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Why Did You Lie?
A chilling thriller from the author of THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel. A journalist on the track of an old case attempts suicide. An ordinary couple return from a house swap in the states to find their home in disarray and their guests seemingly missing. Four strangers struggle to find shelter on a windswept spike of rock in the middle of a raging sea. They have one thing in common: they all lied. And someone is determined to punish them...WHY DID YOU LIE is a terrifying tale of long-delayed retribution from Iceland's Queen of Suspense.
394 pages, Hardcover
First published November 24, 2013
102 people are currently reading
1869 people want to read
About the author
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
42 books2,860 followersAKA: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic writer, of both crime-novels and children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998.
Her début crime-novel "Last Rituals" published in the US in 2007, and the UK in January 2008 was translated into English by Bernard Scudder, and is book 1 of the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997.
Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.
In 2000 the Icelandic department of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) awarded Yrsa for her book Við viljum jólin í júlí (We Want Christmas in July).
Yrsa lives in the Reykjavík suburb of Seltjarnarnes. She is married with two children.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic writer, of both crime-novels and children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998.
Her début crime-novel "Last Rituals" published in the US in 2007, and the UK in January 2008 was translated into English by Bernard Scudder, and is book 1 of the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997.
Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.
In 2000 the Icelandic department of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) awarded Yrsa for her book Við viljum jólin í júlí (We Want Christmas in July).
Yrsa lives in the Reykjavík suburb of Seltjarnarnes. She is married with two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews
January 17, 2017
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is a civil engineer as well as an author. So, she knows better than most that you cannot create energy from nothing. Yet give her a blank page and ask her to think of a story set in her beloved Iceland and from the words she writes when I read her prose, some strange current passes through my body; I get the shakes, I need a light left on and company as I am scared. The same phenomenon then rids my body of any residual heat and I start shivering in fear. And I love it!
Why Did You Lie? is an amazing piece of fiction that looks at the effect of suicide on families; looks at the impact of incomplete police investigations, tackles sexism and through light on the historic child abuse cases that seem to now be brought to light.
This novel is a wonderfully constructed piece where a few events in three separate situations are described in short chapters alternating between each story in January 2014.
These three strands dangle like dropped stitches that you worry about touching but over time begin to pull and find where they lead.
Unsurprisingly, each thread is difficult to separate from the three competing stories where the only link seems to be a sense of fear and foreboding. That something has changed and something malevolent is hanging around, brooding like a heavy mist all-pervading like a bad smell. Yet as each unravels like each situation gets further out of control Yrsa somehow brings each together to form a tapestry that is both beautiful and perverse. Creating a story that will thrill, shock and leave you troubled even after you have closed the book.
Sometimes to answer a question you find more explanations than you need, more detail than just the simple facts. Sometimes in trying to find closure you unearth more than you wish to discover and once revealed can no longer remain a secret. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is a rare talent, her books on deep and menacing at times but her stories ring true because the characters she forms could be me or you. A victim or a killer.
Why Did You Lie? is an amazing piece of fiction that looks at the effect of suicide on families; looks at the impact of incomplete police investigations, tackles sexism and through light on the historic child abuse cases that seem to now be brought to light.
This novel is a wonderfully constructed piece where a few events in three separate situations are described in short chapters alternating between each story in January 2014.
These three strands dangle like dropped stitches that you worry about touching but over time begin to pull and find where they lead.
Unsurprisingly, each thread is difficult to separate from the three competing stories where the only link seems to be a sense of fear and foreboding. That something has changed and something malevolent is hanging around, brooding like a heavy mist all-pervading like a bad smell. Yet as each unravels like each situation gets further out of control Yrsa somehow brings each together to form a tapestry that is both beautiful and perverse. Creating a story that will thrill, shock and leave you troubled even after you have closed the book.
Sometimes to answer a question you find more explanations than you need, more detail than just the simple facts. Sometimes in trying to find closure you unearth more than you wish to discover and once revealed can no longer remain a secret. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is a rare talent, her books on deep and menacing at times but her stories ring true because the characters she forms could be me or you. A victim or a killer.
September 7, 2022
Primer libro que leo de esta autora. No tardaré en leer otros.
Cuatro personas tienen que ir a un faro remoto, situado en un en un islote claustrofóbico del Atlántico al que solamente se puede acceder en helicóptero.
Mientras tanto, una familia vuelve a su hogar de Reikiavik tras un intercambio de piso, para descubrir que sus huéspedes estadounidenses se han volatilizado.
Una agente de policía encuentra un fragmento de un viejo informe. Por él descubre que a su marido lo interrogaron cuando era muy joven. Ella ahora sospecha que ese antiguo caso puede guardar relación con su reciente intento de suicidio.
Mis impresiones.
Estamos ante un thriller nórdico de suspense. La autora ha construido una trama inteligente. Tres historias aparentemente sin relación. La del faro tiene lugar entre el 26 y el 28 de enero de 2014. Las otras dos comienzan unos días antes, una el 20 y otra el 23 de ese mismo mes. Estas dos últimas confluyen con la primera a medida que avanzan. Un ejercicio de precisión en el que al final todo encaja. Ni un solo detalle queda suelto o sin explicación.
El ritmo sin ser frenético es sostenido. Capítulo a capítulo, cada historia y su alternancia crean intriga y suscitan la curiosidad de saber cuál es esa relación, que se intuye debe haberla, pero que vamos a desgranar al compás que nos marca la autora.
La ambientación es buena. La del faro transmite la claustrofobia de aquel islote islandés, minúsculo, peligroso e inaccesible, junto a la dureza del clima invernal. Las dos tramas que transcurren en Reikiavij están igualmente bien ambientadas.
Los personajes están trazados de forma correcta para el género al que pertenece la novela. Los cuatro del faro son a cuál más desagradable. Las incongruencias de comportamiento tanto de ellos como de la familia de Reikiavij, quedan explicadas.
El desenlace a la altura. Yrsa nos deja pistas e indicios, que conducen al culpable a lo largo de toda la lectura. Otra cosa es que los interpretamos bien.
En conclusión una novela bien construida que me ha dejado con ganas de leer más de esta autora.
Cuatro personas tienen que ir a un faro remoto, situado en un en un islote claustrofóbico del Atlántico al que solamente se puede acceder en helicóptero.
Mientras tanto, una familia vuelve a su hogar de Reikiavik tras un intercambio de piso, para descubrir que sus huéspedes estadounidenses se han volatilizado.
