Review of FREYJA by Margrét Ann Thors (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This psychological suspense novel is set in Iceland.

In 2018 Unnur is a single mother to seven-year-old Lilja. She lives a quiet life in Reykjavík, but she is haunted by what happened when she was eleven years old and living in the remote Dark Valley. There she befriended Freyja who mysteriously vanished one night. Unnur has only fragments of memories of what happened that night so she worries that she might have been somehow responsible for Freyja’s disappearance.

When Unnur’s ex-husband returns to Iceland, he is accompanied by a new girlfriend Lóa who seems to know a lot about Unnur’s past. Lóa is a detective who opens a cold case investigation into Freyja’s disappearance so Unnur is desperate to recover her memories of what happened almost three decades earlier. If she is implicated in Freyja’s presumed death, Lilja would be taken from her.

The chapters alternate between the past (1990-1991) set in southern Iceland and the present (2028) set in both Reykjavík and Dark Valley. Unnur is the narrator, but, as she admits, she is an unreliable one because of her broken memories. Also there is much she did not understand when she was a pre-teen.

Unnur’s love for Lilja is her outstanding trait; she will do anything to keep her daughter safe. There are times, however, where her behaviour is rather strange. She commits a crime to take back a possession that means a great deal to her. Considering the nature of the crime, it’s impossible that her guilt will not be discovered. And if this item means so much to her, why didn’t she get it earlier? She had ample time and could easily have acquired it without committing a crime. (And how did the thief who stole this item know about its importance to Unnur?) Why doesn’t Unnur tell Geir the truth when he’s so open to hearing her story? Instead she confides in Pétur, a man she’s just met? She leaves her key in her car and doesn’t shut the door?

The behaviour of the villain is far-fetched. I’ve heard about playing the long game, but the amount of patience and strategic planning required are unbelievable. Naming a child after a hated person makes no sense. And Nói’s obliviousness seems extreme.

The plot relies too much on coincidence. A novel based on Freyja’s story has just been published, a journalist becomes interested in the case, and Lóa returns to Iceland, all at virtually the same time. Then there’s the timing of the meeting between Elias and Palli. The revelations are timed just too perfectly. Unnur strokes the image on a photo and her memories return?

The novel examines memory and how unreliable it can be. Certainly memories of traumatic events can be buried so Unnur’s fragmented memories make sense. However, her having no memory whatsoever of one person seems strange, especially because she does remember a visit to the church in Dark Valley.

I fell in love with Iceland when I visited a few years ago, so I loved the descriptions of the setting. Of course, when I read about the black sand beach of Dark Valley, I pictured Reynisfjara with its cave, basalt columns, sea stacks, and the dangerous sneaker waves.

This book has some typical weaknesses of a debut novel, but it is entertaining nonetheless. I will be on the lookout for the author’s next offering.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of SEND FOR ME by Lauren Fox

 3 Stars

This book is historical fiction but based on the author’s family letters.

Klara and Julius own a bakery in Feldenheim, Germany. They have a daughter Annelise who, as a young girl, yearns for more than working with her parents in the family business. Eventually she marries Walter and they have a daughter, Ruth. In 1938, Annelise, Walter, and Ruth leave for the U.S. amidst rising anti-Semitism. They settle in Milwaukee and try to arrange for Klara and Julius to join them. After Annelise’s death, her granddaughter Clare finds a cache of letters from Klara to Annelise.

The narrative weaves between the perspectives of Annelise and Clare, interspersed with excerpts from Klara’s letters. Briefly the points of view of Julius, Walter, and other secondary characters are also given. There is little plot, but the reader does see Annelise growing up and then building a new life in the U.S. Then there’s Clare; we see her in her late twenties as she finds it difficult to be far from her childhood home though she is in a relationship with Matthew, a graduate student who will be returning to London in a few months.

