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Children's House #1
The Legacy
The first in a stunning new series from the author of The Silence of the Sea, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel.
The only person who might have the answers to a baffling murder case is the victim’s seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she’s not talking.
The Legacy is the first installment in a fantastic new series featuring the psychologist Freyja and the police officer Huldar.
Newly-promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja for her expertise with traumatized young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn’t best pleased. But she’s determined to keep little Margret safe.
It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues: warnings in text messages, sums scribbled on bits of paper, numbers broadcast on the radio. He’s telling a dark and secret story—but can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next?
466 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2014
785 people are currently reading
7250 people want to read
About the author
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
46 books2,891 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 1,461 reviews
March 1, 2017
Translated from Icelandic, this is the first in the Children's House series set in Reykavik. This is a murky, dark and twisted tale which begins in 1987 where after an unspeakable event, child experts make the controversial decision to separate three children into different adoption homes. This connects to what happens later down the years in 2015 when a mother is gruesomely murdered, discovered under her bed is her seven year old daughter, Margret, the only witness to the crime.
Freyja is director and psychologist at the Children's House which has the remit of meeting the needs of young, traumatised and abused children. They also facilitate contact between the child and the police with a view to protecting the child. Detectives Hulder and Rikhardur are the investigators on the case and needless to say, Margret is a difficult witness to pin down. Freyja distrusts the police, and Hulder in particular, with whom she has history. There are further deaths with the continuing strange use of ordinary household items as the murder weapons, and clues that include odd notes and coded messages on the radio. It is a complex case where the killer will do anything to evade justice and is a difficult figure to discern.
An atmosphere of menace pervades the book and there a number of potential suspects. In an intricately plotted story the tension and suspense is well maintained. The wide ranging characters are well developed and there is a strong focus on relationships in the novel. Very dark Scandi-Noir. Recommended read. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.
Freyja is director and psychologist at the Children's House which has the remit of meeting the needs of young, traumatised and abused children. They also facilitate contact between the child and the police with a view to protecting the child. Detectives Hulder and Rikhardur are the investigators on the case and needless to say, Margret is a difficult witness to pin down. Freyja distrusts the police, and Hulder in particular, with whom she has history. There are further deaths with the continuing strange use of ordinary household items as the murder weapons, and clues that include odd notes and coded messages on the radio. It is a complex case where the killer will do anything to evade justice and is a difficult figure to discern.
An atmosphere of menace pervades the book and there a number of potential suspects. In an intricately plotted story the tension and suspense is well maintained. The wide ranging characters are well developed and there is a strong focus on relationships in the novel. Very dark Scandi-Noir. Recommended read. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.
May 4, 2023
Dieses Buch hatte ich so lange auf dem SUB, und jetzt möchte ich am liebsten direkt den zweiten Band lesen! Ich fand die Geschichte sehr spannend und fesselnd und auch angenehm verwirrend. Es gibt einen Prolog aus der Vergangenheit, und natürlich fragt man sich unweigerlich, was die Geschehnisse damals wohl mit dieser aktuellen Mordserie zu tun haben könnten.
Dabei sind die Morde ziemlich ausgefallen und grausig, aber nicht blutrünstig erzählt. Sie haben bei mir auf jeden Fall Gänsehaut verursacht.
Auch gibt es zwei Handlungsstränge. Einmal sind da natürlich die Mordermittlungen, und dann gibt es auch immer mal wieder Episoden von einem jungen Mann, der seltsame Mitteilungen über Funk erhält. Ich fand das sehr rätselhaft und spannend.
Insgesamt hat mich das Buch wirklich sehr fesseln können und ich freue mich auf den zweiten Band der Reihe!
Dabei sind die Morde ziemlich ausgefallen und grausig, aber nicht blutrünstig erzählt. Sie haben bei mir auf jeden Fall Gänsehaut verursacht.
Auch gibt es zwei Handlungsstränge. Einmal sind da natürlich die Mordermittlungen, und dann gibt es auch immer mal wieder Episoden von einem jungen Mann, der seltsame Mitteilungen über Funk erhält. Ich fand das sehr rätselhaft und spannend.
Insgesamt hat mich das Buch wirklich sehr fesseln können und ich freue mich auf den zweiten Band der Reihe!
December 30, 2017
To καλύτερο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα που διάβασα φέτος. Ειδικά οι τελευταίες διακόσιες σελίδες ήταν ίσως οι καλύτερες διακόσιες τελευταίες σελίδες που έχω διαβάσει ποτέ.
Σίγουρα η Sigurðardóttir θεωρείται πλέον μεγάλο όνομα του χώρου και δικαίως αφού είναι πεντασύλλαβο.
Μου άρεσε περισσότερο και από το προηγούμενο βιβλίο της.
Σίγουρα η Sigurðardóttir θεωρείται πλέον μεγάλο όνομα του χώρου και δικαίως αφού είναι πεντασύλλαβο.
Μου άρεσε περισσότερο και από το προηγούμενο βιβλίο της.
March 13, 2017
This is the first book in the start of a new crime series which I devoured page by page.
I'd left this book at home, thought I had it in my bag when I knew I'd be spending some time in the car and sitting for appointments at the hospital (nothing serious)
I was so fed up as I couldn't wait to jump back into this plot.
A ten year old daughter becomes the only witness to a terrible shocking murder.
Treading carefully the Police need to bring in some expertise. The Children's house.
Then more people die.
There somehow links together a pattern by texts, strange weird messages and numbers.
There are so many twists in this book you will get dizzy.
So many turns that you will trip over yourself coming back.
It's such a huge well written book that kept me riveted. Yes riveted to it. I was stuck like glue.
That's why I couldn't wait to get home to finish it and but at the same time. I didn't want it to end.
My thanks to Veronique at Hodder for my copy.
I'd left this book at home, thought I had it in my bag when I knew I'd be spending some time in the car and sitting for appointments at the hospital (nothing serious)
I was so fed up as I couldn't wait to jump back into this plot.
A ten year old daughter becomes the only witness to a terrible shocking murder.
Treading carefully the Police need to bring in some expertise. The Children's house.
Then more people die.
There somehow links together a pattern by texts, strange weird messages and numbers.
There are so many twists in this book you will get dizzy.
So many turns that you will trip over yourself coming back.
It's such a huge well written book that kept me riveted. Yes riveted to it. I was stuck like glue.
That's why I couldn't wait to get home to finish it and but at the same time. I didn't want it to end.
My thanks to Veronique at Hodder for my copy.
December 14, 2017
If you either enjoy Nordic Noir or are looking for a fresh take on crime writing and weary of the same-old, same-old, consider The Legacy, the first in the Childrens House series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
First, a primer on Iceland for everyone not a resident of that country.
Iceland has an estimated population of 300,000 and one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Take a glance at the following UN data of 2009 homicides:
Brazil 43,909
Denmark 47
UK 724
US 15,241
Iceland 1
That’s right. One. If you think that’s stunning, consider that in 2008 there were zero.
Moreover, although there are approximately 90,000 guns in Iceland (for those 300,000 people), crimes in Iceland usually don’t involve firearms. Also, there is virtually no economic disparity or class tension. 97% of Icelanders identify themselves as middle-class. One might well pity the writer who opts to write crime novels that take place in Iceland.
Enter Yrsa Sigurdardottir, perhaps best known for her series in which the central character is Thóra Gudmundsdóttir. Civil engineer by day. Crime/detective/suspense writer by night.
