When two teenagers are found brutally murdered on the island of Lidingö, dressed in white tunics and wearing crowns of candles, former French police officer Maïa Rehn joins local Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery with a shockingly dark heart. The highly anticipated sequel to the international bestselling gothic mystery, Yule Island.

As Autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into in the space of a week, two teenagers, the son of the island’s mayor and that of a powerful businessman, are brutally murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics with crowns of candles atop their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia.

Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö, where her husband has grown up, trying to come to terms with the death of their only daughter in a car accident. But when the murders shake the island community, the former police commissioner is drawn into the heart of the investigation, joining Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery as chilling as the Nordic winter. As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that a wind of vengeance is blowing through the archipelago, unearthing secrets that are as scandalous as they are inhuman.

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But what if the victims weren’t who they seemed? What if those long silenced had finally found a way to strike back? How far would they go to make their tormentors pay?

And you – how far would you go?

Dressed in a white tunic and adorned with candles, a teenager is found dead on the island of Lidingö, his skull smashed in. Twenty-three years earlier, a young girl was also found murdered in the same place, in the same garments, traditionally intended to celebrate Saint Lucia. At the time, the victim’s boyfriend was convicted of her murder, which he has always denied. Was he innocent? Has the real culprit struck again? But why now? Commissioner Aleksander Storm, with the unexpected help of French policewoman Maïa Rehn who recently moved to Sweden, stubbornly attempts to untangle the bizarre case and, in the process, uncovers a long-buried secret that holds the key to a deeper, darker mystery that will put everyone at risk…

My Review

This was a very interesting story that turned out to be far more complicated than it seemed initially. Two young teenagers murdered in the same fashion as a young woman twenty-three years earlier. The victim’s boyfriend was arrested, convicted and imprisoned. He insists that he was not guilty, but then don’t they all. We, the reader, don’t really know at this point. I didn’t have a clue.

Back to now and local Commissioner Aleksander Storm is dealing with the first murder. He is joined by former French police officer Maïa Rehn who left Paris to stay in Lidingö in Sweden, where her husband Ebbe grew up. She is trying to come to terms with the death of their only daughter in a car accident a year ago. It’s only near the end that we discover more about her back story, and it was not what I expected.

All the killings revolve around the legend of Saint Lucia, who I confess I had never heard of. She was a martyr who survived an attempt at being burnt at the stake and was eventually put to death by the sword. She was first tortured by having her eyes removed, though some versions of her story say that she gouged them out herself, yet she could still see. When she was buried, her eyes had been miraculously restored (Source Wikipedia).

But why were the three victims dressed as Saint Lucia? I could not have worked any of it out myself because the plot is far deeper and more involved. Eventually it goes in a totally different direction. Best to just go with the flow.

This is the third of Johana Gustawsson’s solo novels I have read including The Bleeding and Yule Island, both of which I adored as much as #ScarsOfSilence. Once again, David Warriner’s translation is seamless. I have also read Son written together with Thomas Enger.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France’s most highly
regarded, award-winning crime writers, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de
l`Imaginaire Award for her Gothic mystery Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books
include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and her historical thriller, The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family.

About Orenda Books

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.