I enjoyed the first part of the novel focusing on life in Germany, but as the plot became more fragmented, I lost interest. Much is vague, left unexplained, so I found myself disconnected from the story. Some things that are included seem purposeless. What, for instance, is the purpose of the attraction between Annelise and her husband’s best friend?

I found the characters lacklustre. Clare, for instance, strikes me as whiny young woman waiting for a man. Annelise is also a problem for me. She mentions missing her parents, especially her mother, but she doesn’t seem to worry about what is happening in Germany. She focuses on her new life and suffers anguish about the possessions she had to leave behind. There is a sense of detachment to her; perhaps she distances herself emotionally from what is happening in her home country, but I ended up feeling detached from her.

It is Klara’s letters which I found most interesting – and heartbreaking. Her anguish over the loss of her daughter and granddaughter is palpable. Klara is desperate to be reunited with them. She doesn’t describe conditions in Germany, at least not in any detail, but her obvious anxiety, even if we are given only one sentence, says more than is needed.

The novel is about the legacy of family separation. We see the pain passed down among women of four generations. Clare, the fourth generation, says it’s impossible for her to move far away from her parents; even a few days away is traumatic. She tells Matthew that she can’t leave her parents, that is just not done: “He could never really understand the primordial soup from which she had emerged. She was obligation and reparation, rupture and remedy.”

The prose is beautiful but the fragmented and vague plotline, the colourless characters, and the abrupt ending left me unsatisfied. The entire book just felt flat. I appreciate the theme, but found that it is not developed in an interesting way.

Review of GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER by Shari Lapena (New Release)

3.5 Stars 

This is another domestic suspense novel by an author considered by many to be a master of the genre.

Jill and Ted Westcott love their luxury Brooklyn Heights brownstone the way other people love their children. It’s their sanctuary which they’ve expensively renovated and decorated to reflect their tastes. Unfortunately they cannot continue their lifestyle because Ted’s inheritance has run out and he has made some ruinous investments. Since losing the house is unthinkable for them, they decide to murder Ted’s brother Greg from whom they will inherit millions. With the killing disguised as a tragic accident, they believe they can get away with murder.

The novel made me think of Macbeth because both the novel and Shakespeare’s play focus on the aftermath of a murder and its effect on the perpetrators. (Jill even compares herself to Lady Macbeth at one point.) Jill and Ted believe they can escape any consequences as long as they didn’t make any mistakes, as long as they can trust each other, and as long as there are no surprises. Of course, not all goes as planned because they begin to receive blackmail text messages indicating someone else knows what they did.

Soon after these texts arrive, paranoia sets in. Who could possibly know what they did? They begin to suspect the blackmailer could be someone they know so friendships and relationships are impacted. They start to realize that others are ultimately unknowable. Could others be jealous of their good fortune? And, in fact, how solid is their marriage: can they really trust each other to not make self-interest a priority?

As I suspect most readers will, I identified the blackmailer quickly. There are really limited options so it’s quite obvious who is connected. In fact, I think the author expects us to correctly guess. Ted and Jill, however, panic and suspect everyone. Their choices end up making their situation worse by inadvertently revealing their guilt to others. It’s impossible not to laugh at some of their ridiculous decisions – until the consequences become serious.

It would be difficult to find a more unsympathetic couple than Ted and Jill. They are cold and heartless and morally corrupt. They don’t experience guilt at what they did; they are just paranoid that they will be caught and so are willing to do whatever is necessary to prevent that. They are wealthy and privileged but greedy, insisting on holding on to the brownstone, their prized possession, regardless of the consequences to others. And they are so willing to see themselves as victims; Ted complains that he doesn’t deserve what is happening to him because “He’d always been a good person, and Greg had it coming. It’s not Ted’s fault that Greg was such a bastard and that he left him all that money.”

I really enjoyed reading about how Jill and Ted’s perceptions of themselves and each other change. Ted, for instance, decides that “He’s not a soft, effete product of privilege. He’s much more than that. He has been tested, and he has found a way to survive.” He acknowledges that he is greedy and ruthless and has a chip on his shoulder. When things go wrong, he starts to become critical of Jill; he thinks she is not being as grateful and supportive as she should be. He even calls her a shrew and thinks that she is still beautiful but “perhaps not quite as beautiful as before.”