Why focus on the author in my review? Because, on its face, there’s nothing obviously special about the plot of The Legacy. What makes The Legacy a great novel and successful crime/suspense read is the way Sigurdardottir tells her story and her skill in telling it, which reflects the excerpted interview above.
In 1987, something horrific happens and, as a result, and three children are adopted by three different families. Flash forward to 2015 and a doctor’s spouse and mother of 3 is murdered in her own Reykavik home. Unbeknownst to the killer, the young daughter, Margret, is under the bed during the murder and becomes a crucial witness for the police. The doctor/husband is out of town on business, and Margret is whisked to the Childrens House, for appropriate counseling and care. The director of the Childrens House is Frejya.
Detective Huldar, a nicotine-chewing, single, smart but inexperienced, junior detective, leads the investigation. Huldar recently met and gave a fake name to Frejya at a bar one evening, then snuck away from her apartment the following a.m. without a note, text or goodbye. This background makes for some additional tension throughout the novel, from the moment of Margret’s initial interview about her observations on the night of the murder. Other related murders occur. There’s a code none of the detectives can crack and no resources available to them to crack it.
It’s soon apparent that the downside of having so few murders occur that a department lacks the resources or expertise to solve the ones that do. But then. Sigurdardottir creates a police department under stress, where the various players act authentically. Margret acts and communicates in an age-appropriate manner. Frejya’s back story – a brother in jail and her house-sitting both his apartment and his dog, Molly, in a sketchy area of town – makes sense. The code is delivered by radio to a trio of down-on-their luck twenty-year old guys, one of whom, Karl, is particularly well-written and sympathetic. His friends act like twenty-year old guys, not props to flesh out the quantity of possible suspects. I didn’t identify the killer until the same moment Huldar identified [insert ambiguous pronoun here], which is a sign of success with any crime novel.
Note that, while the gore is minimal, the killing scenes are so effectively written that they place the reader in the head of each victim, with full knowledge that escape is impossible. Chilling is an understatement. It’s the opposite of torture-porn, but … still.. you may well want to skip ahead a few pages if you don’t want to have those scenes embedded in your brain for some time. The suspense was palpable from the first moment Karl heard a sound in his basement and it remained unexplained. Odds are you’ll stay up too late to read it, as I did.
As an aside, props to the publisher for inserting, upfront, a character and pronunciation list. Given the crowded cast of characters and my desire to learn Icelandic pronunciations, I found this list especially helpful.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for providing an e-copy for my review.
Note: The second book in the series, The Reckoning, is scheduled to be released on March 22, 2018; and here’s a link to a 2015 interview with Sigurdardottir.
http://scancan.net/sigurthardottir_1_...
First, a primer on Iceland for everyone not a resident of that country.
Iceland has an estimated population of 300,000 and one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Take a glance at the following UN data of 2009 homicides:
Brazil 43,909
Denmark 47
UK 724
US 15,241
Iceland 1
That’s right. One. If you think that’s stunning, consider that in 2008 there were zero.
Moreover, although there are approximately 90,000 guns in Iceland (for those 300,000 people), crimes in Iceland usually don’t involve firearms. Also, there is virtually no economic disparity or class tension. 97% of Icelanders identify themselves as middle-class. One might well pity the writer who opts to write crime novels that take place in Iceland.
Enter Yrsa Sigurdardottir, perhaps best known for her series in which the central character is Thóra Gudmundsdóttir. Civil engineer by day. Crime/detective/suspense writer by night.
“[M]y job as an engineer gives me a particular perspective on the human experience and the way I depict it. Engineers confront the world through technology, numbers, energy, strength, budgets, and progress; they engage in meetings, face the pressure of schedules and deadlines, and so on. Other writers with different training will have insight into layers of the community that I am less interested in. My Iceland is thus different from that of Arnaldur Indriðason’s; his viewpoint is that of a man, mine a woman’s if nothing else. I do not often address the lower levels of society and by that I mean the so-called underworld of criminals. My murderers are regular people—something that I find more challenging, motivating, and credible. The local underworld here is not capable of interesting murderers; when these occur they are always committed under the influence and are mainly pathetically sad.
Instead of drug-dealing and petty crimes, I prefer that the interaction between my characters leading up to ill deeds takes into account the closeness of people here. Where six degrees of separation applies to most of the world’s inhabitants, in Iceland it is probably only one degree of separation. Or zero. This provides a great tool for crime and thriller writing as my plots tend to revolve around the minor and major clashes between people. What better than to have everyone know, or know of, everyone else? How hard would you fight to keep your ugliest secrets secret under such circumstances?"
Why focus on the author in my review? Because, on its face, there’s nothing obviously special about the plot of The Legacy. What makes The Legacy a great novel and successful crime/suspense read is the way Sigurdardottir tells her story and her skill in telling it, which reflects the excerpted interview above.
In 1987, something horrific happens and, as a result, and three children are adopted by three different families. Flash forward to 2015 and a doctor’s spouse and mother of 3 is murdered in her own Reykavik home. Unbeknownst to the killer, the young daughter, Margret, is under the bed during the murder and becomes a crucial witness for the police. The doctor/husband is out of town on business, and Margret is whisked to the Childrens House, for appropriate counseling and care. The director of the Childrens House is Frejya.
Detective Huldar, a nicotine-chewing, single, smart but inexperienced, junior detective, leads the investigation. Huldar recently met and gave a fake name to Frejya at a bar one evening, then snuck away from her apartment the following a.m. without a note, text or goodbye. This background makes for some additional tension throughout the novel, from the moment of Margret’s initial interview about her observations on the night of the murder. Other related murders occur. There’s a code none of the detectives can crack and no resources available to them to crack it.
It’s soon apparent that the downside of having so few murders occur that a department lacks the resources or expertise to solve the ones that do. But then. Sigurdardottir creates a police department under stress, where the various players act authentically. Margret acts and communicates in an age-appropriate manner. Frejya’s back story – a brother in jail and her house-sitting both his apartment and his dog, Molly, in a sketchy area of town – makes sense. The code is delivered by radio to a trio of down-on-their luck twenty-year old guys, one of whom, Karl, is particularly well-written and sympathetic. His friends act like twenty-year old guys, not props to flesh out the quantity of possible suspects. I didn’t identify the killer until the same moment Huldar identified [insert ambiguous pronoun here], which is a sign of success with any crime novel.
Note that, while the gore is minimal, the killing scenes are so effectively written that they place the reader in the head of each victim, with full knowledge that escape is impossible. Chilling is an understatement. It’s the opposite of torture-porn, but … still.. you may well want to skip ahead a few pages if you don’t want to have those scenes embedded in your brain for some time. The suspense was palpable from the first moment Karl heard a sound in his basement and it remained unexplained. Odds are you’ll stay up too late to read it, as I did.
As an aside, props to the publisher for inserting, upfront, a character and pronunciation list. Given the crowded cast of characters and my desire to learn Icelandic pronunciations, I found this list especially helpful.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for providing an e-copy for my review.
Note: The second book in the series, The Reckoning, is scheduled to be released on March 22, 2018; and here’s a link to a 2015 interview with Sigurdardottir.
http://scancan.net/sigurthardottir_1_...
February 10, 2017
I don't know if the author is just insanely prolific or whether there's a huge backlog of her work to translate into English, but it seems there's a new Yrsa Sigurðardóttir book every nine months or so, and here, like clockwork, is the latest. The Legacy is the first in the Children's House series. It introduces the central characters of Freyja, director of the Children's House refuge for traumatised and abused children, and police detective Huldar.