Una agente de policía encuentra un fragmento de un viejo informe. Por él descubre que a su marido lo interrogaron cuando era muy joven. Ella ahora sospecha que ese antiguo caso puede guardar relación con su reciente intento de suicidio.
Mis impresiones.
Estamos ante un thriller nórdico de suspense. La autora ha construido una trama inteligente. Tres historias aparentemente sin relación. La del faro tiene lugar entre el 26 y el 28 de enero de 2014. Las otras dos comienzan unos días antes, una el 20 y otra el 23 de ese mismo mes. Estas dos últimas confluyen con la primera a medida que avanzan. Un ejercicio de precisión en el que al final todo encaja. Ni un solo detalle queda suelto o sin explicación.
El ritmo sin ser frenético es sostenido. Capítulo a capítulo, cada historia y su alternancia crean intriga y suscitan la curiosidad de saber cuál es esa relación, que se intuye debe haberla, pero que vamos a desgranar al compás que nos marca la autora.
La ambientación es buena. La del faro transmite la claustrofobia de aquel islote islandés, minúsculo, peligroso e inaccesible, junto a la dureza del clima invernal. Las dos tramas que transcurren en Reikiavij están igualmente bien ambientadas.
Los personajes están trazados de forma correcta para el género al que pertenece la novela. Los cuatro del faro son a cuál más desagradable. Las incongruencias de comportamiento tanto de ellos como de la familia de Reikiavij, quedan explicadas.
El desenlace a la altura. Yrsa nos deja pistas e indicios, que conducen al culpable a lo largo de toda la lectura. Otra cosa es que los interpretamos bien.
En conclusión una novela bien construida que me ha dejado con ganas de leer más de esta autora.
May 31, 2016
This is my first book from this author – MY BOOK HALO IS SLIPPING – how could I have missed them? But it certainly won’t be my last, Why Did You Lie was superb. Working on every level, plotting, characters and insane amounts of creepy haunting prose that led to me peering out from under my duvet like a kid checking for monsters under the bed. Monsters of the human kind…
Why Did You Lie follows several strands – a family returning from a holiday, a small group of people in a confined space awaiting rescue and a police officer whose husband has recently attempted suicide. All of these slowly but surely edge us towards the link between them all and the truth behind a lie told many years before. It is really quite beautifully layered and utterly compelling throughout, Yrsa Sigurdardottir building the tension through a series of events that are dotted about over a short period of time.
I was freaked out a lot by this novel in the best possible way. The atmospheric sense of it is really involving, a pervading sense of menace with the source just out of reach, glimpses caught from the corner of an eye – and some classic scene setting that just really engages you into each and every moment. For me the intricacy in this cleverly woven web was highly addictive, despite it making me jump at every shadow including my own, it was eerily beautifully fascinating and explores the depths of human nature, especially the darker side of that, with a fine eye and a character driven narrative.
It is chilly! And claustrophobic. And intensely disturbing. And the ending means I will DEFINITELY be looking for those monsters under the bed for a good while to come. So that there was a damn good read. Loved it.
Highly Recommended. And kudos to the translator.
Why Did You Lie follows several strands – a family returning from a holiday, a small group of people in a confined space awaiting rescue and a police officer whose husband has recently attempted suicide. All of these slowly but surely edge us towards the link between them all and the truth behind a lie told many years before. It is really quite beautifully layered and utterly compelling throughout, Yrsa Sigurdardottir building the tension through a series of events that are dotted about over a short period of time.
I was freaked out a lot by this novel in the best possible way. The atmospheric sense of it is really involving, a pervading sense of menace with the source just out of reach, glimpses caught from the corner of an eye – and some classic scene setting that just really engages you into each and every moment. For me the intricacy in this cleverly woven web was highly addictive, despite it making me jump at every shadow including my own, it was eerily beautifully fascinating and explores the depths of human nature, especially the darker side of that, with a fine eye and a character driven narrative.
It is chilly! And claustrophobic. And intensely disturbing. And the ending means I will DEFINITELY be looking for those monsters under the bed for a good while to come. So that there was a damn good read. Loved it.
Highly Recommended. And kudos to the translator.
September 7, 2022
Novela angustiosa donde la historia trascurre muy despacio y genera tensión.
Tres historias que narran la vida de unos personajes que parecen que nada tienen q ver entre ellos:
La experiencia angustiosa en un faro por parte de 4 desconocidos donde suceden cosas extrañas.
Una familia que ha intercambiado su casa para disfrutar de vacaciones. Al volver los inquilinos americanos parece que se han evaoporado.
Nina una policia que vive angustiada por el suicidio de su marido.
Todo acaba desencadenando en un final redondo y deja con la boca abierta.
Muy recomendado.
Tres historias que narran la vida de unos personajes que parecen que nada tienen q ver entre ellos:
La experiencia angustiosa en un faro por parte de 4 desconocidos donde suceden cosas extrañas.
Una familia que ha intercambiado su casa para disfrutar de vacaciones. Al volver los inquilinos americanos parece que se han evaoporado.
Nina una policia que vive angustiada por el suicidio de su marido.
Todo acaba desencadenando en un final redondo y deja con la boca abierta.
Muy recomendado.
September 7, 2022
Finalizada. Edición digital. Llegué a esta novela por recomendaciones en GR y TW. No conocía a la autora y ya estoy buscando más publicaciones suyas. Nos cuenta tres historias totalmente dispares, tanto por los protagonistas como por la ubicación. Poco a poco va hilvanando una trama en la que todas las historias confluyen en un mismo punto y están totalmente relacionadas. Los capítulos que trancurren en el faro son angustiosos. Muy buena novela, recomiendo. Nota 4/5. FIN.
October 3, 2016
Why Did You Lie? contains three plot strands. In the first, four people – strangers to each other – are dropped off at a lighthouse atop the inhospitable rocky outcrop of Thrídrangar, three of them to perform maintenance, the fourth to take photographs of this harsh environment. It's supposed to take one night, but they soon discover their stay is likely to be prolonged. In the second, a policewoman, Nína, is struggling to cope in the aftermath of her husband's attempted suicide. Having been ostracised after a dispute with a colleague, she's ordered to clear out old files from the basement, only to find a statement that suggests a connection between her husband and a suicide case from decades ago. In the third, Nói, Vala and their son Tumi have just returned from a family holiday in Florida. They're dismayed to find the American couple they house-swapped with have left their home in a state of disarray, but that isn't the end of their troubles.