I found the ending underwhelming; I wanted more. However, given the repeated comments about the consequences of the wealthy behaving despicably, the ending is appropriate. The book is a brisk, entertaining read, perfect for the summer.

Note:  I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of AN UNTHINKABLE THING by Nicole Lundrigan

 3.5 Stars

I prefer my audiobooks to be escapist, and this one fit the bill.

Beginning in 1958, the story is narrated by 11-year-old Tommie Ware. Aunt Celia, the woman who raised him, is murdered by a serial killer. Tommie is forced to move in with his mother Esther, a live-in housekeeper for the prominent Henneberry family. Hers is not a glamorous existence: she lives in a very small room and is at the family’s beck and call. The family has agreed to allow Tommie to stay for the summer until Esther can make other arrangements.

Tommie soon finds himself enmeshed with the Henneberry family: Muriel, the heavily medicated matriarch, expects him to indulge her whims; 15-year-old Martin, a bully and budding psychopath, uses him as a pawn in his despicable games; and Raymond, a philanderer, is just eager to have Tommie gone. And then there are the unsettling encounters with the neighbour, Mrs. Grimshaw, who seems to know a lot about the family though her mental health issues make her an unreliable witness.

Interspersed with Tommie’s narrative are news clips about and actual testimony from Tommie’s trial. Near the end of his summer stay with them, he is charged with the murder of the entire Henneberry family. I never believed Tommie to be guilty though many consider him a logical suspect. There is a definite contrast between the Tommie the reader gets to know and the one portrayed in court.

The Henneberrys are not likeable. They are a rich family behaving very badly, but their wealth gives them power and protects them so they are seen as pillars of the community. In actuality, however, one must search carefully to find a redeemable trait in any of them. Because we learn her backstory, Muriel does perhaps gain some sympathy, but her feelings of superiority and treatment of others overshadow any positive feelings a reader might have. Dr. Henneberry is an unfaithful husband who teaches his son that all women are “asking for it.” And Martin, with his overdeveloped sense of entitlement, has learned that lesson well.

Tommie is a foil for the Henneberry family members. He is sweet and innocent. Though he senses that there is something wrong with the behaviour of all of them, he doesn’t know how to express his misgivings. He wants to do the right thing, but often finds himself unable to react appropriately. He’s the character for whom it is impossible not to have sympathy because he has to come to terms with the death of his beloved aunt and has his entire life uprooted.

The title is perfect. Many unthinkable things happen, atrocious acts that almost defy description. But then there’s the epilogue where a much older Thomas reveals a secret!

Parts of the plot are predictable and the pace is slow in places, but I found the book an entertaining companion on morning walks.

Review of UNDER THE BLAZING SUN by Jenny Lund Madsen

 3 Stars

I had the same issues with this novel as I did with the first book in the series, Thirty Days of Darkness (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-thirty-days-of-darkness-by.html).

Hannah Krause-Bendix is sent by her editor to a luxurious villa in Sicily. His hope is that she will write a second crime novel that will be as successful as her first. Shortly after arrival, however, Hannah finds herself involved in a murder case. Against police orders, she begins her own investigation. (The premise is the same as in Thirty Days of Darkness in which Hannah is sent to Iceland to write.)

I find Hannah to be very unlikeable. Her arrogance becomes tiresome and annoying. She is constantly whining and wallowing in self-pity. To say she is condescending is almost an understatement: she thinks herself everyone’s superior. She even thinks of herself as a writer of high-quality literature though she is best known for writing romances. She is not a skilled investigator; she herself mentions that she stumbles upon evidence. Is she intended as a spoof of an amateur detective: an over-the-top, self-important character with no investigative skills? I kept thinking I should be amused by her but I wasn’t. She has a serious drinking problem, and I find it difficult to laugh at that.

