Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

This is a very well written book.
The author passes seamlessly from events about 20 years in the past to
The current day mystery of a dead woman outside a lighthouse.
She maintains an atmosphere of dread….that creak on the stairs mentioned in the title and used effectively in the opening, as a character lies terrified in bed, listening to the approaching danger, is maintained throughout.
There are a couple of connecting threads that are surprisingly woven together, but without them feeling particularly forced.

I’d have given it a five but there is so much abuse and assault of women and children that , had I not been so impressed with the author’s skill, I might have gone down to a two. Read at your own risk.… (more)

This was a hard one for me beginning with the Icelandic names. But once I got past that, and I struggled a bit less, I found the story slow and boring (I lost track of how many times Elma had to remember to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions). I didn't like any of the characters, their lives and whatever drama they entailed was boring. The police detectives didn't seem particularly good at detecting. The setting was a small town of maybe 8,000 people where most everyone had lived their entire lives so everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everything about what goes on in their neighbors lives. Then two people are found dead in a place with zero murders in basically forever, and the suspect pool is rather tiny, but putting the pieces together was a monumental task.

Anyway, so-so story but I rated it just below average since I ultimately didn't think that it amounted to much. I didn't learn anything about Iceland other than everyone apparently spends a lot of time browning mince. And the ending basically made no sense. There is the great escape... and then the great surrender. Why? You had to fully stretch your imagination to accept the bizarre and implausible storyline that in the last few pages allowed the author to throw in one last twist and attempt to tie everything together. And fortunate for the police - and the reader - all is laid bare by clues left behind or confessions. How convenient. I found it all just too convoluted and sort of dumb. No real crime was committed and through a series of unfortunate events no one person is culpable of the murder(s), but everyone turns out to be a criminal. Whatever.… (more)

Most Scandi-Crime novels seem to involve abuse of women or children or both, and this is no exception. I found the story a bit slow to start, but it is the first in a projected series and foundations are useful. It takes place in a small seaside town near Rekyavik (sp), in two different decades and several different voices, but it's not hard to follow. The murder and its solution are well supported by this mechanism.

But it's pretty grim. And to my surprise, the ending is, while technically correct, very unsatisfying. Maybe the next in the series will close some gaps.… (more)