The connections between these three scenarios unfolds in non-chronological order, the action taking place over the course of one week. For some time the nature of the story – the type of climax it's building to – is ambiguous. Is it a crime thriller, or are there hints of something darker, even something supernatural, lurking beneath the surface? Sigurðardóttir excels at this seamless interweaving of genres; it never seems ridiculous that there might be a malevolent ghost stalking the characters. Indeed, in settings like the unparalleled bleakness of Thrídrangar, it seems more than plausible.
Like The Undesired, Why Did You Lie? has a bleak and brutal ending that made me long to reach into the story and shuffle things around. No specific spoilers, but don't expect all of these characters to make it to the final chapters in one piece. Given that over the weekend I read another Icelandic novel that also spared its characters no mercy, I'm beginning to think this is just a feature of Icelandic fiction...
I didn't particularly like the first Sigurðardóttir I read (The Day is Dark, the fourth Thóra Guðmundsdóttir novel) but since then, I've enjoyed her books more with every one I've tried. Which just goes to show that sometimes it pays to give authors a second chance. I liked this so much I've even been inspired to give the Thóra Guðmundsdóttir series another go.
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The connections between these three scenarios unfolds in non-chronological order, the action taking place over the course of one week. For some time the nature of the story – the type of climax it's building to – is ambiguous. Is it a crime thriller, or are there hints of something darker, even something supernatural, lurking beneath the surface? Sigurðardóttir excels at this seamless interweaving of genres; it never seems ridiculous that there might be a malevolent ghost stalking the characters. Indeed, in settings like the unparalleled bleakness of Thrídrangar, it seems more than plausible.
Like The Undesired, Why Did You Lie? has a bleak and brutal ending that made me long to reach into the story and shuffle things around. No specific spoilers, but don't expect all of these characters to make it to the final chapters in one piece. Given that over the weekend I read another Icelandic novel that also spared its characters no mercy, I'm beginning to think this is just a feature of Icelandic fiction...
I didn't particularly like the first Sigurðardóttir I read (The Day is Dark, the fourth Thóra Guðmundsdóttir novel) but since then, I've enjoyed her books more with every one I've tried. Which just goes to show that sometimes it pays to give authors a second chance. I liked this so much I've even been inspired to give the Thóra Guðmundsdóttir series another go.
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April 17, 2017
Prior to starting this book I tried two others at 50 pages each, neither made it on to goodreads. I was complaining "I have NOTHING to read" at my shelves with at least 100 unread books while my husband rolled his eyes at me. So without much hoped I grabbed the last book I had bought - this one - and started reading. After about 15 pages I realized that this was one I would finish.
Three stories are intertwined and how they are connected is highly opaque until the very end. One is that of Nina, whose journalist husband is in a coma after an attempted suicide attempt. She has been ostracized at work after having complained about a coworker. Then there is the family that comes home after a house-swap holiday in the United States and finds that there is something off about the house. A strange smell, the things of the Americans still lying about. Last but not least there are four people stuck on a rock in the Atlantic to check some equipment and finding that their ride out by helicopter has been delayed.
The sense of place - Iceland, bleak and cold in winter - is fantastic. I was a bit worried there would be paranormal aspects, but there weren't. I spent most of this book in confusion. The characters were great though. There was a building sense of doom throughout and I was not even close in figuring out the connection, or the culprit. In that sense this was highly satisfying, because few authors have the sleight of hand of this one.
Three stories are intertwined and how they are connected is highly opaque until the very end. One is that of Nina, whose journalist husband is in a coma after an attempted suicide attempt. She has been ostracized at work after having complained about a coworker. Then there is the family that comes home after a house-swap holiday in the United States and finds that there is something off about the house. A strange smell, the things of the Americans still lying about. Last but not least there are four people stuck on a rock in the Atlantic to check some equipment and finding that their ride out by helicopter has been delayed.
The sense of place - Iceland, bleak and cold in winter - is fantastic. I was a bit worried there would be paranormal aspects, but there weren't. I spent most of this book in confusion. The characters were great though. There was a building sense of doom throughout and I was not even close in figuring out the connection, or the culprit. In that sense this was highly satisfying, because few authors have the sleight of hand of this one.
August 7, 2017
Oh my goodness, this book was a great read - very suspenseful, atmospheric, a tight and varied plot and a range of interesting and also creepy characters thrown in the mix. Absolutely brilliant. I also thought the author made a bold move right at the end but, of course, I won't mention it here ... it's for you to find out. I highly recommend this one for all avid thriller readers!
July 4, 2017
Trigger warnings: suicide, murder, death of a cat.
This book is really three mysteries in one. One is the story of a policewoman whose husband is braindead following an attempted suicide. She's trying to decide whether to shut off his life support while also finding herself caught up in a 25 year old mystery. One is about a photographer who's found himself stranded at a lighthouse awaiting rescue by the coast guard when his fellow strandees start to be murdered. And one is of a couple who've just returned from a house exchange with an American couple only to find that their house is filthy and there's stuff everywhere and they can't get in touch with the Americans. Obviously, the three mysteries turn out to be related.
This definitely kept me guessing. I had no idea how the threads were going to tie together into one big mystery. The characters were interesting and felt believable. And the story flowed nicely, which is often not the case in translated novels. So basically? This turned out to be a pleasantly creepy surprise.
This book is really three mysteries in one. One is the story of a policewoman whose husband is braindead following an attempted suicide. She's trying to decide whether to shut off his life support while also finding herself caught up in a 25 year old mystery. One is about a photographer who's found himself stranded at a lighthouse awaiting rescue by the coast guard when his fellow strandees start to be murdered. And one is of a couple who've just returned from a house exchange with an American couple only to find that their house is filthy and there's stuff everywhere and they can't get in touch with the Americans. Obviously, the three mysteries turn out to be related.
This definitely kept me guessing. I had no idea how the threads were going to tie together into one big mystery. The characters were interesting and felt believable. And the story flowed nicely, which is often not the case in translated novels. So basically? This turned out to be a pleasantly creepy surprise.
June 9, 2018
A few years ago I read a couple of the Thóra Guðmundsdóttir mysteries but I wasn’t particularly impressed so I never continued with the series (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2...). After a recent visit to Iceland, I decided to give Sigurðardóttir another try and chose this standalone novel. I’m afraid my impressions of the author have not improved.
