Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson (translated by David Warriner)

One Christmas gift I hadn't bargained on and could really, really have done without is Covid, so feeling very sorry for myself just now! But one Christmas present that I was delighted to treat myself to was a copy of the new book from one of my favourite authors. Welcome to my blog tour stop for Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson and translated into English by David Warriner. Huge thanks Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review ebook.

The Blurb

The number one bestselling, haunting new gothic thriller from the 'Queen of French Noir', this is the first in a series and based on true events.

Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she's asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.

Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?

As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.

When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman's tragic death somehow hold the key?

Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia's deepest, darkest winter….

My Review

Johana Gustawsson is one of my go to authors, an automatic buy, because I've loved everything of hers I've read. So much so that I bought a limited first edition hardback copy of Yule Island, having not read it first (as I did with her previous book, The Bleeding). Yes, I was excited. She is also just one of the loveliest people too, although her books are, by contrast, very dark and often chilling. And as this one is set in the dead of winter, it is even more so! 

The book opens in 2012 with policeman Karl Rosén heading to Storholmen, a small island just a short crossing over the water from Stockholm where the body of a young woman has been discovered. Fast forward to 2021 and art and antiquities expert Emma is apprehensive about heading over to Storholmen to value the contents of the Gussman manor house as she knows they are one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. And the whole country knows of 'The Hanging Girl' from nine years earlier, a story which causes Emma to shiver. Settling into regular visits to the island and her work there she is struck by just how silent it is. It's quite unnerving in the early days. A shocking discovery in the manor house leads her to cross paths with Karl, back on the island to investigate the death of another young woman. Events lead them down a path they could not have foreseen...

It's not often I lead with scene setting over characters but I want to give special mention to the island of Storholmen, because it absolutely makes for a character itself, and to know it's a real place only makes it better. Some of the characteristics of the real island may have been exaggerated here, but I was struck by its seemingly overwhelming silence, eerie at the beginning, more comforting as time goes on. I know there are no cars on the island but there seems to be an absence of most noise. Perhaps because there is nowhere for visitors to stay not much for them to do. But it really piqued my interest.

Emma is young and enthusiastic but professional, determined to make a good impression with her new clients despite a certain sense of imposter syndrome. She doesn't seem to have many friends, save for the fabulous Lulu, but warms to a few islanders - l loved water taxi pilot Lotte. Emma makes discovery upon discovery in the manor house, many of which she really struggles with, and it's really no wonder! Karl has been a policeman for a good while, knows the law, knows right from wrong. He's full of sadness over an unsolved murder from the past and can't help fearing that this one is related in some way. But both of the main characters have their own demons to deal with, and their stories are skilfully teased out through the book. 

I'm sorry, this review is clunker than I'd hoped cos I've got brain fog but will aim for a neater wrap up! Whilst there are shocks early on, the full horror of the story builds throughout the book meaning the tension ratchets right up. And due to the insular nature of the setting, it feels very claustrophobic. I tell you, you won't want to put it down! It's beautifully written with endearing, well drawn protagonists from very different worlds. I know this is the beginning of a series but I don't know if either or both will be making a return in the follow ups but I would to see this. Whilst it's well known I like my crime on the dark side, I can only enjoy if it's balanced by some light moments. There aren't loads here, particularly with the sense of mounting dread, but they are handled well with some genuinely touching moments. 

Full of twists and turns, Yule Island had me wincing, grimacing, even gasping out loud. A tale crossing time, it touches on family, relationships, love and folklore. And it's dark. Devilishly dark. I loved it, easily one of my favourites of the year. 

I'm not organised enough to have posts already scheduled and given as I'm not well, there is unlikely to be anything from me before next Monday, so I'll take this opportunity to wish those of you who celebrate a very happy Christmas and best wishes to everyone for the new year, in case I'm not back before then! 

The Author

Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number one bestseller in France and received immense critical acclaim across the globe. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.