There are two storylines - Freyr, a psychologist living on the mainland and Katrin, a woman rehabbing a creepy old house on an isolated island with her husband and friend.

I found Freyr's storyline ... incredibly boring. His day to day activities are described in painful detail and very little happens to him until about 70% of the way through the book. He's also a romantic mess, imagining a relationship with every woman he meets (which is vaguely explained by his past but still feels odd when he's meant to be suffering over the death of his son and working to untangle the bizarre facts of a newer, similar, case).

I really enjoyed Katrin's storyline. Reading about people being haunted and hunted by a child demon on an island is the best.

I thought the ending was satisfying and I was glad the supernatural elements weren't explained away.

4.25

So scary!

3.5 ⭐️

It took me so long to finish this book for two reasons; 1) I'm busy with schoolwork and research, 2) this ghost story creeped me the fekk out! Seriously! I usually read just before bed so that I can relax and get in a little escapism. What compelled me to read this? What was I thinking?? First, ghost stories don't really scare me. In fact, I can find the humour in them and enjoy the goosebumps vibe to them. And I've read my fair share of creepy horror books. But THIS story had me creeped out from the jump! I kept hearing odd noises in my house, kept seeing things move in the shadows. I just scared myself silly! So it took a while to get through. Finally, I could only read it during daylight hours. I'm not kidding. But I'm glad I finished it.

I'd read some Scandinavian noir and police procedurals and I liked them. A lot. But I'd never read any Icelandic authors before trying this one. That'll learn me! Ha! On the creep score, she's a master. On the other hand, there were some characterizations and plots turns that could have been more developed or deleted entirely. Otherwise, this novel clipped along just fine. She's a fantastic writer. Would I recommend? Absolutely. Only if this genre interests you. With that said ...

I may give some of her other books a try. Someday. But not anytime soon. I need time to recover.