stirring psychological thriller - it you are patient and take the time to get to know the main character you will love it!
Julia, the book’s protagonist, is a weird character. She leaves her husband, Gio, on a deserted island outside Reykjavik because he annoyed her - you get the drift of this character right away. When she wakes up the next day and finds Gio’s missing and then realizes what’s she done. But what’s she to do? For awhile she investigates but this comes up short. Then she realizes she better report Gio missing or she will be in big trouble. At this point the book takes on an energy of its own as Julia keeps the lies coming. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with her. The ending though is a stunner. Who is the real Julia?
While a thriller, the character of Julia is also offered I believe as a study of mental acuity and what gives a human the the ability to love. Julia has a cold side; she ambiguous about a lot of things in her life. Her relationship with Gio is fraught with tension and dislike - after all he’s been unfaithful to her as she discovers. But she still pursues him, still misses him. But is this true? Julia’s unreliability is a strength but also a weakness of the story.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for allowing me to read this ARC.
Julia, the book’s protagonist, is a weird character. She leaves her husband, Gio, on a deserted island outside Reykjavik because he annoyed her - you get the drift of this character right away. When she wakes up the next day and finds Gio’s missing and then realizes what’s she done. But what’s she to do? For awhile she investigates but this comes up short. Then she realizes she better report Gio missing or she will be in big trouble. At this point the book takes on an energy of its own as Julia keeps the lies coming. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with her. The ending though is a stunner. Who is the real Julia?
While a thriller, the character of Julia is also offered I believe as a study of mental acuity and what gives a human the the ability to love. Julia has a cold side; she ambiguous about a lot of things in her life. Her relationship with Gio is fraught with tension and dislike - after all he’s been unfaithful to her as she discovers. But she still pursues him, still misses him. But is this true? Julia’s unreliability is a strength but also a weakness of the story.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for allowing me to read this ARC.
March 3, 2024
Sinossi editoriale
Reykjavík. In un freddo pomeriggio di ottobre, la scrittrice Júlía e suo marito Gíó raggiungono in macchina il fiordo del Hvalfjörður e su un gommone preso in prestito si imbarcano per Geirshólmi, un isolotto deserto a pochi chilometri dalla costa. Júlía è in cerca di ispirazione per scrivere un testo su un’eroina delle saghe islandesi che proprio da quell’isolotto aveva portato in salvo a nuoto se stessa e i propri figli. Durante la gita, però, i due hanno una lite, e Júlía riparte sul gommone, lasciando suo marito su quel lembo di terra sperduto in mezzo al mare. Una volta in città, spinta dal rimorso, torna a Geirshólmi… ma di Gíó non c’è più traccia. Sapendo a malapena nuotare, è impossibile che sia riuscito a mettersi in salvo attraverso le acque gelide, ed è improbabile che qualcuno l’abbia soccorso. Eppure diversi indizi fanno pensare che Gíó sia ancora vivo, e che si diverta a perseguitarla…Sullo sfondo della remota Islanda, un thriller psicologico ad altissima tensione che, tra flashback e dettagli inquietanti, costruisce una fitta rete in cui verità e menzogna si succedono e si intrecciano, fino a confondersi del tutto.
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Alla fine della fiera sono andata a rileggermi "L'avversario" di Emmanuel Carrère. Ebbene, quanto a capacità menzognera questa Júlía, rispetto a Jean-Claude Romand, è una dilettante ;-)
Reykjavík. In un freddo pomeriggio di ottobre, la scrittrice Júlía e suo marito Gíó raggiungono in macchina il fiordo del Hvalfjörður e su un gommone preso in prestito si imbarcano per Geirshólmi, un isolotto deserto a pochi chilometri dalla costa. Júlía è in cerca di ispirazione per scrivere un testo su un’eroina delle saghe islandesi che proprio da quell’isolotto aveva portato in salvo a nuoto se stessa e i propri figli. Durante la gita, però, i due hanno una lite, e Júlía riparte sul gommone, lasciando suo marito su quel lembo di terra sperduto in mezzo al mare. Una volta in città, spinta dal rimorso, torna a Geirshólmi… ma di Gíó non c’è più traccia. Sapendo a malapena nuotare, è impossibile che sia riuscito a mettersi in salvo attraverso le acque gelide, ed è improbabile che qualcuno l’abbia soccorso. Eppure diversi indizi fanno pensare che Gíó sia ancora vivo, e che si diverta a perseguitarla…Sullo sfondo della remota Islanda, un thriller psicologico ad altissima tensione che, tra flashback e dettagli inquietanti, costruisce una fitta rete in cui verità e menzogna si succedono e si intrecciano, fino a confondersi del tutto.
