Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner Paperback Tour
This brilliant book is now out in paperback.
Art expert Emma Lindhal is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
#YuleIsland X(Twitter) @JoGustawsson @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #bookX #booktwitter
Instagram @johanagustawsson @orendabooks @randomthingstours #bookstagram #blogtour
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key to the first?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter..
My Review
You often read a synopsis which says that the book is full of twists and turns. Except you guess most of them. Or an ending you won’t see coming, though you do. Well, what can I say! Yule Island is as twisty as they get and you really won’t see what’s coming.
At one point, about three quarters of the way through, I thought what the hell? What just happened? Then there’s another twist and then another, until the whole story is turned on its head. Because you made an assumption and it was wrong. And then another, which was also wrong. When you realise, you think ‘of course’. But the clues are so well hidden, like Gustav’s secret tunnel. We trust the characters we are supposed to trust and dislike others because we are led that way. It’s so cleverly done that I was really shocked.
The story is told from the point of view of three of the characters. Art expert Emma Lindahl is working alone at the manor house on Storholmen island to appraise the artefacts, antiques and paintings of one of Sweden’s richest families, the Gussmans. Detective Karl Rosén is the police officer who investigated the ‘hanging girl’ murder in the grounds of the house nine years ago. It was never solved and now another dead girl has been found in the ice, killed in a very similar fashion. Viktoria is a housekeeper for the family living there. She is worried about her daughter Josephine and her relationship with the teenage son of the owners. He is obsessed with mythology and folklore and ghosts coming out of the ground.
It’s very sinister and terrifying. Emma is amazingly brave to work in the house on her own. She is on a very strict schedule and is not supposed to visit at any other times, which also seems a bit bizarre as there is never anyone else around. The owner Niklas Gussman met her when she arrived and was rude and distant. But she makes friends with the residents of the island, like Anneli at the Ett Glas cafe, Lotta who brings people over on the boat, and Lotta’s husband Björn, who has worked at the manor as a handyman for decades.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in 28 countries. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding – number one bestseller in France and the first in a new series – will be published in 2022. Johana lives on the west coast of Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.
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.
