The Last Tenant by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

I was given a copy of #TheLastTenant in return for an honest review. It is the sixth in the #ForbiddenIceland #mystery #series but works well as a stand-alone. The author #evaaegisdottir has often been described as “a master of misdirection”. She puts in so many “red herrings” that it is impossible to guess the outcome.

When the skeletons of a young woman and a baby are discovered in the barn of a long-abandoned farm in Hvalfjörður, West Iceland CID sends Detective #Elma Jónsdóttir to investigate. Forensics reveal that the bodies were buried years apart. Meanwhile, in nearby Akranes, a young single mother and her four-year-old son are settling into a basement flat in the house of an elderly widower. Baldvin is eccentric, but he treats Karítas and little Bessi kindly. When Karítas falls for Kristófer, the attractive son of Baldwin’s neighbour, she believes she has found the fresh start she desperately needs.

The investigation changes focus when the body dug up at the abandoned farm is identified as Sólrún Sveinsdóttir. The troubled medical student was believed to have taken her own life by walking into the sea. Kristófer was the missing girl’s boyfriend.

Detective Elma’s warm personality is relatable. She is successful professionally and her supportive boss Hörður trusts her, but she suffers from self-doubt. The pressures of early motherhood and uncertainty about her relationship with Sævar also trouble her.

The author was born and bred in Akranes, so her descriptions are informed by lived experience. The landscape makes a dramatic backdrop. Victoria Cribb’s translation defines the characters clearly and reflects lingering suspense in the story.

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s debut novel, The Creak on the Stairs, was a bestseller in Iceland and won the Blackbird Award and the Storyteller Award. @OrendaBooks published it in English in 2020.

,