The Legacy has one of those devilishly clever prologues: set in 1987, it briefly depicts three young siblings being split up and sent to adoptive families. We know nothing about them, except that their background is so disturbing that a) the adults present can barely bring themselves to talk about it, and b) it's deemed best to separate the children before their reliance on each other becomes unhealthy. Flash forward to 2015, and the gruesome murder of a young mother – with her seven-year-old daughter the only witness – appears to have nothing to do with the opening scene. But, of course, they must be connected. If the opening hooks you, the compulsion to understand how 1987 and 2015 join up is what will drive you through almost 500 pages at speed.
This being a series, it also needs a thread that will be carried through to subsequent books, and here it comes in the shape of an unnecessarily complex set of entanglements between Huldar and Freyja, no doubt setting up what will eventually become a relationship. Huldar has also had an ill-advised hook-up with a colleague's wife, the consequences of which slowly unravel over the course of the book. Although some of this is more relevant to the plot of The Legacy than it first appears, most of it is pretty boring to read about. Whenever the narrative dwelled on either character's domestic situation, I longed for a return to the crime plot.
That said, the grotesque murders are the worst of both worlds: too obviously invented to convince, but more horrible than I want to read about in a novel. And when the murderer's motive is revealed, it turns out to be ridiculously convoluted. While I'll grudgingly admit the solution does tie everything together – including that prologue – it's so utterly unguessable that I found it frustrating anyway: not so much an 'ah, I see – ingenious!' lightbulb moment as a 'what, really?!' throw-the-book-aside-in-annoyance moment.
I wonder if the author feels more wedded to crime conventions when writing 'series' books than she does writing standalones, as without exception I have found the latter to be more original, more effective and superior in just about every way. I've also noticed that she always seems to weave at the very least a suggestion of some ghostly or supernatural element into her one-off books, something that's conspicuous by its absence here. I missed that dark, intriguing edge; the deaths in The Legacy aren't frightening, just horrible, and the plot is more than a little clunky. I will continue to read standalone novels from Sigurðardóttir, but I don't think the Children's House series is for me.
I received an advance review copy of The Legacy from the publisher through NetGalley.
TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr
The Legacy has one of those devilishly clever prologues: set in 1987, it briefly depicts three young siblings being split up and sent to adoptive families. We know nothing about them, except that their background is so disturbing that a) the adults present can barely bring themselves to talk about it, and b) it's deemed best to separate the children before their reliance on each other becomes unhealthy. Flash forward to 2015, and the gruesome murder of a young mother – with her seven-year-old daughter the only witness – appears to have nothing to do with the opening scene. But, of course, they must be connected. If the opening hooks you, the compulsion to understand how 1987 and 2015 join up is what will drive you through almost 500 pages at speed.
This being a series, it also needs a thread that will be carried through to subsequent books, and here it comes in the shape of an unnecessarily complex set of entanglements between Huldar and Freyja, no doubt setting up what will eventually become a relationship. Huldar has also had an ill-advised hook-up with a colleague's wife, the consequences of which slowly unravel over the course of the book. Although some of this is more relevant to the plot of The Legacy than it first appears, most of it is pretty boring to read about. Whenever the narrative dwelled on either character's domestic situation, I longed for a return to the crime plot.
That said, the grotesque murders are the worst of both worlds: too obviously invented to convince, but more horrible than I want to read about in a novel. And when the murderer's motive is revealed, it turns out to be ridiculously convoluted. While I'll grudgingly admit the solution does tie everything together – including that prologue – it's so utterly unguessable that I found it frustrating anyway: not so much an 'ah, I see – ingenious!' lightbulb moment as a 'what, really?!' throw-the-book-aside-in-annoyance moment.
I wonder if the author feels more wedded to crime conventions when writing 'series' books than she does writing standalones, as without exception I have found the latter to be more original, more effective and superior in just about every way. I've also noticed that she always seems to weave at the very least a suggestion of some ghostly or supernatural element into her one-off books, something that's conspicuous by its absence here. I missed that dark, intriguing edge; the deaths in The Legacy aren't frightening, just horrible, and the plot is more than a little clunky. I will continue to read standalone novels from Sigurðardóttir, but I don't think the Children's House series is for me.
I received an advance review copy of The Legacy from the publisher through NetGalley.
TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr
December 16, 2021
"Het boek leest vlot en het einde is een echte mindfuck wel! Dat heeft heel wat goedgemaakt en wat zat het vernuftig in elkaar. Had ik echt niet zien aankomen dus een dikke pluim voor de auteur!"
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2021...
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2021...
January 4, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this slice of Nordic Noir. It was a gripping thriller with plenty of twists and turns, red herrings and imaginative murder weapons! I found the murder scenes themselves edge-of-seat frightening, but without being unnecessarily gory in their descriptions. The characters, including children and young people, were well written and believable. Yes, there were some amazing coincidences pulling the whole thing together but that is often par for the course to keep any mystery going.
This is the best thriller/mystery I have read in a long time and I am pleased to hear that the second book in the series has been translated into English as I will definitely be keen to read more from this author.
This is the best thriller/mystery I have read in a long time and I am pleased to hear that the second book in the series has been translated into English as I will definitely be keen to read more from this author.
January 21, 2025
4,5
El grito es la primera parte de lo que será una serie de varios libros en la que Huldar y Freyja van a ser los dos grandes protagonistas, él, siendo un agente de policía y ella una psicóloga infantil.
Esta novela comienza con una “reunión” que equivale a decirnos que tres hermanos pequeños tienen que ser separados para ser adoptados, y que la mejor manera es esa, que no permanezcan juntos. Tras esto, damos un salto y nos situamos unos años mas tarde, en 2015, cuando el espantoso asesinato de una madre ( muy cruel ) conmociona a la policía y es que además el único testigo es la hija menor. Poco después aparece otra mujer muerta, de forma similar pero la conexión entre ellas parece inexistente. Y por si fuera poco, hay otra trama, en la que un chico esta recibiendo mensajes “cifrados” y que tendrán mucho que ver con todo…
Un thriller que tiene un comienzo muy fuerte, y que luego se va cociendo poco a poco, pero que realmente TODO tiene su importancia para la resolución.
Me ha gustado mucho el personaje de la psicóloga infantil y como va sonsacando las cosas para dar con el culpable. Freyja va a ser la clara protagonista en los demás libros de la serie y tengo muchas ganas de seguir leyéndola.
Sobre el final… totalmente inesperado… quizá se te pasa por la cabeza quien puede ser, pero la resolución completa no la esperas para nada, la relación de todo, como queda todo hilado me sorprendió muchísimo. Destaco el epilogo final, que me gusto mucho y estoy deseando que se traduzcan las demás novelas de esta serie, que de momento se sabe que hay seis.
Asique si te gusta el thriller un poco duro con escenas fuertes y con finales que te sorprendan estoy segura de que este libro te gustara.
El grito es la primera parte de lo que será una serie de varios libros en la que Huldar y Freyja van a ser los dos grandes protagonistas, él, siendo un agente de policía y ella una psicóloga infantil.
Esta novela comienza con una “reunión” que equivale a decirnos que tres hermanos pequeños tienen que ser separados para ser adoptados, y que la mejor manera es esa, que no permanezcan juntos. Tras esto, damos un salto y nos situamos unos años mas tarde, en 2015, cuando el espantoso asesinato de una madre ( muy cruel ) conmociona a la policía y es que además el único testigo es la hija menor. Poco después aparece otra mujer muerta, de forma similar pero la conexión entre ellas parece inexistente. Y por si fuera poco, hay otra trama, en la que un chico esta recibiendo mensajes “cifrados” y que tendrán mucho que ver con todo…
Un thriller que tiene un comienzo muy fuerte, y que luego se va cociendo poco a poco, pero que realmente TODO tiene su importancia para la resolución.