There are three stories which are eventually tied together. Four people are taken by helicopter to the remote Thrídrangar lighthouse perched on a rock in the Atlantic. A storm and a delayed pickup because of mechanical problems increase the tension amongst the stranded. A family returns from a house-swap holiday and finds things in disarray in their home with no sign of the American family who had stayed there. A police officer is given a job clearing out old files while her husband Thröstur lies on the verge of death after a suicide attempt; she discovers files about a case in which Thröstur, as a child, was a witness. She decides to investigate whether this old case might have impacted her husband in the present.
There are so many plot holes and coincidences that the plot is not credible: Sinister messages appear in the most isolated places. A man manages to be very stealthy despite the fact that repeated descriptions of his physical appearance suggest he would not likely be capable of stealth? Would a reputable journalist stage a photo for an article he is writing? A person would purchase a home in a neighbourhood without recognizing it from his childhood? The trip to Thrídrangar is so poorly planned that little food and water is provided and the weather forecast is not checked beforehand? Also, withholding and distorting so much information when narrating from the perspective of a character is a form of cheap trickery: “Weariness wins out in the end, though, so he is oblivious to the commotion up on the gallery later that night.” And why would an innocent person imagine something that makes him look guilty: “Without his knowing where the words came from, a brief greeting sprang into his mind: Welcome back, liar.”
I dislike narratives that rely on police incompetence. There are several examples of incomplete police investigations and a senior police officer actually gives files to a civilian. And the police are especially stupid in designating their chief suspect at the end; this suspect has no reason to ask the titular question in the menacing messages since he has always known the answer.
The plot is rather predictable. The title clearly suggests that people have lied. Who has lied is obvious because the author emphasizes the signs of lying: “All the signs of a liar rolled into one.” By the end of Chapter 15, less than half way through the book, any careful reader will identify the most dangerous person at the lighthouse because of the lack of a reaction.
Sigurðardóttir is often praised for her ability to create atmosphere. There is indeed a pervading sense of menace throughout, but the same technique is repeatedly used. Something is always just out sight: “It felt as if someone were watching him” and “An icy chill runs down his spine when he spots a dark shadow . . . The fog closes in again and the shadow disappears . . . Nothing can explain the shape he thought he saw” and “If she let herself, she would start tuning into the noises she thought she could hear at the back of the storeroom . . . As if someone was standing there, breathing heavily.”
The scattered chronology can be confusing. A reader would be advised to make notes on what happens when in each of the three plots; each chapter begins with a date but the reader must remember these dates to realize that events in the three plots do not occur simultaneously.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is often called the Queen of Icelandic Crime Fiction, but she hasn’t impressed me. I shall have to read something by Sólveig Pálsdóttir and Lilja Sigurðardóttir (a relative?), two other female Icelandic crime writers of note, to decide if Yrsa has competition for the title.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
There are three stories which are eventually tied together. Four people are taken by helicopter to the remote Thrídrangar lighthouse perched on a rock in the Atlantic. A storm and a delayed pickup because of mechanical problems increase the tension amongst the stranded. A family returns from a house-swap holiday and finds things in disarray in their home with no sign of the American family who had stayed there. A police officer is given a job clearing out old files while her husband Thröstur lies on the verge of death after a suicide attempt; she discovers files about a case in which Thröstur, as a child, was a witness. She decides to investigate whether this old case might have impacted her husband in the present.
There are so many plot holes and coincidences that the plot is not credible: Sinister messages appear in the most isolated places. A man manages to be very stealthy despite the fact that repeated descriptions of his physical appearance suggest he would not likely be capable of stealth? Would a reputable journalist stage a photo for an article he is writing? A person would purchase a home in a neighbourhood without recognizing it from his childhood? The trip to Thrídrangar is so poorly planned that little food and water is provided and the weather forecast is not checked beforehand? Also, withholding and distorting so much information when narrating from the perspective of a character is a form of cheap trickery: “Weariness wins out in the end, though, so he is oblivious to the commotion up on the gallery later that night.” And why would an innocent person imagine something that makes him look guilty: “Without his knowing where the words came from, a brief greeting sprang into his mind: Welcome back, liar.”
I dislike narratives that rely on police incompetence. There are several examples of incomplete police investigations and a senior police officer actually gives files to a civilian. And the police are especially stupid in designating their chief suspect at the end; this suspect has no reason to ask the titular question in the menacing messages since he has always known the answer.
The plot is rather predictable. The title clearly suggests that people have lied. Who has lied is obvious because the author emphasizes the signs of lying: “All the signs of a liar rolled into one.” By the end of Chapter 15, less than half way through the book, any careful reader will identify the most dangerous person at the lighthouse because of the lack of a reaction.
Sigurðardóttir is often praised for her ability to create atmosphere. There is indeed a pervading sense of menace throughout, but the same technique is repeatedly used. Something is always just out sight: “It felt as if someone were watching him” and “An icy chill runs down his spine when he spots a dark shadow . . . The fog closes in again and the shadow disappears . . . Nothing can explain the shape he thought he saw” and “If she let herself, she would start tuning into the noises she thought she could hear at the back of the storeroom . . . As if someone was standing there, breathing heavily.”
The scattered chronology can be confusing. A reader would be advised to make notes on what happens when in each of the three plots; each chapter begins with a date but the reader must remember these dates to realize that events in the three plots do not occur simultaneously.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is often called the Queen of Icelandic Crime Fiction, but she hasn’t impressed me. I shall have to read something by Sólveig Pálsdóttir and Lilja Sigurðardóttir (a relative?), two other female Icelandic crime writers of note, to decide if Yrsa has competition for the title.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
December 29, 2017
After captivating me with its three compelling narratives, each starting slightly out of sync with each other, Why Did You Lie? ultimately disappointed me with an unnecessary twist ending which is ultimately implausible, riddled with holes and deeply dissatisfying.
I read the book over the course of a few days at the end of 2017 after receiving it as a Christmas Eve present from my partner, inspired by social media posts about the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóðið. I went in without any experience of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's other novels, which meant I couldn't predict if, for instance, a supernatural explanation to the book's events was possible.
The three narratives are broadly as follows: a policewoman investigating the unlikely suicide of her husband, a journalist; a husband and father investigating the apparent disappearance of an American couple with whom his family organised a house swap; and a photographer stuck in a lighthouse on a rock in the sea with three others, one of whom is mysteriously murdered in the night.
They come together relatively neatly in the novel's closing chapters — and then a sort-of epilogue throws an entirely different account of events into the mix.