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Alla fine della fiera sono andata a rileggermi "L'avversario" di Emmanuel Carrère. Ebbene, quanto a capacità menzognera questa Júlía, rispetto a Jean-Claude Romand, è una dilettante ;-)
October 26, 2025
Set in ruggedly beautiful Iceland, aptly entitled One True Word surprised me in surprising ways. The premise of a wife deserting her husband on an isolated uninhabited island pulled me in. The scenarios are endless!
Júlia and Gíó bickered and irritated each other. On a short journey, Júlia decided she had had enough and drove away from an island, leaving her husband to fend for himself with only his self reliance. No one else was around and it was cold. The only way he could survive was to swim a great distance or somehow find someone happening to be boating by.
After a cool-off time, Júlia returned to the island but Gíó wasn't there. She began to string together a long thread of lies which she told the police after staging a disappearance. But things didn't ring true so police suspected her. The story describes her ease of lying and web of deceit. The chapters are punctuated by journal entries which add interest, although disturbing.
The first few chapters were beautifully original and ramped up my excitement. But that unfortunately changed fairly quickly. The graphic details were unnecessary and didn't add value to the story. I no longer felt invested or engaged. Cliffhangers are my wheelhouse but this ending felt incomplete. This book wasn't for me but it may be perfect for others!
Júlia and Gíó bickered and irritated each other. On a short journey, Júlia decided she had had enough and drove away from an island, leaving her husband to fend for himself with only his self reliance. No one else was around and it was cold. The only way he could survive was to swim a great distance or somehow find someone happening to be boating by.
After a cool-off time, Júlia returned to the island but Gíó wasn't there. She began to string together a long thread of lies which she told the police after staging a disappearance. But things didn't ring true so police suspected her. The story describes her ease of lying and web of deceit. The chapters are punctuated by journal entries which add interest, although disturbing.
The first few chapters were beautifully original and ramped up my excitement. But that unfortunately changed fairly quickly. The graphic details were unnecessary and didn't add value to the story. I no longer felt invested or engaged. Cliffhangers are my wheelhouse but this ending felt incomplete. This book wasn't for me but it may be perfect for others!
January 28, 2026
I read a free advance digital review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
This is going to be a polarizing book. Many readers will find Júlía repulsive, with her impulsive cruel act, followed by constant lies. The lack of a traditional wrap-up to the mystery of Gío’s disappearance may be frustrating to many mystery readers. Other readers may focus on the exploration of Júlía’s psyche and sanity, finding that to be the central mystery of the book. And they may also appreciate the episodes of magical realism that echo in the book, such as mysterious men with rucksacks who appear in very different circumstances, as well as a pottery pitcher made to look like a chicken.
For me, it was an adjustment before I appreciated what the author was doing with this book. At first, I looked at it as a straightforward mystery about Gío’s disappearance and the police detectives’ increasing suspicion of Júlía. But in Júlía’s first-person chapters, I soon saw another story, one of a woman who has trouble making true emotional connections, and whose mentality is both a torment and an escape for her. I was also fascinated by the several dreamlike episodes, and wondering how much of them was real and how much in Júlía’s mind.
Those interested in psychological mysteries and Nordic noir should give this one a try.
This is going to be a polarizing book. Many readers will find Júlía repulsive, with her impulsive cruel act, followed by constant lies. The lack of a traditional wrap-up to the mystery of Gío’s disappearance may be frustrating to many mystery readers. Other readers may focus on the exploration of Júlía’s psyche and sanity, finding that to be the central mystery of the book. And they may also appreciate the episodes of magical realism that echo in the book, such as mysterious men with rucksacks who appear in very different circumstances, as well as a pottery pitcher made to look like a chicken.
For me, it was an adjustment before I appreciated what the author was doing with this book. At first, I looked at it as a straightforward mystery about Gío’s disappearance and the police detectives’ increasing suspicion of Júlía. But in Júlía’s first-person chapters, I soon saw another story, one of a woman who has trouble making true emotional connections, and whose mentality is both a torment and an escape for her. I was also fascinated by the several dreamlike episodes, and wondering how much of them was real and how much in Júlía’s mind.