Me ha gustado mucho el personaje de la psicóloga infantil y como va sonsacando las cosas para dar con el culpable. Freyja va a ser la clara protagonista en los demás libros de la serie y tengo muchas ganas de seguir leyéndola.
Sobre el final… totalmente inesperado… quizá se te pasa por la cabeza quien puede ser, pero la resolución completa no la esperas para nada, la relación de todo, como queda todo hilado me sorprendió muchísimo. Destaco el epilogo final, que me gusto mucho y estoy deseando que se traduzcan las demás novelas de esta serie, que de momento se sabe que hay seis.
Asique si te gusta el thriller un poco duro con escenas fuertes y con finales que te sorprendan estoy segura de que este libro te gustara.
February 18, 2020
Ce se întâmplă când Simona începe un thriller după miezul nopții? Îl termină pe la 5 dimineața, cu ochii cârpiți de somn, după trei plot twist-uri și un moment stil mindfuck - vă rog să îmi scuzați limbajul - cum doar Jeffery Deaver mai reușește să strecoare la final, după numeroase intrigi și situații la limită. Side note: Ah, ce dor îmi e de seria Lincoln Rhyme!
Moștenirea mi-a reamintit de ce prefer thrillerele nordice în detrimentul celor americane sau britanice, iar Yrsa Sigurðardóttir m-a șocat și m-a uimit în egală măsură: un copil aude cum mama îi este ucisă, în timp ce imaginația unui criminal scapă de sub control.
Nu am mai întâlnit până acum un astfel de modus operandi; rar mi se întâmplă să fiu îngrozită sau bulversată de cum alege un prădător să-și omoare victimele, însă mai există și excepții de la regulă. Nu am simțit un gol în stomac. Am simțit cum mă prăbușesc, dorindu-mi aproape cu disperare să mă strecor sub plapumă înainte ca ucigașul să afle că îl urmăresc, înainte ca ucigașul să afle că mai există un martor.
Tema principală a romanului este familia, dar și dorința de apartenență. Copii abandonați, care tânjesc să își descopere trecutul, părinți indiferenți, secrete, moșteniri blestemate, o reîntâlnire cutremurătoare și o hotărâre luată cu sânge rece.
Am citit romanul în urmă cu câteva zile, iar acum privesc cu neîncredere anumite obiecte din casă. Orice poate să devină o armă. Oricine poate să devină o victimă.
Moștenirea mi-a reamintit de ce prefer thrillerele nordice în detrimentul celor americane sau britanice, iar Yrsa Sigurðardóttir m-a șocat și m-a uimit în egală măsură: un copil aude cum mama îi este ucisă, în timp ce imaginația unui criminal scapă de sub control.
Nu am mai întâlnit până acum un astfel de modus operandi; rar mi se întâmplă să fiu îngrozită sau bulversată de cum alege un prădător să-și omoare victimele, însă mai există și excepții de la regulă. Nu am simțit un gol în stomac. Am simțit cum mă prăbușesc, dorindu-mi aproape cu disperare să mă strecor sub plapumă înainte ca ucigașul să afle că îl urmăresc, înainte ca ucigașul să afle că mai există un martor.
Tema principală a romanului este familia, dar și dorința de apartenență. Copii abandonați, care tânjesc să își descopere trecutul, părinți indiferenți, secrete, moșteniri blestemate, o reîntâlnire cutremurătoare și o hotărâre luată cu sânge rece.
Am citit romanul în urmă cu câteva zile, iar acum privesc cu neîncredere anumite obiecte din casă. Orice poate să devină o armă. Oricine poate să devină o victimă.
January 14, 2017
Although I am a great fan of Scandinavian crime fiction, for some reason I had not yet read anything by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. So, when I discovered she was starting a new series that I could read from the beginning, I thought it was an ideal to chance to read her at last and I am glad I did. We begin with events in 1987 and decisions involving some traumatised children.
The novel then turns to 2015 and the horrific murder of a woman, whose young daughter is the only witness. The crime is investigated by the newly promoted Detective Huldar and his partner, Rikhardur. Huldar suspects that his promotion could be something of a poisoned chalice if he fails to solve his first major inquiry and things get worse when he becomes uncomfortably reacquainted with Frejya, the director of the Children’s House, who is familiar with Huldar from a previous meeting.
As the novel unfolds, we have a twisted killer and some very gruesome deaths; made somehow even more horrific by the use of mundane, household appliances… There are some excellent characters and the sense of menace is very well done. I thought this was a good introduction to a new series and I thought there were a good choice of possible suspects. I really need to go back and re-discover this author’s past work as this is a great read for crime fans.
The novel then turns to 2015 and the horrific murder of a woman, whose young daughter is the only witness. The crime is investigated by the newly promoted Detective Huldar and his partner, Rikhardur. Huldar suspects that his promotion could be something of a poisoned chalice if he fails to solve his first major inquiry and things get worse when he becomes uncomfortably reacquainted with Frejya, the director of the Children’s House, who is familiar with Huldar from a previous meeting.
As the novel unfolds, we have a twisted killer and some very gruesome deaths; made somehow even more horrific by the use of mundane, household appliances… There are some excellent characters and the sense of menace is very well done. I thought this was a good introduction to a new series and I thought there were a good choice of possible suspects. I really need to go back and re-discover this author’s past work as this is a great read for crime fans.
April 25, 2018
Μου άρεσε πολύ! Η ιστορία είναι ιδιαίτερη και σου προκαλεί αρκετή αγωνία. Θετικό για μένα είναι ότι παρουσιάζει κομμάτια από το παρελθόν των ηρώων αλλά και του χαρακτήρα τους και έτσι μπορείς να δεθείς μαζί τους, να συμπάσχεις, να νευριάσεις κοκ. Η γραφή της σε αυτό το βιβλίο μου θύμισε λίγο την απλή και ωραία γραφή της Chevy Stevens και της Joy Fielding αλλά σε πιο αστυνομική εκδοχή, έτσι οι σελίδες περνάνε πολύ γρήγορα χωρίς να το καταλαβαίνεις.
Τώρα, το κακό με εμένα είναι ότι αρκετά νωρίς κατάλαβα κάποια πράγματα οπότε έχασα κάπως τη μαγεία. Δε ξέρω εάν είναι εύκολο να συμβεί και σε κάποιον άλλο για να πω ότι δεν είναι καλά στημένο ή απλά έτυχε σε μένα. Πάντως σίγουρα το τέλος δεν θα μπορούσα να το μαντέψω ακριβώς, οπότε παρόλο που κατάλαβα κάποια πράγματα με εξέπληξε ευχάριστα.
Το συνιστώ εάν κάποιος θέλει να ξεκινήσει τώρα την αστυνομική λογοτεχνία ή εάν θέλει ένα εύκολο και γρήγορο αστυνομικό.
Εγώ πάντως ανυπομονώ να διαβάσω το επόμενο.. Με άφησε με ερωτήματα..