Frustratingly, this alternative account relies on there being a heavily unreliable narrator throughout the book, and is explained through pages of continuous dialogue, with no effort to help the reader join the dots by themself. Worse, it introduces a series of major plot-holes which are unaddressed by the end of the book, retroactively spoiling some of the book's most compelling sequences.
The consequence of this is that despite its brilliant cast of likeable, realistic characters and its well-footed social commentary, the book falls down at the last hurdle and can't be salvaged.
I read the book over the course of a few days at the end of 2017 after receiving it as a Christmas Eve present from my partner, inspired by social media posts about the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóðið. I went in without any experience of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's other novels, which meant I couldn't predict if, for instance, a supernatural explanation to the book's events was possible.
The three narratives are broadly as follows: a policewoman investigating the unlikely suicide of her husband, a journalist; a husband and father investigating the apparent disappearance of an American couple with whom his family organised a house swap; and a photographer stuck in a lighthouse on a rock in the sea with three others, one of whom is mysteriously murdered in the night.
They come together relatively neatly in the novel's closing chapters — and then a sort-of epilogue throws an entirely different account of events into the mix.
Frustratingly, this alternative account relies on there being a heavily unreliable narrator throughout the book, and is explained through pages of continuous dialogue, with no effort to help the reader join the dots by themself. Worse, it introduces a series of major plot-holes which are unaddressed by the end of the book, retroactively spoiling some of the book's most compelling sequences.
The consequence of this is that despite its brilliant cast of likeable, realistic characters and its well-footed social commentary, the book falls down at the last hurdle and can't be salvaged.
March 4, 2017
Ya había leído algún libro de esta autora, y la verdad es que no defrauda.
Tres historias que en principio no tienen nada que ver pero que posteriormente se cruzarán.
muy recomendable.
Tres historias que en principio no tienen nada que ver pero que posteriormente se cruzarán.
muy recomendable.
November 28, 2016
A brilliantly constructed novel of three concurrent storylines. Police officer Nina is surreptitiously investigating the connection between her journalist husband's attempted suicide and the supposed suicide of another journalist in the same building 30 years earlier. Meanwhile, a family just returned home from a house-swap with an American couple find their home in disarray and their guests vanished. At the same time, four strangers find themselves stranded on a seastack in the middle of a storm. Gradually, as Nina's investigation progresses, the separate strands come together and build to a thrilling climax with a truly disturbing ending.
February 22, 2017
Un Thriller lleno de suspense con tres historias que al final confluyen. Un final bien estructurado y sorprendente. Muy recomendable. No había leído nada de la autora pero creo que ahora me pondré al día.
December 10, 2017
I love the why Yrsa writes. Half the book you don't know what's going to happen, then she changes the way she writes that not the obvious choice and you are lambasted with changes you never saw coming. Nina will have to keep an open eye, I"ll say no more. The book's a great read.
February 8, 2017
This was an eerie read. Review to follow.
January 4, 2019
Yrsa S has done it again – I just can’t get enough of her books! Why Did You Lie delivered exactly the right balance of mystery, suspense and spooky vibes, with an irresistible cast of engaging characters. I think what makes these people so relatable are the small details Sigurdardottir includes in the narrative –habits, gestures or actions of daily living that make them really leap from the pages, without slowing down the story. A very fine art indeed, and one that not many writers can pull off.
Why Did You Lie consists of three separate storylines, which at first seem completely unrelated. There are the four people who are stranded on a small island in the sea repairing lighthouse equipment, who come into strive when inclement weather prevents their evacuation from this hostile place. Then we learn of the ordinary couple who have just come back from a holiday in the US only to discover that their house swap may have had some unpleasant repercussions as their American houseguests seem to have vanished into thin air. And last but not least we get to know Nina, a policewoman who comes across some old case files whilst banished to tidy up the police headquarters’ basement. I was utterly engaged with each and every storyline, even though for ages I had no idea whatsoever how the author would bring them all together. But she did – and she did it masterfully.
Fans of Sigurdardottir’s writing will appreciate her eye for detail and her skill of recreating the cold, hostile atmosphere of an Icelandic winter that lends itself so perfectly as the setting for a mystery. Whilst there is no supernatural element as such in this book, the eerie setting was enough to raise some goosebumps for me, and the characters’ fears provide an ever-present air of menace and danger. It was the perfect book to chill out to on my commute in a dark car, making my dash to the front door a bit hastier than normal, which is always a good sign that the story has gotten under my skin.
I can sum up my review by saying that – apart from the title – I loved everything about this book. Hmm, yes, the title: not very catchy I thought, and one that plagues the translation only, as in Icelandic it seems to consist of just one mysterious word (mysterious considering I don’t speak Icelandic – lol). To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have picked up the title if I hadn’t known that the author always delivers a great story. If you have thought the same, I must urge you to reconsider and pick this book up today. It is one of the finest examples of Iceland Noir, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I am especially saddened to farewell Nina, whose character I felt very close to, and whose fate I felt particularly invested in. As usual, Sigurdardottir doesn’t shy away from including dark and serious themes into her novel, such as suicide, sexual discrimination, child abuse, bereavement and more, which gives the story a very contemporary feel and a depth lacking in many other books in the genre. Anyone looking for an intelligent, well-written and utterly addictive psychological thriller with an atmospheric setting, then this is the perfect book for you!
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Why Did You Lie consists of three separate storylines, which at first seem completely unrelated. There are the four people who are stranded on a small island in the sea repairing lighthouse equipment, who come into strive when inclement weather prevents their evacuation from this hostile place. Then we learn of the ordinary couple who have just come back from a holiday in the US only to discover that their house swap may have had some unpleasant repercussions as their American houseguests seem to have vanished into thin air. And last but not least we get to know Nina, a policewoman who comes across some old case files whilst banished to tidy up the police headquarters’ basement. I was utterly engaged with each and every storyline, even though for ages I had no idea whatsoever how the author would bring them all together. But she did – and she did it masterfully.
Fans of Sigurdardottir’s writing will appreciate her eye for detail and her skill of recreating the cold, hostile atmosphere of an Icelandic winter that lends itself so perfectly as the setting for a mystery. Whilst there is no supernatural element as such in this book, the eerie setting was enough to raise some goosebumps for me, and the characters’ fears provide an ever-present air of menace and danger. It was the perfect book to chill out to on my commute in a dark car, making my dash to the front door a bit hastier than normal, which is always a good sign that the story has gotten under my skin.
