Freyja, Margrét Ann Thors (Review by Jean Dandois)

Freyja is really the story of Unnur, a single mom in Iceland who is dealing with several demons, most notably a traumatic childhood and a difficult divorce. Her childhood memories are murky, haunting and stressful. She constantly questions herself and it becomes clear that Freyja’s death at a young age haunts and torments her to this day. Things start to get more complex when her ex-husband shows up with a new girlfriend, who is coincidentally opening cold cases of disappearances, and her primary focus is to find out what happened to Freyja. The interactions between this trio are fraught with emotion, distrust, and ulterior motives. And all the while, Unnur is worried about the impact on her daughter, Lilja. As the story progresses, the reader learns more about Unnur’s childhood and the challenges she faced. It is bleak. While there are steps towards a better place, both physically and emotionally, it is always shadowed by the mystery of what happened to Freyja and how Unnur was involved…or not. I enjoyed this well-written book and loved the setting in Iceland – the town, the shops, the country and the challenges Unnur faces all feel authentic. The mystery itself is intriguing, and the way the flashbacks were interwoven to the present-day story was engaging and kept me interested. However, I did find the behavior of some of the characters to be extreme and even unbelievable. A few of the situations, and how characters advanced the story, were simply difficult for me to accept as realistic. It occasionally felt unnecessarily contrived which detracted from the overall excellent writing. Unfortunately, the ending simply let me down. While it wasn’t entirely predictable, it was unsatisfying and melodramatic. This is a good story and recommended if you enjoyed The Girl On The Train or The Woman In The Window. Given the promise shown by this author, I’d certainly read her next book.