Hello! Welcome to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Blog Tour for Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner, which was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 27 November 2024.
About the book
Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide? As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
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Yule Island is another beautifully haunting triumph from Johana Gustawsson. This book is perfect for reading now the temperature has dropped significantly – we had the first snow of the season last night! – as it is full of chillingly vivid descriptions of the frost covered landscape, the island, waterways and the manor house. There is a fabulous juxtaposition between the hostile reception Emma receives to her presence in the family manor house and the welcome warmth of the other islanders in the cosy cafe, Ett Glas.
The book is told from multiple viewpoints with quick short chapters jumping from character to character which works well to build the story and the tension. Emma is a sympathetic character in an increasingly difficult situation. Karl is hardworking and dogged in his determination to solve the case. I enjoyed the amusing scenes with Karl’s boss, Siv, with her increasingly disgusting sounding health food and drinks, plus her big lovable dog.
There are strong themes of ancient Viking rites and practices alongside the more modern murders. The story is elegantly articulated by Johana Gustawsson and translated by David Warriner and so cleverly plotted, with shocking twists which make you rethink everything that has gone before (my mouth literally fell open) on its way to a deeply disturbing denouement. Yule Island is incredible and I whole-heartedly recommend it. I think it is my book of the year.
With huge thanks to the publisher for my copy of Yule Island and to Random Things Tours for my spot on the blog tour.
If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book:
Shelve on Goodreads | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Waterstones
About the author
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press, and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in 23 countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France, receiving critical acclaim across the globe, and Yule Island has won multiple awards, including Book of the Year with France’s biggest retailer, Cultura, and has been optioned for the screen. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.
About the Blog Tour
Please check out the rest of the great posts on the tour for Yule Island:
juliapalooza.com 