You Can’t See Me by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

The wealthy, powerful Snaeberg clan has gathered for a family reunion at a futuristic hotel set amongst the dark lava flows of Iceland's remote Snaefellsnes peninsula. Petra Snaeberg, a successful interior designer, is anxious about the event, and her troubled teenage daughter, Lea, whose social-media presence has attracted the wrong kind of followers.

Ageing carpenter Tryggvi is an outsider, only tolerated because he's the boyfriend of Petra's aunt, but he's struggling to avoid alcohol because he knows what happens when he drinks ...

Humble hotel employee, Irma, is excited to meet this rich and famous family and observe them at close quarters ... perhaps too close...

As the weather deteriorates and the alcohol flows, one of the guests disappears, and it becomes clear that there is a prowler lurking in the dark. But is the real danger inside ... within the family itself?

Masterfully cranking up the suspense, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir draws us into an isolated, frozen setting, where nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted, as the dark secrets and painful pasts of the Snaeberg family are uncovered ... and the shocking truth revealed.

Succession meets And Then There Were None ...

About the author

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland to write her first novel. Combining writing with work as a stewardess and caring for her children, Eva finished her debut thriller ‘The Creak on the Stairs’ in 2018. It became a bestseller in Iceland, going on to win the Blackbird Award. Published in English by Orenda Books in 2020, it became a digital number-one betseller in three countries, was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Awards in two categories and won the CWA John Creasey Dagger in 2021. Girls Who Lie, the second book in the Forbidden Iceland series was shortlisted for the Petrona Award and the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger, and Night Shadows followed suit. With over 200,000 copies sold in English alone, Eva has become one of Iceland’s – and crime- fiction’s – most highly regarded authors. She lives in Reyjavik with her husband and three children.

Review

‘You Can’t See Me’ is a chilling look at how rivalries, secrets and wealth can tear a family apart.

I have really enjoyed reading the Forbidden Iceland series and I was wondering how a prequel would work. The timing is that is it set slightly before Elma joins the station but we still have Detectives Saevar and Horour in the story briefly. This is certainly a murder mystery but it's not a police procedural. It is more of a look into relationships, family ties and the corruption of wealth. The majority of the book is told from the point of view of the family members so it feels slightly different to the rest of the series. You can definitely pick this book up as a standalone and use it as a stepping stone to the rest of the series. Trust me you will want to read them after reading this one!

The wealthy Snaeberg family are holding a reunion in a remote futuristic hotel, which is set among the lava fields of the Snaefellsnes peninsula and they are the only guests present. Petra Snaeberg runs a successful interior design firm and has the whole world at her feet but she is nervous about meeting up with her family. Lea, her teenage daughter has been attracting the wrong kind of attention on social media and is scared there is someone out there looking in on the family enjoying themselves. Ageing carpenter Tryggvi is seen as a outsider as he is only a boyfriend of Petra’s aunt but is struggling to stay on the wagon. Irma is a hotel employee and is very excited at the prospect of the family staying there. As the weather deteriorates, the alcohol flows one of the guests disappears. It is soon clear that there is someone observing the family but is the real danger actually within the family itself…

This is a book that thrives on its location. The starkness of the hotel surrounded on all sides by the climate and beauty of isolation in a remote corner of Iceland. By placing emphasis on how the outside presses in on the family it gives the book a claustrophobic feel which highlights the goings on of the weekend. You always know that something is going to happen but you just don't know what and that the beauty of this book. Literally, anything could happen and the reader would lap it up. Eva is a master at getting her readers to accept what is happening on the page. I never think ‘Oh that would never happen’. I am in there, deep with the characters and nothing seems unbelievable. This book hums with a sense of ominous anticipation right from the start. As you get to know the family the tension increases and the place becomes a bit more snappy. Don't get me wrong I love when an author allows you time to keep to know the cast of characters before anything major happens as it allows the tension to simmer gently and then bam, there is that sucker punch when the action takes off!

There is a lot of books coming out at the moment that reference ‘Succession’ or ‘Knives Out’ and they are nothing like it! That is not the case here. Wealthy family - check. Messed up family - check. Rivalries and secrets - check. You honestly could have picked up the Roy family and interchanged them for the Snaebergs!

‘You Can’t See Me’ is also my Nordic Book of the Month over on Murder at the Bookshop!

https://www.murderatthebookshop.com/shop/p/you-cant-see-me-by-eva-bjoerg-aegisdottir?rq=eva