Scan barcode
jennie_cole's review against another edition
4.0
Nordic mysteries are always seem to revolve around small remote towns and the bizarre people that either currently or used to live there. The Girl Who Died is no different. In the mid-80s a woman answers an add for a teacher to come to Skalar, a town at the edge of Iceland. Una arrives in a town of 10 people (and only 2 children) and immediately feels as if she is not welcome by several of the people there. Things start to get interesting around Christmas when a man appears on her doorstep looking for someone in town and then the next day one of the children dies. All this time Una is living in a haunted apartment and she starts to question everything she has been told and investigate what is happening. This type of story might not be everyone cup of tea but I highly recommend this novel.
mostlyreadingbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I am a big fan of Ragnar Jonasson’s books.
His writing style is just so atmospheric and fast paced. I love how he weaves back stories into the current story line. I always get transported straight to Iceland.
This one, especially, made me feel as if I was right there with the protagonist Una.
Una excepts a position as a teacher to 2 children in an extremely remote town in Iceland. A town with only 10 inhabitants.
Things get bit spooky and I don’t want to give away anything:
I couldn’t put it down. Loved it!!
His writing style is just so atmospheric and fast paced. I love how he weaves back stories into the current story line. I always get transported straight to Iceland.
This one, especially, made me feel as if I was right there with the protagonist Una.
Una excepts a position as a teacher to 2 children in an extremely remote town in Iceland. A town with only 10 inhabitants.
Things get bit spooky and I don’t want to give away anything:
I couldn’t put it down. Loved it!!
amr316's review against another edition
4.0
This is a solid four-star thriller. The author (and translator!) do an amazing job of crafting a claustrophobic, brooding, chilling setting — a remote Icelandic village where outsider Una struggles to fit in. As she discovers the village’s secrets she’s confronted with a bloody past that echoes into present-day.
Characterization and setting were both wonderful - I love stories about insular communities and the author painted a chilling picture. One star off for some frustrations with Una (just leave already!), a bit of a deus ex machina ending, and a plot twist that was a little too believable to be worth the slow burn runup. I was also frustrated that Una’s father’s suicide was never explored in great depth despite it obviously deeply impacting Una.
Nevertheless, this is a solid four stars and a quick read once you get through a bit of a slow beginning third.
Characterization and setting were both wonderful - I love stories about insular communities and the author painted a chilling picture. One star off for some frustrations with Una (just leave already!), a bit of a deus ex machina ending, and a plot twist that was a little too believable to be worth the slow burn runup. I was also frustrated that Una’s father’s suicide was never explored in great depth despite it obviously deeply impacting Una.
Nevertheless, this is a solid four stars and a quick read once you get through a bit of a slow beginning third.
kazza27's review against another edition
5.0
I was so excited to be asked to read and the review Ragnar’s first standalone novel. Thank you Sriya at Michael Joseph for my copy of the proof in return for a fair and honest review.
Una is all at sea, she is fed up with her life in Reykjavik and when her friend Sara sees an advert to be a teacher in the tiny community of Skylar she decides to go for it. Her mother has recently re married and she has no real life in the city and she is broke. This is only a short term position so she decides she has nothing to lose.
As soon as she arrives the atmosphere of the book changes, Skylar is isolated and bleak and only 10 people live in the village. She is teaching the only two children Edda and Kolbrun. Edda is the daughter of Salka the woman who insisted that the village hired a proper teacher.
Inga is Kolbrun’s mother and it is obvious that she does not want Una here and Una finds that the majority of the village are quite cold and hostile towards her.
On the first night Una sees a young girl looking out of the window and assumes it is Edda but she says she was in bed. Then one night she is awoken by a voice singing a lullaby. Then she is told that the house she is staying in,with Salka, is haunted by a young girl who died many years previously. Una is unnerved by this, but carries on her job. Christmas Eve arrives and Una has been put in charge of organising the carol concert and the whole village is gathered when a tragedy strikes.
This is such an unsettling read, but Ragnar writes in such a way that you have to keep reading. Una has secrets of her own and she confides in Thor another younger person in the village. It becomes clear that Skylar do not deal with the world like everyone else. They have their own rules and own ways of dealing with things. A man goes missing and Una is convinced that she saw him but everyone closes ranks and says she is mistaken but was she? Una drinks at night and when she reports the incident to the police, her drinking is revealed and she is not taken seriously. Did she really see the missing man ?
Creepy, surprising and claustrophobic, this book is exceptional. I could not put it down, it’s disturbing, psychological with the elements of the supernatural made it a really chilling read, with many twists that I did not see coming. If you like a bleak setting with chilling and unexplainable occurrences you will really enjoy this book.
I loved it
Una is all at sea, she is fed up with her life in Reykjavik and when her friend Sara sees an advert to be a teacher in the tiny community of Skylar she decides to go for it. Her mother has recently re married and she has no real life in the city and she is broke. This is only a short term position so she decides she has nothing to lose.