As in Thirty Days of Darkness, there is an over-reliance on the tired clichés of crime fiction. Of course the police are incompetent and rush to conclusions. And because the novel is set in Sicily, the Mafia must make an appearance. If the book is poking fun at the tropes of crime novels, I guess it works.

The reader is certainly required to suspend disbelief. Hannah has a lot of lucky breaks: a screwdriver is found in an unlikely spot but at the most convenient time. And, again as in Thirty Days of Darkness, serious physical injuries don’t impede the injured? Then there are the inconsistencies: police tell Hannah not to involve herself in the murder case, but they let her speak to the victim’s husband at the police station? One minute Hannah suggests Lucette can talk some sense into someone because she knows him, but then minutes later Hannah suggests she herself knows him and so might be able to talk some sense into him? She stuffs a taser into her waistband but then drops it when she sees something shocking?

The most entertaining parts are the exchanges between Hannah and Jørn Jensen. In these sections, the humour shines; otherwise, I didn’t find the book funny. And as crime fiction, I found the book superficial and contrived with little tension. This book is second in the series, entitled Murder by the Book, a series marketed as a mystery series, and the award nominations for the first book are for crime fiction. So, again, I’m confused as to how I should read this book – comedy or crime fiction?

As I’ve mentioned many times before in my reviews, I have difficulty appreciating humour in written form. My rating, therefore, is intended to show that I recognize that it may not be the book that is deficient but this particular reader.

Review of IN WONDERLAND by Joyce Maynard (New Release)

3.5 Stars 

This is a coming-of-age story set in 1986 in Maine.

Fourteen-year-old Frances is hired by Regina and Forrest Emerson to be a mother’s helper for the summer at their lakefront home named Wonderland. She has to help look after 12-year-old Hayward and 6-year-old Jilly but her responsibilities are not that taxing. She finds many benefits that she doesn’t have in her home. She is given a shiny new bike and eventually gets tennis lessons at the country club. Best of all, she is able to spend time with Forrest, her father’s charismatic friend.

As expected, Wonderland proves not to be the paradise it initially seems. Frances witnesses the intimate lives and secrets of adults who prove not to be as reliable as she thought. As indicated by the prologue, the summer ends with a death that shatters the family. The book focuses on the events of the summer leading up to this death.

Frances is the narrator so the reader sees everyone and every event from her perspective. Obviously her reliability as a narrator comes into play. She is desperate for attention, something she does not get from her own parents who are focused on their contentious relationship. Because Forrest shows her some attention, she develops a crush on him. When Forrest’s attentions turn elsewhere, Frances’ loyalty shifts to Regina who takes an interest in her. The problem, as she realizes later, is that she is naive and too involved in her own situation to fully understand anyone else’s.

Frances is a very believable teenager. She is very conscious of her body; she is troubled that she has not yet developed breasts and has not started to menstruate. Most of the time she feels invisible and she desperately wants to be noticed and to feel important; this desire is her major motivation. She’s an insecure outsider who doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. She is interested in sex, but knows very little about it.

By the end of the summer, Frances learns a great deal. She learns to play tennis and she learns about the physical aspects of sex. She comes to appreciate her father’s brutal honesty which contrasts with Forrest’s ability to lie easily. Hayward annoys her throughout, but in the end she recognizes that he is not that different from her. And, of course, she learns a lot about adults, including how they have secrets and may behave less than honourably. Her feelings for Forrest change; she finds she can still love a version of him but she doesn’t like or respect him.

As I read, I developed an intense dislike for Forrest. It’s obvious that he is charming and most people find him irresistible, but I found his behaviour disturbing. When Frances first arrives, he pays her a lot of attention, almost as if he is grooming her. Even if his intentions are innocent, a 37-year-old man should be more aware of how his actions might affect a teenager. He even makes her promises which he doesn’t keep. When Brenda comes along, Frances sees another side to Forrest: he’s a liar and serial adulterer. Frances’ father Hank is Forrest’s best friend so presumably he knows about his activities. So I kept wondering why would Hank entrust his daughter to such a man?