Τώρα, το κακό με εμένα είναι ότι αρκετά νωρίς κατάλαβα κάποια πράγματα οπότε έχασα κάπως τη μαγεία. Δε ξέρω εάν είναι εύκολο να συμβεί και σε κάποιον άλλο για να πω ότι δεν είναι καλά στημένο ή απλά έτυχε σε μένα. Πάντως σίγουρα το τέλος δεν θα μπορούσα να το μαντέψω ακριβώς, οπότε παρόλο που κατάλαβα κάποια πράγματα με εξέπληξε ευχάριστα.
Το συνιστώ εάν κάποιος θέλει να ξεκινήσει τώρα την αστυνομική λογοτεχνία ή εάν θέλει ένα εύκολο και γρήγορο αστυνομικό.
Εγώ πάντως ανυπομονώ να διαβάσω το επόμενο.. Με άφησε με ερωτήματα..
April 16, 2018
Εχοντας διαβασει την εκδικηση της ιδιας το οποιο ειναι ενα απο τα αγαπημενα μου βιβλια πηρα με μεγαλη χαρα στα χερια μου το Dna. Βεβαια δεν μοιαζουν καθως το πρωτο ειναι μεταφυσικο θρίλλερ. Το βιβλιο ξεκιναει με εναν προλογο που τοποθετειται χρονικα στο 1987. Μετα εχοντας φτασει στο 2015 η αρχη γινεται πολυ δυναμικα με τον πρωτο φόνο. Λιγο μετα ακολουθει και ενας δευτερος. Εχουν γινει και οι δυο με εναν εξαιρετικα περιεργο τροπο ο οποιος με εκανε σε ολο το βιβλιο να αναρωτιεμαι γιατι. Η αστυνομια μου φανηκε ελαφρως υποτονικη εως αχρωμη αλλα εσωσε την κατασταση η ψυχολογος Φρεγια την οποια και συμπαθησα πολυ. Για σχεδον 300 σελιδες και κατι δεν μπορεσα να κανω καμια απολυτως συνδεση της ιστοριας που περιγραφεται στον προλογο με το τωρα. Οι εκτενεις περιγραφες μου εκαναν τα νευρα κροσσια και μονο λιγο πριν το τελος καταλαβα το σκοπο που εξυπηρετουσαν. Αφου το στριφογυρισε οσο δεν παιρνει τελικα μας αποκαλυψε τον δολοφονο τοσο μπαμ μπαμ, που μολις το διαβασα εκατσα και κοιτουσα την σελιδα κανα 5αλεπτο. Ειλικρινα δεν πηγε το μυαλο μου ουτε καν στο ελαχιστο,παρολο που εχω διαβασει μια ολοκληρη βιβλιοθηκη αστυνομικα εως τωρα. Ο δολοφόνος δοθηκε μονο οταν το αποφασισε η Yrsa. Η γραφη της ειναι καλη και οι φονοι αρκετα ευφανταστοι.Εχω καταληξει πως οι Ισλανδοι στην αστυνομικη λογοτεχνια μου αρέσουν. Eπισης βρηκα σωστη τη μεταφραση και χαιρομαι που δεν υπηρχαν επαναλβανομενες φρασεις κλισε οπως στα περισσοτερα αστυνομικα.Οι τελευταιες 200 σελιδες εφυγαν νερακι. Και έσωσαν ολο το υπόλοιπο στην κυριολεξια. Το ενα αστερακι κοπηκε γιατι επαιξε με τη υπομονη μεχρι να δεθει η πλοκη μεταξυ παρελθόντος και παρόντος αλλα θα μπορουσα να της δωσω ακομα μισο μονο για τις 2 τελευταιες σελιδες που τις λατρεψα.
October 9, 2020
Orice familie are secretele sale, dar unele secrete sunt pur și simplu prea întunecate pentru a fi dezvăluite. Sau așa au considerat unele autorități atunci când au decis soarta unor orfani ce urmau să fie dați spre adopție în 1987. Acest lucru îl aflăm din prolog și rămânem pe tot parcurul cărții cu întrebarea care dintre personajele din prezent corespund celor trei orfani din trecut.
Detectivul Huldar primește un caz total atipic pentru poliția din Reykjavík, care șochează prin violență, metoda folosită pentru a ucide, lipsa totală a unui motiv, dar și reprercursiunilor dacă acest caz nu este rezolvat repede și bine. Poliția din Reykjavík are un scandal din care abia reușește să își revină, iar Huldar nu este neapărat cel mai iubit polițist, așa că fie cazul îl îngroapă definitiv, fie demonstrează că în ciuda reputației sale, este un polițist capabil. O femeie este ucisă în casa ei, într-un mod barbar, în timp ce soțul ei este în străinătate, băieții ei se află închiși în altă cameră, iar fetița ei de numai șapte ani este ascunsă sub patul pe care ea este ucisă. Motivul este cea mai mare enigmă: lucrează la fisc, soțul ei este un ginecolog respectat, nu au datorii, dușmani, lucruri prețioase în casă.
Recenzia completa aici http://www.cititornecunoscut.ro/moste...
Detectivul Huldar primește un caz total atipic pentru poliția din Reykjavík, care șochează prin violență, metoda folosită pentru a ucide, lipsa totală a unui motiv, dar și reprercursiunilor dacă acest caz nu este rezolvat repede și bine. Poliția din Reykjavík are un scandal din care abia reușește să își revină, iar Huldar nu este neapărat cel mai iubit polițist, așa că fie cazul îl îngroapă definitiv, fie demonstrează că în ciuda reputației sale, este un polițist capabil. O femeie este ucisă în casa ei, într-un mod barbar, în timp ce soțul ei este în străinătate, băieții ei se află închiși în altă cameră, iar fetița ei de numai șapte ani este ascunsă sub patul pe care ea este ucisă. Motivul este cea mai mare enigmă: lucrează la fisc, soțul ei este un ginecolog respectat, nu au datorii, dușmani, lucruri prețioase în casă.
Recenzia completa aici http://www.cititornecunoscut.ro/moste...
March 7, 2017
Another banging good crime thriller from Yrsa Siguraordottir here. Love that it will be a new series. I was very fond of all the characters but boy it is not for the faint hearted with reference to the death scenes! *shudder*
Brilliant.
Full review later at some point.
Brilliant.
Full review later at some point.
January 21, 2025
Desde que vi el título y la portada de “El grito”, publicada recientemente por Destino, supe que me iba a gustar. ¿Un thriller psicológico escrito por la reina islandesa del suspense? No podía fallar. Y, efectivamente, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir no decepciona: esta novela no solo te engancha desde la primera página, sino que te lleva de la mano (o mejor dicho, te arrastra) por una trama llena de giros, misterio y emoción.
La historia arranca con un asesinato que te deja helada, y no solo porque ocurre en Reikiavik, la fría y oscura capital de Islandia. Elísa es brutalmente asesinada en su propia casa, y la única testigo es su hija de siete años, demasiado traumatizada para hablar. Aquí es donde entran en juego Huldar, un detective que se estrena con este caso, y Freyja, una psicóloga infantil que tiene la difícil tarea de intentar desbloquear a la niña. Pero la cosa no acaba ahí: Huldar y Freyja tienen un pasado complicado que añade chispa y tensiones constantes a su trabajo en equipo.
Uno de los mayores aciertos de Yrsa es cómo te mete en la historia sin que te des cuenta. Su estilo es directo, pero sabe cuándo frenar para que respires el ambiente: el frío opresivo, la soledad de Reikiavik y esa sensación de que el peligro acecha en cada esquina. Además, la investigación es brillante. Los códigos numéricos que el asesino deja en las escenas del crimen no son un simple recurso; son el corazón de la trama y te tienen todo el tiempo dándole vueltas, intentando encajarlos.
