When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. She spins them a story to hide her involvement, but she can feel the net closing in.
Is Gíó alive or dead? In hiding or hunting her down? And can Júlia get to the truth before it destroys her?
~ ~ ~
Another Icelandic noir that I am putting right up there was one of my favourite reads for the year (Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's "The Creak on the Stairs" was my first Icelandic thriller - aside from the Icelandic Sagas of old.).
Not only is the reader compelled to finish this mystery, but also impelled by the unreliable first person narrative of Julia and the investigation into the disappearance of "husband" Gíó.
The concise chapters move back and forth as Julia recounts current events and those from her past in an effort to draw the reader into her mindset. But we know her version of events is unreliable as she constantly lets us know that she is a habitual liar, who lies easily and unaffectedly.
"I enjoyed the way lying tasted"
"I have a habit of lying"
Julia constantly yet not consistently puts forward her version of events and whilst the police net is closing in around her, a decided lack of proof sees Julia embark on her own quest .... for freedom ... for survival. This is another point she makes quite clear to the reader - she is a survivor!
Is this mystery solved .... well, that is for each reader to decide.
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