I did have some issues with the novel. It’s a slow burn with needless repetition. The chapters are short, but some just seem unnecessary. At the end there are elements I found problematic. Who saves a fake suicide note on their computer? And the courtroom scenes and verdict are unconvincing. Why, for instance, is Frances allowed to hear the testimony of others before she herself takes the stand? Prospective witnesses remain outside the courtroom until they are called to testify to ensure they do not alter or tailor their own evidence based on what they hear.

The best aspect of this novel is its portrayal of the interior life of a teenaged girl. Frances’ choices and behaviour are not always admirable, but perfectly understandable.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of CONVICTION by Elizabeth H. Winthrop (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This novel made me think of the conflict between passion and reason and even reminded me of Romeo and Juliet and their rash decisions.

After 9/11, Maggie, raised a “Christian atheist,” converts to Islam. In 2012, she leaves Maine to live in New York City where she gets a job at a bakery owned by a Kurdish man named Sirvan. There she meets and falls in love with Sirvan’s son Ahmet. Angered by what he sees happening in Syria, Ahmet leaves to join a new rebel group emerging there, believing that ISIS will create a Muslim utopia. Without telling anyone beforehand, Maggie joins Ahmet in 2015. Once in Syria, she slowly comes to realize the magnitude of her error when she sees the brutality of ISIS.

The novel gives two perspectives: that of Maggie and that of Ann, her mother left behind in Maine. When she learns that Maggie has left for Syria, Ann grieves the loss of her daughter, worries about Maggie’s welfare, and is also confused, constantly wondering “just how it happened, how her daughter got from here to there, from Maine to Syria, from baking cakes to slinging guns across her back.” There are also snippets of the life of Noor and her family. Noor is a midwife in Syria forced to assist in delivering ISIS babies. From the beginning, the question is whether Maggie’s story and that of Noor will intersect

Maggie’s character is a key element in the novel. Her father describes her as possessing strong ideals and a will of steel. She becomes obsessed with what is happening in Syria; in fact, her father “wishes she would moderate; fixating isn’t going to do anyone any good.” She is horrified not only by Assad’s atrocities but is also angered by the treatment of Muslims in her own country and “always eager to expand her catalogue of atrocities wrought by US foreign policy.” Her desire to help is certainly understandable.

What is less easy to understand is her naivety. She allows her passion to overcome her reason; she really has no idea what awaits her in Syria. By going there, she knows she will be considered a terrorist by her own country, yet she never questions why ISIS might have been designated a terrorist group. I know that I’m reading the novel in 2026 when much more is known about ISIS, but she fully understands that she is going to a war zone and that she won’t be able to return to the US. Sirvan even warns Maggie about his son: “’Ahmet sometimes lets his passions get him into trouble. I would say to you, don’t you let your passions get you into trouble too. . . . His passion is infectious, but he can be headstrong.’”

Maggie’s love for Ahmet is a reason for her decision to join him in Syria, but their relationship is not fully developed. All they have in common is their faith and their horror at what is happening to fellow Muslims. I wanted to see more of their relationship to explain how their love and connection motivated her actions. Once she arrives in Syria, she acknowledges that there is a hard side to Ahmet, one “more myopic and determined than it was before, less tempered by the spirituality that used to balance that determination out.” Clearly she didn’t know him that well or chose not to see him clearly because the reader can certainly see, even before he leaves the US, how narrow are his views and how provocative and uncompromising he can be. Because Ahmet is Maggie’s first love, perhaps her behaviour is more understandable, but her extreme choices are difficult to accept and require some suspension of disbelief.

The novel examines idealism and the risks of its unforeseen consequences when coupled with naivety. Readers should be warned that parts of the novel are difficult to read because the actions of ISIS are described in some detail: hangings, crucifixions, beheadings, suicide bombings, and rape.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.