I can sum up my review by saying that – apart from the title – I loved everything about this book. Hmm, yes, the title: not very catchy I thought, and one that plagues the translation only, as in Icelandic it seems to consist of just one mysterious word (mysterious considering I don’t speak Icelandic – lol). To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have picked up the title if I hadn’t known that the author always delivers a great story. If you have thought the same, I must urge you to reconsider and pick this book up today. It is one of the finest examples of Iceland Noir, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I am especially saddened to farewell Nina, whose character I felt very close to, and whose fate I felt particularly invested in. As usual, Sigurdardottir doesn’t shy away from including dark and serious themes into her novel, such as suicide, sexual discrimination, child abuse, bereavement and more, which gives the story a very contemporary feel and a depth lacking in many other books in the genre. Anyone looking for an intelligent, well-written and utterly addictive psychological thriller with an atmospheric setting, then this is the perfect book for you!
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August 19, 2016
Very, very brilliant in so many ways. At first I was enjoying all three sub plots but wasn't really sure how they all linked together. It took a long time for two of the three to link together, and longer still for all three to make sense, but when they all came together it was an amazing and rewarding experience. The ending was certainly out of left field too!
March 2, 2019
Una trama perfecta que me dejó sorprendida. Algunas partes me dieron tanto miedo que casi quería mirar bajo la cama para asegurarme de que no hubiera nada ni nadie. Otra obra maestra de esta gran autora.
February 5, 2017
4,5!!!!! Muy buena
November 26, 2017
A well-written, compelling story. One of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. About to check out this author's other books.
March 17, 2024
This is a well-structured novel filled with tension and mis-direction, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Three plot lines move along at varying paces, not always chronologically. There are deaths that might be murders, and there are other mysteries: The connection between the three plot lines and their characters remains a mystery for much of the book, the reason why some characters are receiving eerie anonymous notes is unknown for a while, too. What happened to those Americans, and, why on earth did someone toss away a perfectly good whole pizza? All of these mysteries are eventually solved and questions answered. But until they are and even after they were, I was feeling tense, the way a good thriller can make me feel. (Is it weird I seek this feeling out from books?… nah, you probably do, too).
My only slight complaint is that the ending was a bit too abrupt; too self-aware in its foreboding. STILL. I’m definitely going to look for more by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
Three plot lines move along at varying paces, not always chronologically. There are deaths that might be murders, and there are other mysteries: The connection between the three plot lines and their characters remains a mystery for much of the book, the reason why some characters are receiving eerie anonymous notes is unknown for a while, too. What happened to those Americans, and, why on earth did someone toss away a perfectly good whole pizza? All of these mysteries are eventually solved and questions answered. But until they are and even after they were, I was feeling tense, the way a good thriller can make me feel. (Is it weird I seek this feeling out from books?… nah, you probably do, too).
My only slight complaint is that the ending was a bit too abrupt; too self-aware in its foreboding. STILL. I’m definitely going to look for more by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
March 16, 2018
This is the first book I have read by this Icelandic author and I have very mixed feelings, which I will try to express without spoilers, though that might prove difficult.
Before starting my review, I must congratulate the translator as I never had the sense that I was reading something originally written in a foreign language (Icelandic). If anything has been 'lost in translation,' I was not aware of it (as I so often am with translated books).
The plot has three separate strands. As disparate as they are, it takes no genius to assume they are connected somehow, but I think the suspense is maintained for quite a long time before you begin to suspect what the connection is. The story was gripping, particularly the strand about the lighthouse, that was written in a way that actually made you feel like you were there too. You could feel the cold and the fear. But this is also where my mixed feelings started. How likely is it that the characters would be left there so long because of a mechanical failure? And how stereotypical that it should be the female character that loses control. I suppose, given the other two characters, she was the only possibility, but it irked, just as women screaming in films at situations where men are brave and resolute irks. It also seemed at odds with an event in another strand, where we are clearly intended to find it wrong (and do so) that those in authority think it best to sweep a complaint relating to gender under the carpet.
So, I liked the way Yrsa Sigurðardóttir wrote and was gripped by the story, almost to the end, but the end was very disappointing. I hope this isn't a spoiler but it made absolutely no sense that the person ultimately assumed to be responsible for the crimes actually perpetrated them, and I found it totally baffling that this could be the outcome. Why would that person ask the question posed in the title when the answer was already known to that person? It made no sense at all. I wondered whether the author was linking the 'sweeping under the carpet' with the total inability of the Icelandic police to nab the right perpetrator, but I didn't get that impression. It was just a 'surprise twist' at the end of the story, and one that had to be revealed in a most unsatisfactory way, but I didn't think it worked at all. One of the appealing things about crime fiction is trying to guess 'whodunnit'. Unless I am completely stupid and obtuse, there were no clues, and I felt completely let down by the ending.
Despite this, I will read another Sigurdardottir book because the writing and the plotting (bar the ending) made it a worthwhile read. Up until the last few pages, I thought I would be giving this book 5 stars because I was gripped by the story, but the last few pages turned 5 stars into a possibly over-generous 3.
Before starting my review, I must congratulate the translator as I never had the sense that I was reading something originally written in a foreign language (Icelandic). If anything has been 'lost in translation,' I was not aware of it (as I so often am with translated books).
The plot has three separate strands. As disparate as they are, it takes no genius to assume they are connected somehow, but I think the suspense is maintained for quite a long time before you begin to suspect what the connection is. The story was gripping, particularly the strand about the lighthouse, that was written in a way that actually made you feel like you were there too. You could feel the cold and the fear. But this is also where my mixed feelings started. How likely is it that the characters would be left there so long because of a mechanical failure? And how stereotypical that it should be the female character that loses control. I suppose, given the other two characters, she was the only possibility, but it irked, just as women screaming in films at situations where men are brave and resolute irks. It also seemed at odds with an event in another strand, where we are clearly intended to find it wrong (and do so) that those in authority think it best to sweep a complaint relating to gender under the carpet.
So, I liked the way Yrsa Sigurðardóttir wrote and was gripped by the story, almost to the end, but the end was very disappointing. I hope this isn't a spoiler but it made absolutely no sense that the person ultimately assumed to be responsible for the crimes actually perpetrated them, and I found it totally baffling that this could be the outcome. Why would that person ask the question posed in the title when the answer was already known to that person? It made no sense at all. I wondered whether the author was linking the 'sweeping under the carpet' with the total inability of the Icelandic police to nab the right perpetrator, but I didn't get that impression. It was just a 'surprise twist' at the end of the story, and one that had to be revealed in a most unsatisfactory way, but I didn't think it worked at all. One of the appealing things about crime fiction is trying to guess 'whodunnit'. Unless I am completely stupid and obtuse, there were no clues, and I felt completely let down by the ending.
