Born in Sweden, this author now lives in Alberta, Canada–miles and decades away from the setting and the political situation in Scandinavia during WW 2. I had always assumed that Sweden was neutral during the war, but this historical fiction suggests otherwise. And it was surprising to learn that there was mistreatment of indigenous peoples there as well. Ekbäck combines these elements into a nordic noir thriller.
Three people take turns narrating the story: Laura works in the office of a chief negotiator and is privy to ongoing discussions about German access to Swedish iron ore. When her friend is found tortured and murdered, Laura sets out to find the killer. Jens works for the government, and is becoming unsettled by recent events in the office that point to secret negotiations with the Reich. In Lapland, near the iron mine, people are disappearing. Taneli, a young Sami boy, decides to investigate after his sister goes missing.
This is the third book by this author that focuses on the same fictional mountain in Lapland, although the books are not a series. The first two books are called Wolf Winter and In the Month of the Midnight Sun.
There are secrets and conspiracies everywhere, and the three main characters try to make sense of it all. As they come nearer to the truth, they are caught in a dangerous and dark reality that involves those who they thought were friends, as well as a country they thought they knew.
The Swedish history was interesting, and this novel does have some glowing reviews, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. It was a book club pick, so I persevered and I really tried to like it, but I often found it convoluted, confusing and slow, even though it is meant to be page turner. Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres precisely because I learn so much by getting pulled into an earlier time and place, and I did learn from this one too, but the author failed to draw me into the story and didn’t help me care about the characters in any meaningful way.
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