Los personajes son otro punto fuerte. Freyja y Huldar no son héroes perfectos, sino humanos con sus propias inseguridades y errores. Según Yrsa, su objetivo es explorar la oscuridad humana y, a la vez, hacer que empatices incluso con los personajes más complejos. Y lo consigue. Tanto sus protagonistas como los secundarios tienen una profundidad que hace que todo sea mucho más creíble.
Pero lo que realmente me ha impresionado es cómo la autora consigue equilibrar el suspense con el lado emocional de la historia. No es solo un thriller lleno de acción; también es una reflexión sobre cómo los crímenes afectan a las personas, desde las víctimas hasta quienes los investigan. Yrsa no se guarda nada, y eso se siente en cada página.
Si estás buscando una novela negra que te sorprenda, te angustie y te haga pensar, “El grito” es una apuesta segura. Es de esas historias que, cuando llegas al final, te dejan con ganas de más. Y lo mejor es que este es solo el principio de la serie “Los casos de Freyja”. Yo ya estoy deseando leer el siguiente. ¿Te atreves a descubrir el misterio?
La historia arranca con un asesinato que te deja helada, y no solo porque ocurre en Reikiavik, la fría y oscura capital de Islandia. Elísa es brutalmente asesinada en su propia casa, y la única testigo es su hija de siete años, demasiado traumatizada para hablar. Aquí es donde entran en juego Huldar, un detective que se estrena con este caso, y Freyja, una psicóloga infantil que tiene la difícil tarea de intentar desbloquear a la niña. Pero la cosa no acaba ahí: Huldar y Freyja tienen un pasado complicado que añade chispa y tensiones constantes a su trabajo en equipo.
Uno de los mayores aciertos de Yrsa es cómo te mete en la historia sin que te des cuenta. Su estilo es directo, pero sabe cuándo frenar para que respires el ambiente: el frío opresivo, la soledad de Reikiavik y esa sensación de que el peligro acecha en cada esquina. Además, la investigación es brillante. Los códigos numéricos que el asesino deja en las escenas del crimen no son un simple recurso; son el corazón de la trama y te tienen todo el tiempo dándole vueltas, intentando encajarlos.
Los personajes son otro punto fuerte. Freyja y Huldar no son héroes perfectos, sino humanos con sus propias inseguridades y errores. Según Yrsa, su objetivo es explorar la oscuridad humana y, a la vez, hacer que empatices incluso con los personajes más complejos. Y lo consigue. Tanto sus protagonistas como los secundarios tienen una profundidad que hace que todo sea mucho más creíble.
Pero lo que realmente me ha impresionado es cómo la autora consigue equilibrar el suspense con el lado emocional de la historia. No es solo un thriller lleno de acción; también es una reflexión sobre cómo los crímenes afectan a las personas, desde las víctimas hasta quienes los investigan. Yrsa no se guarda nada, y eso se siente en cada página.
Si estás buscando una novela negra que te sorprenda, te angustie y te haga pensar, “El grito” es una apuesta segura. Es de esas historias que, cuando llegas al final, te dejan con ganas de más. Y lo mejor es que este es solo el principio de la serie “Los casos de Freyja”. Yo ya estoy deseando leer el siguiente. ¿Te atreves a descubrir el misterio?
December 3, 2017
Full review to come! This is one fantastic series launch from Yrsa Sigurdardottir - I will absolutely be coming back for more of her Children's House books. Layered, vivid, chilling, slow-burning yet tense - this is superb crime writing.
February 13, 2018
Mystery in Minutes Overall Rating: 4.5/5
To read the complete review, please visit https://www.mysteryinminutes.com/revi....
Voted Best Crime Novel of the Year by the Icelandic Crime Authors' Association, The Legacy is the first installment in the Children's House series, written by "Iceland's Queen of Crime", Yrsa Sigurdardottir. The Legacy is an intelligent, slow-burning, character-focused police procedural that methodically reveals layer upon layer of ingenious plotting involving cryptic, coded messages, dark family secrets, and some of the most creatively horrific methods of dispatching victims this reviewer has ever read. Ms. Sigurdardottir can certainly bring the frightening imagery with the best of them (Mo Hayder, have you met Yrsa Sigurdardottir?), and the very first chapter holds the reader in a vise grip as it describes, from the victim's POV, the petrifying minutes leading up to the killing. The novel centers around this first murder of a young mother within her home. One of her three children happens to be present, in hiding, during the mother's murder, and may "hold the key" to identifying the murderer, and solving the mystery. Can child psychologist Freyja, and police officer Huldar (for whom this is his first time leading a big case) win this traumatized, young child's trust, and sensitively persuade her to open up about the nightmarish things that she heard and saw that fateful night? And can Freyja and Huldar protect the only witness from a truly terrifying killer who is still at large? For the answers to these questions, wrapped up in a twist you may never see coming, make The Legacy part of your crime fiction reading list!
To read the complete review, please visit https://www.mysteryinminutes.com/revi....
Voted Best Crime Novel of the Year by the Icelandic Crime Authors' Association, The Legacy is the first installment in the Children's House series, written by "Iceland's Queen of Crime", Yrsa Sigurdardottir. The Legacy is an intelligent, slow-burning, character-focused police procedural that methodically reveals layer upon layer of ingenious plotting involving cryptic, coded messages, dark family secrets, and some of the most creatively horrific methods of dispatching victims this reviewer has ever read. Ms. Sigurdardottir can certainly bring the frightening imagery with the best of them (Mo Hayder, have you met Yrsa Sigurdardottir?), and the very first chapter holds the reader in a vise grip as it describes, from the victim's POV, the petrifying minutes leading up to the killing. The novel centers around this first murder of a young mother within her home. One of her three children happens to be present, in hiding, during the mother's murder, and may "hold the key" to identifying the murderer, and solving the mystery. Can child psychologist Freyja, and police officer Huldar (for whom this is his first time leading a big case) win this traumatized, young child's trust, and sensitively persuade her to open up about the nightmarish things that she heard and saw that fateful night? And can Freyja and Huldar protect the only witness from a truly terrifying killer who is still at large? For the answers to these questions, wrapped up in a twist you may never see coming, make The Legacy part of your crime fiction reading list!
September 20, 2018
9 de 10*
“O Legado” marcou a minha estreia com a autora Yrsa Sigurdadóttir. E que estreia boa esta! Já há algum tempo que não sentia que um thriller me agarrava de imediato, com um grande impacto logo às primeiras páginas! Foi o que aconteceu com este livro. Começa, literalmente, a matar e a cena está tão bem descrita que é impossível ficar indiferente.
Comentário completo em:
http://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.com...
“O Legado” marcou a minha estreia com a autora Yrsa Sigurdadóttir. E que estreia boa esta! Já há algum tempo que não sentia que um thriller me agarrava de imediato, com um grande impacto logo às primeiras páginas! Foi o que aconteceu com este livro. Começa, literalmente, a matar e a cena está tão bem descrita que é impossível ficar indiferente.
Comentário completo em:
http://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.com...
June 9, 2019
In retrospect it’s hard to believe that I couldn’t pick up a single clue on the culprit. There were plenty of signs along the way, after all, but I lost them in other details.
The low rating bears no connection to my inability to figure out the perpetrator. The level of violence and the particularly gruesome murders were too much for me to stomach. The plotting and motive is okay enough, I just don’t see how it could inspire to such rage.