Despite this, I will read another Sigurdardottir book because the writing and the plotting (bar the ending) made it a worthwhile read. Up until the last few pages, I thought I would be giving this book 5 stars because I was gripped by the story, but the last few pages turned 5 stars into a possibly over-generous 3.
January 11, 2018
When I first started reading, I began to get a bit frustrated with how slow the pace was - the three storylines seemed to meander about and despite vague veiled threats, nothing actually seems to happen. But slowly and surely, I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn't reading it and then there was the night I got a bit nervous about going downstairs in the dark. I read a lot of horror novels and it takes a lot to scare me, but this had well and truly gotten under my skin. This is the first book I have EVER read that deserves the title 'thriller' - or maybe that should be 'chiller'?
For me it didn't quite get full marks for only two slight reasons. The first was the character of Orvar - somehow he just didn't seem believable to me and I'm not convinced his attitude and actions were really explained by the end. Which is the other thing I was slightly let down by. I don't mind twists and turns in a novel, but again, I'm not convinced there were any real clues as to the 'bad guys' identity. Maybe I just missed them, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind re-reading this to try and spot them.
A surprisingly good read - I look forward to tracking down more by this author.
For me it didn't quite get full marks for only two slight reasons. The first was the character of Orvar - somehow he just didn't seem believable to me and I'm not convinced his attitude and actions were really explained by the end. Which is the other thing I was slightly let down by. I don't mind twists and turns in a novel, but again, I'm not convinced there were any real clues as to the 'bad guys' identity. Maybe I just missed them, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind re-reading this to try and spot them.
A surprisingly good read - I look forward to tracking down more by this author.
January 3, 2014
Yrsa hefur á síðustu árum skipað sér með bestu glæpasagnahöfundum Norðulanda, sem er ekki skrýtið því hún hefur gott lag á því að hræða líftóruna úr lesendum sínum. Það er magnað til þess að hugsa að hún hafi ekki fulla atvinnu af skrifum sínum og það væri áhugavert að sjá hvað kæmi frá henni ef hún einbeitti sér eingöngu að því að hugsa upp óhugnað til að setja á blað.
Lygi er afar spennandi saga og það er enginn hægðarleikur að leggja bókina frá sér fyrr en hún er öll lesin. Höfundur leikur sér með tímalínuna eftir því sem hún leiðir leyndardóminn í ljós, en þetta frásagnarform er orðið nokkuð vinsælt hjá reyfarahöfundum í seinni tíð - enda virkar það vel!
Það sem ég get helst sett út á við þessa sögu eru samtölin milli fólks, þau eru stundum áberandi ritmálsleg. Einnig vill söguþráðurinn renna áfram auðveldustu leið, ég væri til í að sjá Yrsu kveða dýrt að. Þetta fór samt alls ekki í taugarnar á mér og ég mæli sterklega með þessari bók. Gerið bara ráð fyrir löngum lestíma í senn...
Lygi er afar spennandi saga og það er enginn hægðarleikur að leggja bókina frá sér fyrr en hún er öll lesin. Höfundur leikur sér með tímalínuna eftir því sem hún leiðir leyndardóminn í ljós, en þetta frásagnarform er orðið nokkuð vinsælt hjá reyfarahöfundum í seinni tíð - enda virkar það vel!
Það sem ég get helst sett út á við þessa sögu eru samtölin milli fólks, þau eru stundum áberandi ritmálsleg. Einnig vill söguþráðurinn renna áfram auðveldustu leið, ég væri til í að sjá Yrsu kveða dýrt að. Þetta fór samt alls ekki í taugarnar á mér og ég mæli sterklega með þessari bók. Gerið bara ráð fyrir löngum lestíma í senn...
October 16, 2016
So I think I have found one of my favourite books of the year. A complete surprise, as it’s not an author I’ve read before and I didn’t know what to expect, but I think it’s fair to say I have been completely blown away.
It starts with the characters, all of whom are so well drawn I felt I knew them by the end of the book. Each of them felt different and real. They had complex personalities, habits and quirks (good and bad), something I think it’s hard to do when there are multiple narrations going on at the same time. And each was dealing with curveballs unexpectedly thrown at them by life (or nature in the case of those trapped on the spike of rock), making their stories interesting outside of the murder plot.
Then there is the setting – I am not sure I’ve read a book set in Iceland before – but the cold, the snow, the sea, all made it feel claustrophobic and not somewhere I would want to be trying to escape a killer. It felt dark and oppressive, especially when you add in the police’s attitude – it can only be described as misogynistic, meaning women weren’t being listened to and assumptions to behaviours were being made.
And finally there was the way the story was told. Each chapter laid out a different part of each characters story but they were all taking place within a few days of each other, which threw me off at first until I realised what was happening; more importantly it means it’s hard for the reader to put the pieces together. You have to ask yourself what has happened, what is to come. I did finally figure it out (a game I always play with this type of book) but it wasn’t far from the end and it felt like a lightbulb going of.
O.k. so that maybe wasn’t so finally as I need to add that Why Did You Lie? is well written, very well translated, and has a great pace. I could not put it down and – almost a week later – am still thinking about it. I’ll be looking for more books by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, even if I may never be able to pronounce her name. Loved this book – highly recommended.
Please note: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own.
It starts with the characters, all of whom are so well drawn I felt I knew them by the end of the book. Each of them felt different and real. They had complex personalities, habits and quirks (good and bad), something I think it’s hard to do when there are multiple narrations going on at the same time. And each was dealing with curveballs unexpectedly thrown at them by life (or nature in the case of those trapped on the spike of rock), making their stories interesting outside of the murder plot.
Then there is the setting – I am not sure I’ve read a book set in Iceland before – but the cold, the snow, the sea, all made it feel claustrophobic and not somewhere I would want to be trying to escape a killer. It felt dark and oppressive, especially when you add in the police’s attitude – it can only be described as misogynistic, meaning women weren’t being listened to and assumptions to behaviours were being made.
And finally there was the way the story was told. Each chapter laid out a different part of each characters story but they were all taking place within a few days of each other, which threw me off at first until I realised what was happening; more importantly it means it’s hard for the reader to put the pieces together. You have to ask yourself what has happened, what is to come. I did finally figure it out (a game I always play with this type of book) but it wasn’t far from the end and it felt like a lightbulb going of.