As soon as she arrives the atmosphere of the book changes, Skylar is isolated and bleak and only 10 people live in the village. She is teaching the only two children Edda and Kolbrun. Edda is the daughter of Salka the woman who insisted that the village hired a proper teacher.
Inga is Kolbrun’s mother and it is obvious that she does not want Una here and Una finds that the majority of the village are quite cold and hostile towards her.
On the first night Una sees a young girl looking out of the window and assumes it is Edda but she says she was in bed. Then one night she is awoken by a voice singing a lullaby. Then she is told that the house she is staying in,with Salka, is haunted by a young girl who died many years previously. Una is unnerved by this, but carries on her job. Christmas Eve arrives and Una has been put in charge of organising the carol concert and the whole village is gathered when a tragedy strikes.
This is such an unsettling read, but Ragnar writes in such a way that you have to keep reading. Una has secrets of her own and she confides in Thor another younger person in the village. It becomes clear that Skylar do not deal with the world like everyone else. They have their own rules and own ways of dealing with things. A man goes missing and Una is convinced that she saw him but everyone closes ranks and says she is mistaken but was she? Una drinks at night and when she reports the incident to the police, her drinking is revealed and she is not taken seriously. Did she really see the missing man ?
Creepy, surprising and claustrophobic, this book is exceptional. I could not put it down, it’s disturbing, psychological with the elements of the supernatural made it a really chilling read, with many twists that I did not see coming. If you like a bleak setting with chilling and unexplainable occurrences you will really enjoy this book.
I loved it
bookishwithwine's review against another edition
3.0
Mini
Una is on the fast track to nowhere when she takes a teaching job in the remote village of Skàlar. Little did she know how remote it was going to be, how isolated from the outside world she would be, and how unfriendly the locals are. The one thing that sparks her interest aside from teaching the only two children in the village is the mystery surrounding the death of the girl who once lived in the room Una is staying in.
I was so excited to read this ghost story of a book. I was immediately drawn in when Una started asking questions about the ghost living in her room. That's where it ended for me. I was disappointed when the truth came out of what really happened to the girls in the village and why. The only parts that really kept my attention were the random chapters. The first one being about a man who killed another man and then about a woman who was arrested for murders she didn't commit.
The ending also threw me off. I am not one for open endings where I'm left with a lot of questions. Although I did not enjoy this one, I do have other books by this author on my shelf that I am excited to read.
This one is out today! Thank you Minotaur Books for my #copy.
Book Rating: 3/5
Wine Pairing: Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon
Una is on the fast track to nowhere when she takes a teaching job in the remote village of Skàlar. Little did she know how remote it was going to be, how isolated from the outside world she would be, and how unfriendly the locals are. The one thing that sparks her interest aside from teaching the only two children in the village is the mystery surrounding the death of the girl who once lived in the room Una is staying in.
I was so excited to read this ghost story of a book. I was immediately drawn in when Una started asking questions about the ghost living in her room. That's where it ended for me. I was disappointed when the truth came out of what really happened to the girls in the village and why. The only parts that really kept my attention were the random chapters. The first one being about a man who killed another man and then about a woman who was arrested for murders she didn't commit.
The ending also threw me off. I am not one for open endings where I'm left with a lot of questions. Although I did not enjoy this one, I do have other books by this author on my shelf that I am excited to read.
This one is out today! Thank you Minotaur Books for my #copy.
Book Rating: 3/5
Wine Pairing: Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon
ajitate's review against another edition
2.0
Too many annoying implausibilities regarding poisons and a very unsatisfying ending.
kaleenazagrzebski's review against another edition
5.0
After devouring the Dark Iceland series by Ragnar Jonasson earlier this year, and having had the Hidden Iceland series on my shelf, unread for way too long, I knew his latest standalone was something that I needed to read.
The Girl Who Died is set in Skalar, a small isolated fishing village in Northern Iceland that is home to less than a dozen people. Una has recently graduated and is looking for a change, so she decides to take on a teaching job in Skalar, but when she arrives, she finds out she is going to be teaching only two students.
The Girl Who Died was a really quick read for me! I found myself captivated by Jonasson’s writing. I love the isolated Icelandic setting of the book and the “locked room mystery” feel. Similar to the Dark Iceland series, this isn’t a fast paced thriller, but more of a dark, slow paced book that centers around a tragedy that happens shortly after Una arrives that seems to be very similar to something that happened many years ago.
The Girl Who Died is set in Skalar, a small isolated fishing village in Northern Iceland that is home to less than a dozen people. Una has recently graduated and is looking for a change, so she decides to take on a teaching job in Skalar, but when she arrives, she finds out she is going to be teaching only two students.
The Girl Who Died was a really quick read for me! I found myself captivated by Jonasson’s writing. I love the isolated Icelandic setting of the book and the “locked room mystery” feel. Similar to the Dark Iceland series, this isn’t a fast paced thriller, but more of a dark, slow paced book that centers around a tragedy that happens shortly after Una arrives that seems to be very similar to something that happened many years ago.
fann3r's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
bremblebee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5