The low rating bears no connection to my inability to figure out the perpetrator. The level of violence and the particularly gruesome murders were too much for me to stomach. The plotting and motive is okay enough, I just don’t see how it could inspire to such rage.
September 25, 2018
I wonder if this book was ever edited. So many useless and boring details. At least half the book is stuffing. Literature is seldom found within this genre, I was not expecting that, but with a good editor it might have been turned into a decent read. I found it torturous to get through. By the end I did not care much who did it.
March 22, 2017
A great start...
When a horrific murder is carried out, there's only one witness, 7-year-old Margrét, but she's too shocked to tell her tale. So it's decided to ask the Children's House to help out – a place that specialises in helping traumatised children. Meantime the police are searching through the murder victim's background to try to find any reason for her murder, but Elísa seems to have been normal in every possible way: happy marriage, a group of long-time friends, good at her job, and generally popular. And the next victim – because of course there's a next one – seems equally unlikely. Margrét's testimony seems to be the only hope...
This is the beginning of a new series for Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, based around Freyja, the psychologist in charge of the Children's House, and Huldar, the detective in charge of the case. I'm not sure if both will appear in future books or just Freya, but they definitely share the billing in this one. The book is written in third person, past tense throughout. The crime seems to have its roots in the past but we learn about it through events in the present. Personally, I'm thrilled to see a crime book returning to this more traditional format of storytelling – the single time period flows more naturally than chopping backwards and forwards, the third person allows the author to range more widely across the characters without being restricted by what a first person narrator can know, and the past tense is so much more natural and appropriate that I really can't understand why there's such an insistence on using present tense. (I have never once seen anyone complain about a book being written in the past tense, have you?) I'm hoping maybe trends are finally shifting again...
As often happens with the first of a series, this one starts off pretty slowly, with much filling in of the backgrounds of the main characters – perhaps a little too much. There are places where it drags a bit and I found myself wishing that the plot would move along a little faster. However, I like both Freyja and Huldar as lead characters. Neither of them are perfect, but nor are they angst-ridden weirdos or drunks. They are both professionals who take their jobs seriously. Freyja clearly cares deeply about the children who pass through her care, but she's professional enough not to get too emotionally involved to do her job well. This is Huldar's first time in charge of an investigation, and we see him do his best to keep his team working well together, even though they get progressively more snappy with each other as the pressure mounts and time passes with no real leads appearing.
My one real complaint is that the murders are particularly horrific, and though in fact Sigurdardóttir only lingers over the detail of the first one, she writes so effectively that I found the images that she was putting in my head were too graphic for me, and unnecessarily so. The story is strong enough to stand without the gruesomeness, so that it felt pretty gratuitous to me.
The plotting, however, is great! Twisty, credible (apart from the murder methods), and full of some lovely misdirection – nope, I didn't get there until it was revealed at the end, but on looking back, the clues are all there, so no 'cheating'. It is a whodunit to a degree, but it's actually more about the why of the crime – once the motive is clear, so is the culprit. We see events unfold from various perspectives – Freyja and Huldar, of course, but also through the victims' eyes, as baffled as we are as to why this is happening to them. And then there's Karl, a young student and radio ham who has come across a strange station emitting strings of numbers that somehow seem to be connected to both him and the victims. The sections relating to Karl provide both the central mystery and some great characterisation of him and his friends, as they find themselves drawn into something they don't understand.
Sigurdardóttir's writing is as excellent as always, and the translation by Victoria Cribb is first class – had I not known it was a translation, I would have assumed it was written in English. The rather slow start and the too graphic murders meant that for most of the read it was heading for a solid four stars from me, but the strength of the last hundred pages or so lifted it – I found myself totally absorbed and the skill of the lead-up to the eventual solution both satisfied and impressed me. So I'm going with 4½, and will certainly be looking out for the next in what I hope will turn out to be a fine series, especially if Sigurdardóttir can rein in her imagination just a little on the gruesome front...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton.
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When a horrific murder is carried out, there's only one witness, 7-year-old Margrét, but she's too shocked to tell her tale. So it's decided to ask the Children's House to help out – a place that specialises in helping traumatised children. Meantime the police are searching through the murder victim's background to try to find any reason for her murder, but Elísa seems to have been normal in every possible way: happy marriage, a group of long-time friends, good at her job, and generally popular. And the next victim – because of course there's a next one – seems equally unlikely. Margrét's testimony seems to be the only hope...
This is the beginning of a new series for Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, based around Freyja, the psychologist in charge of the Children's House, and Huldar, the detective in charge of the case. I'm not sure if both will appear in future books or just Freya, but they definitely share the billing in this one. The book is written in third person, past tense throughout. The crime seems to have its roots in the past but we learn about it through events in the present. Personally, I'm thrilled to see a crime book returning to this more traditional format of storytelling – the single time period flows more naturally than chopping backwards and forwards, the third person allows the author to range more widely across the characters without being restricted by what a first person narrator can know, and the past tense is so much more natural and appropriate that I really can't understand why there's such an insistence on using present tense. (I have never once seen anyone complain about a book being written in the past tense, have you?) I'm hoping maybe trends are finally shifting again...
As often happens with the first of a series, this one starts off pretty slowly, with much filling in of the backgrounds of the main characters – perhaps a little too much. There are places where it drags a bit and I found myself wishing that the plot would move along a little faster. However, I like both Freyja and Huldar as lead characters. Neither of them are perfect, but nor are they angst-ridden weirdos or drunks. They are both professionals who take their jobs seriously. Freyja clearly cares deeply about the children who pass through her care, but she's professional enough not to get too emotionally involved to do her job well. This is Huldar's first time in charge of an investigation, and we see him do his best to keep his team working well together, even though they get progressively more snappy with each other as the pressure mounts and time passes with no real leads appearing.
My one real complaint is that the murders are particularly horrific, and though in fact Sigurdardóttir only lingers over the detail of the first one, she writes so effectively that I found the images that she was putting in my head were too graphic for me, and unnecessarily so. The story is strong enough to stand without the gruesomeness, so that it felt pretty gratuitous to me.
The plotting, however, is great! Twisty, credible (apart from the murder methods), and full of some lovely misdirection – nope, I didn't get there until it was revealed at the end, but on looking back, the clues are all there, so no 'cheating'. It is a whodunit to a degree, but it's actually more about the why of the crime – once the motive is clear, so is the culprit. We see events unfold from various perspectives – Freyja and Huldar, of course, but also through the victims' eyes, as baffled as we are as to why this is happening to them. And then there's Karl, a young student and radio ham who has come across a strange station emitting strings of numbers that somehow seem to be connected to both him and the victims. The sections relating to Karl provide both the central mystery and some great characterisation of him and his friends, as they find themselves drawn into something they don't understand.
