There were a huge amount of books out forward this year, and I was very fortunate to read a handful. So I thought I'd share my thoughts on a few of them, and here's the first.
The Blurb:
Everyone loves a family reunion.
He can deny it all he likes, but everyone knows Viking warlord Unnthor Reginsson brought home a great chest of gold when he retired from the longboats and settled down with Hildigunnur in a remote valley. Now, in the summer of 970, adopted daughter Helga is awaiting the arrival of her unknown siblings: dark, dangerous Karl, lithe, clever Jorunn, gentle Aslak, henpecked by his shrewish wife, and the giant Bjorn, made bitter by Volund, his idiot son.
And they're coming with darkness in their hearts.
The siblings gather, bad blood simmers and old feuds resurface as Unnthor's heirs make their moves on the old man's treasure - until one morning Helga is awakened by screams. Blood has been shed: kin has been slain.
No one confesses, but all the clues point to one person - who cannot possibly be the murderer, at least in Helga's eyes. But if she's going to save the innocent from the axe and prevent more bloodshed, she's got to solve the mystery - fast . . .
Lies. Manipulation. Murder. There's nothing quite like family.
My Review:
To my shame, I haven't read much Scandinavian crime. And I very rarely read books that aren't set in the present, or fairly decent past. So this book, which features a Viking family in the year 970, was going to be an interesting read for me, but, to be honest, I wasn't expecting too much.
Well how wrong I was! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it..
The scene setting is brilliant. I could imagine the homestead in front of me, and see myself sitting in the kitchen. It was very evocative. All the characters are richly described - strengths and weaknesses. I loved the main character, young Helga, already growing into a confident young woman, and her adoptive parents, Unnthor Reginsson and Hildigunnur Heidreksdottir, a truly formidable pair. But also the children of Unnthor and Hildigunnur, their spouses and the grandchildren, as they gather together for the first time in years, are exquisitely drawn, the four adult children particularly.
The story moves at a slower pace than I'm used to, and we're a fair way through the book before the first crime is committed. But as soon as the family start to gather, the tension begins, and keeps rising. There is a real sense of claustrophobia around the story, and the air is thick with a growing menace.
We see the relationships and interactions between different family members through Helga's eyes as she watched the siblings she has never met before, and realised things their parents don't. All these meetings and conversations are beautifully written and I particularly enjoyed the strong women who form the heart of this story. And it was great to hear some Viking tales.
This is the story of a family falling apart from within and ending up battered and bruised. But absolutely, definitely not beaten. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.
You can buy Kin on Amazon UK and US
The Author:
Snorri Kristjansson was born in Reykjavik in 1974. He has since lived in Norway, where he found a passionate aversion to skiing, London and now Edinburgh with his wife, where he dabbles in classical acting and stand-up comedy while teaching English.
His fantasy series, The Valhalla Saga, and his crime series, Kin and Council, are published by Jo Fletcher Books. Kin is the first in the Helga Finnsdottir series. They all have Vikings in, so expect moderate cursing and beards.
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