The legacy

*Starred Review* In Reykjavik, seven-year-old Margrét witnesses her mother's murder, and, Freyja, head psychologist at the Children's House, agrees to try coaxing details from her. It's always a challenge to secure reliable information from traumatized children under the pressure of detectives pushing for leads, and matters are complicated further when Freyja recognizes the lead detective, Huldar, as a recent hook-up who lied about his identity, making their collaboration decidedly barbed. Huldar kicks himself for souring an important ally, especially on a case that has begun looking like a career-ender. The only evidence in Elísa Bjarnadóttir's murder is Margrét's somewhat surreal description of the killer and her claims that he told Elísa he was after revenge. Huldar is convinced that the case will make or break on Margrét's memories, and he places her in protective custody with reluctant Freyja as the killer hunts his loose end. When elderly widow Ástrós Einerdóttir is murdered with the killer's bizarre signature, Huldar's team struggles to find the victims' connections. Meanwhile, Karl, an unsuspecting shortwave-radio operator, has figured out that the numbers broadcast on a coded channel he's discovered are identification numbers: his, Elísa's, and Ástrós'. This complex, character-driven procedural, the first in a new series from Sigurdardóttir, whose recent efforts have been supernatural-tinged thrillers, is powerfully rooted in buried secrets of childhood trauma. Recommended for fans of Tana French and Camilla Läckberg.--Tran, Christine Copyright 2018 Booklist

This relentlessly paced series launch from Sigurdardottir (The Undesired) is as stark and horrifying as any of the ancient Icelandic sagas. In 1987, three orphaned siblings fall victim to bureaucratic exigency: the sister, because she is more desirable to potential adoptive parents, is separated from her two older brothers. Flash forward to 2015, when an intruder slips into the Reykjavík home of Elisa, a young mother, while her husband is away and brutally murders her. Huldar, a police detective shakily directing his first homicide investigation, joins forces with Freyja, a psychologist specializing in the care of traumatized children. Margrét, Elisa's unhappy eldest child who was cowering under the bed where her mother was killed, gradually reveals clues to the killer's identity. Meanwhile, Karl, a reclusive loner, untangles clues he hears on his ham radio. Sigurdardottir's trademark sly ironies, often directed at official fumbling, can be downright ghoulish. Others are deliciously hilarious: Huldar and Freyja, pulled together for the case, realize they had a "well-oiled" one-night stand a little earlier. Each character is brilliantly conceived. Few readers will be able to put down this powerful tale of revenge. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

For a small country with a low crime rate (1.8 murders a year), Iceland produces a fair number of mystery writers with gruesomely dark imaginations. Among the most notable is Sigurdardóttir, whose chilling The Silence of the Sea won the 2015 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. In a departure from her books featuring lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdottir and a spooky stand-alone (I Remember You), the author launches a new series introducing a sleuthing duo, newly promoted detective Huldar and Freyja, director of the Children's House refuge for traumatized and abused children, who are called in to interview a seven-year-old girl who witnessed her mother's brutal murder while hiding under a bed. As the two hunt for clues to the killing and the other bizarre murders that follow, readers will wonder how this crime links to the prolog, set in 1987, in which three young siblings are split up and sent to separate adoptive families. The final reveal will have them scratching their heads. Really? All these convoluted red herrings for this clunky, unbelievable ending? Likewise, Sigurdardóttir's protagonists (who share a brief past via a disappointing one-night stand) are not particularly compelling. Verdict Although not up to the author's high standards, this thriller will have Nordic noir fans turning the pages. [Library marketing.]-Wilda Williams, Library Journal © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.