O.k. so that maybe wasn’t so finally as I need to add that Why Did You Lie? is well written, very well translated, and has a great pace. I could not put it down and – almost a week later – am still thinking about it. I’ll be looking for more books by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, even if I may never be able to pronounce her name. Loved this book – highly recommended.
Please note: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own.
February 6, 2017
Yrsa Sigurdardottir has been a fave of mine since I read the first book in her Thora Gudmundsdottir series. This standalone novel showcases what Ms. Sigurdardottir does best … chills up your spine and not just because of the cold Nordic setting.
WHY DID YOU LIE by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Nina’s life has slipped off the track a little bit. She is a pariah among her fellow police officers for filing a sexual harassment suit. Now she is working on dead files in the basement of the building where she has entirely too much time to think about her husband who is lying in a coma after attempting suicide.
Helgi is a photo-journalist doing a photo shoot on a very small, very remote island where a team was sent to refurbish a defunct lighthouse. Helicopter troubles keep them on the island longer than usual and during a raging winter storm one of them disappears.
Noi and Vala return from a trip to the United States where they had house-swapped their home with an American couple. Coming into their house they sense that something is off but cannot put their finger on what it is.
What do these people have in common? At one intersecting point in their lives they lied! Now, someone or something wants them to pay for those lies.
I enjoy Ms. Sigurdadottir because she give me the all the thrills and chills I love without the “in-your-face” horror. In “Why Did You Lie” she tells four seemingly unconnected stories that each hold your interest independently but when she brings them together at the end of the book it is in the most deliciously unexpected way. If you enjoy mystery thrillers with a touch of what might or might not be a supernatural element I highly recommend you add Ms. Sigurdardottir to your TBR.
WHY DID YOU LIE by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Nina’s life has slipped off the track a little bit. She is a pariah among her fellow police officers for filing a sexual harassment suit. Now she is working on dead files in the basement of the building where she has entirely too much time to think about her husband who is lying in a coma after attempting suicide.
Helgi is a photo-journalist doing a photo shoot on a very small, very remote island where a team was sent to refurbish a defunct lighthouse. Helicopter troubles keep them on the island longer than usual and during a raging winter storm one of them disappears.
Noi and Vala return from a trip to the United States where they had house-swapped their home with an American couple. Coming into their house they sense that something is off but cannot put their finger on what it is.
What do these people have in common? At one intersecting point in their lives they lied! Now, someone or something wants them to pay for those lies.
I enjoy Ms. Sigurdadottir because she give me the all the thrills and chills I love without the “in-your-face” horror. In “Why Did You Lie” she tells four seemingly unconnected stories that each hold your interest independently but when she brings them together at the end of the book it is in the most deliciously unexpected way. If you enjoy mystery thrillers with a touch of what might or might not be a supernatural element I highly recommend you add Ms. Sigurdardottir to your TBR.
April 8, 2017
Hm, everyone seems to really love this one, but whilst I usually enjoy reading Sigurdardottir's books this one was too drawn out for me. Usually her characters are so well drawn, but apart from Nina, I didn't feel I really understood any of the characters, which I guess was part of the plot. Just not my thing.
October 30, 2017
Más de lo mismo
September 6, 2021
Loved this slow burn, Nordic Noir.
I LOVED this book!
I got this one out from the library for a read along - but it came so late that I finished after the discussion date :( Gutted I missed it because it is such a fantastic book.
Set in Iceland, following three separate threads, this stunning Nordic noir takes you on a journey of retribution, heartache and chilling premonitions.
Our first character is Nina. She is a police detective and her husband recently tried to kill himself. He's currently in hospital on life support, with a grim outlook, and the doctors eager to switch off his machines and clear his bed. Nina is reluctant to let him go without first finding out why he tried to end his life - there was no note and she just can't think of any reason he would have to want to take such measures.
The second story we follow is Noi. He and his family have just returned from a holiday to America, where they stayed in a house swap. On their return, things feel a bit off to Noi and his suspicions are further aroused when he finds mysterious notes and a dead cat at his holiday chalet.
Finally, we have the group of four workers on top of the stacks in the middle of the ocean. Three of them have been sent there to complete work on the tiny tiny lighthouse, and one is a photographer pretty much just along for the ride. With little room to move around, the four become claustrophobic and slightly manic at the situation of being stranded for a few nights.
The three stories don't tie up (well they didn't for me) until well into the book - about 65% of the way in. And I was constantly wondering how they would all connect. I loved all three stories, but especially Noi's. He and his wife had the most interesting sections, in my opinion. The ending was fantastic and I was completely blindsided by the twist. I didn't see it coming at all. The historic element to this one was really detailed and well plotted.
I would recommend this one, wholeheartedly, to anyone who enjoys slow slow burns, nordic noir, scandi fiction and slowly unravelling murder mysteries. A top read of the year for me.
www.thebeautifulbookbreak.com
I LOVED this book!
I got this one out from the library for a read along - but it came so late that I finished after the discussion date :( Gutted I missed it because it is such a fantastic book.
Set in Iceland, following three separate threads, this stunning Nordic noir takes you on a journey of retribution, heartache and chilling premonitions.
Our first character is Nina. She is a police detective and her husband recently tried to kill himself. He's currently in hospital on life support, with a grim outlook, and the doctors eager to switch off his machines and clear his bed. Nina is reluctant to let him go without first finding out why he tried to end his life - there was no note and she just can't think of any reason he would have to want to take such measures.
The second story we follow is Noi. He and his family have just returned from a holiday to America, where they stayed in a house swap. On their return, things feel a bit off to Noi and his suspicions are further aroused when he finds mysterious notes and a dead cat at his holiday chalet.
Finally, we have the group of four workers on top of the stacks in the middle of the ocean. Three of them have been sent there to complete work on the tiny tiny lighthouse, and one is a photographer pretty much just along for the ride. With little room to move around, the four become claustrophobic and slightly manic at the situation of being stranded for a few nights.
The three stories don't tie up (well they didn't for me) until well into the book - about 65% of the way in. And I was constantly wondering how they would all connect. I loved all three stories, but especially Noi's. He and his wife had the most interesting sections, in my opinion. The ending was fantastic and I was completely blindsided by the twist. I didn't see it coming at all. The historic element to this one was really detailed and well plotted.
I would recommend this one, wholeheartedly, to anyone who enjoys slow slow burns, nordic noir, scandi fiction and slowly unravelling murder mysteries. A top read of the year for me.
www.thebeautifulbookbreak.com
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