I am an Icelandic writer, best known for crime fiction although I have also written horror and children’s books. From a young age I have been a fan of creepiness and horror. My threshold for the macabre is thus high, maybe best witnessed by me noting that my first crime series featuring lawyer Thora was a cosy crime series, only to be reminded that in the first installment the eyes of a dead body were removed with a teaspoon, in the second a child was killed and the third featured decapitation. Whenever I need a reprise from writing crime I revert to horror, the best received of these being I Remember You.
I wrote...
I Remember You: A Ghost Story
By
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
What is my book about?
I Remember You was written as an experiment in running a crime novel and a thriller side by side. In my opinion the difference between the two lies in the propelling event, which in crime fiction traditionally happens at the onset while in a thriller it has not taken place – will it/will it not happen? For the thriller part I chose to write a ghost story as I wanted it to involve fear and there is nothing like fear stemming from something you have no control over. The two seemingly unrelated stories involve a doctor whose son went out to play hide and seek, hid and was never seen again and three friends that go to an abandoned town in the dead of winter and realise they are not alone, a bummer for them as they have no possible way of contacting civilization. The best review I received for this book was from a reader that kept it in his car overnight as he found it so uncomfortable and malevolent.
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The Books I Picked & Why
The Lost Village
By
Camilla Sten,
Alexandra Fleming
Why this book?
Anyone obsessing over the disappearance of the Roanoke settlers will enjoy this book. As will those that have never heard of the incident or couldn’t care less. It actually has nothing to do with Roanoke but at its core is the same type of mystery, the disappearance of the inhabitants of a whole town in the past. The pacing of the book is great and the creepiness is all-encompassing while you alternate between two timelines, accompanying a documentary crew in the present trying to make heads of what happened and the past events leading up to the mystery. To be corny, it is unputdownable.
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The Darkest Room
By
Johan Theorin
Why this book?
Johan Theorin has received so much praise and accolades for this book that it feels a bit repetitive to heap more on. But here goes anyway. Like most of the books recommended here this one couples a mystery and a ghost story, never leaning completely to one side. The family moving into and restoring an old house is not exactly trailblazing in the ghostly realm but that does not matter at all. There is never too much of a good thing in my opinion. But make no mistake that a haunted house is not all that is being dealt with here, enter lighthouses, past shipwrecks, and drownings. Throw in present-day drug-addicted burglars, a tragedy, and excerpts from an old manuscript and the outcome is a master class in eeriness, drawing from an incredible sense of place and great storytelling.
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The Girl Who Died: A Thriller
By
Ragnar Jonasson
Why this book?
If small-town creepy mystery is your thing, then the setting of this book´s setting is the mother of all such premises. The book takes place in a small, remote fishing village with only a handful of inhabitants. None of which are exactly warm or welcoming to newcomers. We witness odd goings-on through the eyes of a young teacher, hired to teach the two children residing in the minuscule community. To add to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the situation, the attic room the protagonist is provided is haunted by the ghost of a young girl. This book is atmospheric and best enjoyed in a solitary environment, read by candlelight. Highly recommended for those in need of a creepy, ghostly fix.
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Let the Right One in
By
John Ajvide Lindqvist,
Ebba Segerberg
Why this book?
I am not impressed by vampire novels as I always feel as if I am being gypped into reading romance. First off, this book is not that book, although it involves a vampire. A twelve-year-old vampire to be exact, the best kind. I will admit that it will not leave you sleeping with the lights on or weaving a garlic necklace. It is understated when it comes to jump scares but manages to evoke dread nonetheless. What I loved about the book is its fresh take on vampires, the morose setting, and the no holds barred gruesomeness. So many things go sideways in such horrible ways that it is hard to pick the most harrowing scene from the buffet of depravity on offer. However, it is by no means a gorefest written by a nut job. It is extremely well written and does not disrespect the idea of a vampire by shrouding the story in sugar-coated romance.
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I Am Behind You
By
John Ajvide Lindqvist
Why this book?
It is only fair that John Ajvide Lindqvist gets two mentions out of my five. He is the Nordic author most committed to the genre and damn good at it to boot. As a result, there was a lot to choose from and yet I decided on the title that is possibly the least likely to hold mass appeal, despite a premise that might seem most horror reader’s cup of tea. Ten people in campervans, plus a dog and a cat, wake up to find the world as they knew it has disappeared. What happens next is presented from a multiple POW and is disturbing, harrowing, gory, and creepy. The part that is not for everyone is that the story is hard to wrap your head around. But for those horror aficionados that do not need a perfect explanation at the end are in for a hell of a ride and therefore the novel is highly recommended.