Sigurdardóttir's writing is as excellent as always, and the translation by Victoria Cribb is first class – had I not known it was a translation, I would have assumed it was written in English. The rather slow start and the too graphic murders meant that for most of the read it was heading for a solid four stars from me, but the strength of the last hundred pages or so lifted it – I found myself totally absorbed and the skill of the lead-up to the eventual solution both satisfied and impressed me. So I'm going with 4½, and will certainly be looking out for the next in what I hope will turn out to be a fine series, especially if Sigurdardóttir can rein in her imagination just a little on the gruesome front...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
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November 22, 2023DNF Li 145 páginas e achei muito aborrecido para o género. 😕
February 27, 2018
Ελαφρώς κατώτερο των προσδοκιών μου το πρώτο μέρος της νέας σειράς βιβλίων της αγαπημένης μου ισλανδής συγγραφέως, η οποία φαίνεται να στρέφεται πρός τα πιό ΄΄καθαρά΄΄ police procedural μυθιστορήματα. Το ιδιάιτερο στοιχείο που ξεχώριζε την Sigurðardóttir από τους υπόλοιπους, σκανδιναβούς και μη, crime συγγραφείς που δεν ήταν άλλο από την καλλιέργεια της υπόνοιας όσον αφορά την υπερ-φυσική παρέμβαση στη δράση και την πλοκή των ιστοριών της, σε αυτό το βιβλίο απουσιάζει πλήρως. Παρακολουθούμε βήμα-βήμα τις προσπάθειες της αστυνομίας του Ρέικιαβικ σε συνεργασία με την υπηρεσία παιδικής προστασίας (Children House) να συλλάβει έναν καθ' έξιν δολοφόνο, ο οποίος σκοτώνει με πραγματικά φρικτό τρόπο τα θύματα του. Το μόνο στοιχείο που δίνει η συγγραφέας στον αναγνώστη είναι η εισαγωγή του βιβλίου στην οποία παρακολουθούμε τη συζήτηση των αρμόδιων φορέων σχετικά με την υιοθεσία τριών παιδιών που έζησαν μια ανείπωτη οικογενειακή τραγωδία. Μόνο όταν φτάνουμε στο τέλος του βιβλίου καταλαβαίνουμε πως σχετίζεται η υιοθεσία με τους φόνους που διαπράττονται σχεδόν 25 χρόνια αργότερα και φτάνουμε σε ένα φινάλε, το οποίο σίγουρα δεν είναι απογοητευτικό μεν άλλα, κατά την προσωπική μου άποψη, δεν αξιοποιεί πλήρως τη συναισθηματική δυναμική της ιστορίας και αποτυγχάνει να φτάσει στην συγκινησιακή κορύφωση που θα περίμενα. Παρόλα αυτά συστήνεται ανεπιφύλακτα στους αναγνώστες που ενδιαφέρονται για ποιοτικα ψυχολογικά thrillers, ενώ οι φανατικοί της Sigurðardóttir σίγουρα θα το εκτιμήσουν δεόντως.
December 4, 2022
A gruesome thriller chiller by an author who gets better with every book! Yrsa Sigurdardottir has been dubbed the Queen of Nordic noir and rightfully so. Her books are so amazingly twisted with complicated plots that defy the easy guess that comes with typical suspense novels. I read this genre almost exclusively, and she is one author that is a NOT TO BE MISSED.
I must say that the murders in this book took me completely by surprise, not by the motive, but by the method. How original, and I will never look at common household items the same way again. I must admit to an unusual sick reaction on my part, thinking that I had become inured to gore and grisly depictions.
So, the main plot line -- a married woman, mom to 3 children, is murdered in a gruesome fashion. Her young daugher, hiding under the bed at the time, is the only witness. This victim is one of 3 -- payback for a twisted perpetrator's revenge. There is so much going on in the narrative, and I don't want to give any spoilers, but I must say that I did not figure out the identity and was just as surprised as the characters in the book! Speaking of characters, I really enjoyed their development throughout the story and I am thrilled that this is the first in a new series. I have read every single book by this author, except one, and I intend to remedy that immediately if possible.
This is an author that anyone who loves this genre cannot afford to miss. Yrsa cannot write fast enough to satisfy me! Loved it!
I must say that the murders in this book took me completely by surprise, not by the motive, but by the method. How original, and I will never look at common household items the same way again. I must admit to an unusual sick reaction on my part, thinking that I had become inured to gore and grisly depictions.
So, the main plot line -- a married woman, mom to 3 children, is murdered in a gruesome fashion. Her young daugher, hiding under the bed at the time, is the only witness. This victim is one of 3 -- payback for a twisted perpetrator's revenge. There is so much going on in the narrative, and I don't want to give any spoilers, but I must say that I did not figure out the identity and was just as surprised as the characters in the book! Speaking of characters, I really enjoyed their development throughout the story and I am thrilled that this is the first in a new series. I have read every single book by this author, except one, and I intend to remedy that immediately if possible.
This is an author that anyone who loves this genre cannot afford to miss. Yrsa cannot write fast enough to satisfy me! Loved it!
July 14, 2019
The Legacy is the first book in the Children's House series and it's the first book I've read by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. I've actually read a couple of more books by Sigurðardóttir since I finished this book and I find her books really good. One thing I loved about this book (and the rest I've read by the author) is that its setting is on Iceland. Another thing I liked is the main characters psychologist Freyja and police officer Huldar who have to work together solving a murder case where a child is the only witness. The murder was quite brutal and little Margret could also be in danger. To make matter worse, Freyja and Huldar have a “kind of” past and they are not pleased that they have to work together, especially not Freyja. But, for the sake of the child and to solve the case must they try to work together to find out why someone would want to kill the woman.
I found the Legacy to be a very interesting book, especially that the answers were in the past. I thought it was a great change that for once read about a child psychologist and Freyja's frosty relationship with Huldar was amusing, which was needed in an otherwise very dark book. I especially liked the last part of the book when I started to realize the truth and when everything started to get a bit more dangerous for Huldar. The Legacy is a great crime novel and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thanks HarperCollins Nordic for the review copy!
I found the Legacy to be a very interesting book, especially that the answers were in the past. I thought it was a great change that for once read about a child psychologist and Freyja's frosty relationship with Huldar was amusing, which was needed in an otherwise very dark book. I especially liked the last part of the book when I started to realize the truth and when everything started to get a bit more dangerous for Huldar. The Legacy is a great crime novel and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thanks HarperCollins Nordic for the review copy!
February 4, 2025
2,5.
Tiene un comienzo de cinco estrellas, subyugante de verdad, pero el resto me ha parecido relleno. Esperaba algo que lo devolviera a la vida en algún momento -después de ese comienzo, me parecía imposible que no despegara de nuevo- pero no ha sido así (al menos para mi gusto) y al final me ha costado terminarlo.
Tiene un comienzo de cinco estrellas, subyugante de verdad, pero el resto me ha parecido relleno. Esperaba algo que lo devolviera a la vida en algún momento -después de ese comienzo, me parecía imposible que no despegara de nuevo- pero no ha sido así (al menos para mi gusto) y al final me ha costado terminarlo.
September 19, 2023
You know what? Life is too short to listen to multiple extensive descriptions of women being tortured to death.
August 7, 2024
É uma história envolvente e um mistério que prende a atenção, mas é marcado por alguns pontos fracos:
a falta de informações essenciais para a resolução do crime;
a superficialidade dos personagens principais;
e a violência desmesurada em relação às motivações do assassino.
Apesar destes aspectos, a narrativa mantém-se intrigante.
Mais um para #CrimeNaAreia
a falta de informações essenciais para a resolução do crime;
a superficialidade dos personagens principais;
e a violência desmesurada em relação às motivações do assassino.
Apesar destes aspectos, a narrativa mantém-se intrigante.
Mais um para #CrimeNaAreia
February 13, 2021
Solidan triler, koji ne samo što ima interesantnu priču iz ugla “ubistvo i razrešenje ubistva”, već pruža uvid u glave dobro realizovanih likova, a pritom biva prožet temama porodice i značaja prošlosti i krvne veze između ljudi koji žive u toj maloj, ostrvskoj državi, koju toliko želim da posetim - Islandu.
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