Those interested in psychological mysteries and Nordic noir should give this one a try.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I have never felt more like screaming “What on Earth is wrong with you?” than with this book. Julia leaves her husband stranded on an island for no reason and then spends the rest of the novel making up scenarios in her head and acting like they’re real, even if she knows they’re not. The title is very appropriate, since she only utters one true word in the whole book. Julia is so unlikeable that she made me root against her. Liv Austen’s audiobook performance doesn’t spare her; she doesn’t try to soften her at all. This is a good choice, in my opinion, since I don’t think there is any way to make her relatable or nice. Everything that happens is of her own making. I can’t say that I liked this book. It did keep me turning the pages, as I had to know what else this woman would come up with. She is dismissive to the people who try to help her and just keeps acting up as if what’s in her head is real and justifiable. Again, kudos to Austen for making her real. I’m not sure if I would have kept reading had I had the printed version, but the audiobook made it worth it.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Tantor Media.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Tantor Media.
March 17, 2026
I usually enjoy books with ambiguous endings that I can think about for a while after I finish reading, making up theories that explain what happened and speculating about what might have happened if the story continued. That's almost true of this book; I have a few possible answers to the questions it raises, but the book left me feeling annoyed rather than pleasantly puzzled.
My main problem with this book is the main character/narrator. I did not like her at all, and that dislike grew as I read. Early on, she says she enjoys lying and has lied since childhood, when she made up stuff supposedly to entertain her mother. She admits frequently to lying to the police officers who investigate her husband's disappearance. Eventually I decided it was impossible to believe anything she says; even whole scenes may be imaginary (which they are, of course, but I mean within the reality of the story). This gives the narrative a hallucinatory quality; when I closed the book I felt disoriented and cheated.
Interestingly, the entirely unreliable narrator of One True Word reminds me of the main character in She's a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock. Júlia is perhaps smarter than Jessamyn, but both women are damaged and deluded.
My main problem with this book is the main character/narrator. I did not like her at all, and that dislike grew as I read. Early on, she says she enjoys lying and has lied since childhood, when she made up stuff supposedly to entertain her mother. She admits frequently to lying to the police officers who investigate her husband's disappearance. Eventually I decided it was impossible to believe anything she says; even whole scenes may be imaginary (which they are, of course, but I mean within the reality of the story). This gives the narrative a hallucinatory quality; when I closed the book I felt disoriented and cheated.
Interestingly, the entirely unreliable narrator of One True Word reminds me of the main character in She's a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock. Júlia is perhaps smarter than Jessamyn, but both women are damaged and deluded.
December 28, 2025
Such an odd but engaging book! Set in Iceland, Julia asks her husband, Gio to accompany her to a small isolated island in the middle of a chilling fjord then impulsively leaves him there, taking the boat and not looking back. From this moment on, Julia exhibits some strange behaviors though she does report that Gio is missing to the police. Even stranger are some of the bizarre characters that Julia encounters as she tells one lie after another.
This book hooked me from the beginning as it was very difficult to determine a motive for Julia’s bizarre decision to abandon Gio to the elements. There are some timeline switches that give a bit of backstory to their relationship but really nothing stood out. All of Julia’s suspicions hint at delusion but the clever way that the story is written left me wondering what was real. There are definitely some occurrences that seem unnecessary to the story such as Julia’s encounters with some odd characters. For instance, when she believes that she may find Gio at a remote vacation cottage, an unknown man rides a bicycle to the cottage, rides circles around Julia and demands coffee and water. No idea what this was about but the book had me wondering about all the bizarreness right to the end with questions unanswered. It is certainly engaging though and would probably be enjoyed by readers who want to be entertained and can tolerate not having a story wrapped up neatly.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.
This book hooked me from the beginning as it was very difficult to determine a motive for Julia’s bizarre decision to abandon Gio to the elements. There are some timeline switches that give a bit of backstory to their relationship but really nothing stood out. All of Julia’s suspicions hint at delusion but the clever way that the story is written left me wondering what was real. There are definitely some occurrences that seem unnecessary to the story such as Julia’s encounters with some odd characters. For instance, when she believes that she may find Gio at a remote vacation cottage, an unknown man rides a bicycle to the cottage, rides circles around Julia and demands coffee and water. No idea what this was about but the book had me wondering about all the bizarreness right to the end with questions unanswered. It is certainly engaging though and would probably be enjoyed by readers who want to be entertained and can tolerate not having a story wrapped up neatly.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.
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