Camilla Grebe

Elizabeth Clark Wessel

The Ice Beneath Her

Janice Hopper

I found this book on a list of Scandinavian noir mysteries. When I saw Scribd had it in audio, I figured I'd try it.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. I confess that Scandinavian/Nordic mysteries hold a peculiar charm for me. Something about the colder climate, the sensibilities of the people, and I don't know what all else just sucks me in. I've watched a lot of the on Netflix too.

This one starts with a murder. It bounces between three main points of view, thoughtfully portrayed in the audiobook by three different narrators. It also bounces around in time, giving us glimpses of the backgrounds of Peter, the unhappy police detective, the troubled girl Emma, and Hanne, the criminal profiler who's just been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Early on, you think you have a pretty good handle on what's happenng in the mystery part of the story, but there are some surprises ahead.

These aren't particularly happy people, for the most part, but you still kinda root for them. And I was totally sucked in through probably the last quarter of the book, to learn how it was all going to work out.

Good stuff. Recommended.

Judith Dominguez 

I don’t really like the gender but the characters were so engaging and well written.

The Ice Beneath Her

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