In The Girl Who Died, Una travels to an isolated village in northern Iceland to teach two young girls. The community has a population of only ten. The climate is cold and foggy. The neighbors are less than friendly. And then there is the nightly visitation from the ghostly girl in Una’s attic flat.
“Teacher wanted at the edge of the world.”
The atmosphere is thick in the newest Nordic noir to be translated for US audiences. As with all Nordic noir, the pacing is as slow as molasses dripping from a spoon. Usually, that is solved by speeding up as the conclusion arrives. However, in The Girl Who Died, the ending is very disappointing. It almost seems like the author reached the number of pages the editor requested and just had to tie up the entire plot in five pages or less.
If you read this type of book for the atmosphere, then this book is for you. Otherwise, it is probably best to wait for it to be made into a film. Hopefully, the screenwriter will punch up the ending. 2.5 stars.
Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.