I love a Scandi noir, and while this isn't the most action packed- there is only one murder in the whole book- it is certainly brooding and atmospheric.
The claustrophobic life of one odd family living in a dying town, if it wasn't for the mentions of computers and mobile phones, it could well have been set in an earlier century. We have the universally disliked Vidar, his downtrodden daughter Liv, and her teenage son Simon. Once a wild child, Liv used to try and escape, going off in cars with any man who would stop for her, but Vidar always found her and brought her back. Now he rules their lives in the semi derelict house with a will of iron, refusing to have anything to do with other people.
Of course, lots of rumours circulate around the town about them..... who is Simon's father, why doesn't Liv leave, and most importantly where is all the money Vidar made from fleecing the other townsfolk. As he doesn't trust banks the general concensus is that it's all in a big safe in his wardrobe, that only he knows the combination to.
So a plot is hatched to rob him, but the ones who decide to carry it out are a couple of stoner brothers whose only employment is growing drugs, a lot of which is for their own use. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything....
The claustrophobic life of one odd family living in a dying town, if it wasn't for the mentions of computers and mobile phones, it could well have been set in an earlier century. We have the universally disliked Vidar, his downtrodden daughter Liv, and her teenage son Simon. Once a wild child, Liv used to try and escape, going off in cars with any man who would stop for her, but Vidar always found her and brought her back. Now he rules their lives in the semi derelict house with a will of iron, refusing to have anything to do with other people.
Of course, lots of rumours circulate around the town about them..... who is Simon's father, why doesn't Liv leave, and most importantly where is all the money Vidar made from fleecing the other townsfolk. As he doesn't trust banks the general concensus is that it's all in a big safe in his wardrobe, that only he knows the combination to.
So a plot is hatched to rob him, but the ones who decide to carry it out are a couple of stoner brothers whose only employment is growing drugs, a lot of which is for their own use. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything....