FICTION

The Silence of the Sea

Minotaur: St. Martin's. Feb. 2016. 366p. tr. from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb. ISBN 9781250051486. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466852341. MYS
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OrangeReviewStarIn the truly chilling sixth entry in the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series (after Someone To Watch over Me), a luxury yacht sails into Reykjavik harbor and crashes into a jetty; it's soon discovered that there is no one on board. The crew of three and the passengers, a married couple and their young twin daughters, seem to have vanished into thin air, but there is no evidence of foul play. Lawyer Thóra gets involved when the grandparents of the missing family ask for her assistance in gaining legal custody of their toddler grandchild who was left in their care when her parents and siblings flew to Lisbon to pick up the yacht. As Thóra investigates, a body washes ashore further up the coast. Is it from the Lady K? And where is Karítas, the young wife of the yacht's former owner? Adding to the reader's growing sense of unease are the flashbacks to the family on the yacht. What starts out as a happy holiday cruise slowly turns into a voyage of terror. At times the suspense is so unbearable that the Thóra scenes come as a relief. Although the final twisty reveal is a bit clunky, the last chapter will break your heart.
VERDICT This spooky, haunting thriller, which won the 2015 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year, will grab the attention of readers who enjoyed Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. [See Prepub Alert, 8/10/15; library marketing.]
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