#BlogTour ‘The Last Snow’ by Stina Jackson trans Susan Beard

About the book…

What secrets are hidden within the walls of a desolate farmhouse in a forgotten corner of Lapland?

Early spring has its icy grip on Ödesmark, a small village in northernmost Sweden, abandoned by many of its inhabitants. But Liv Björnlund never left. She lives in a derelict house together with her teenage son, Simon, and her ageing father, Vidar. They make for a peculiar family, and Liv knows that they are cause for gossip among their few remaining neighbours.

Just why has Liv stayed by her domineering father’s side all these years? And is it true that Vidar is sitting on a small fortune? His questionable business decisions have made him many enemies over the years, and in Ödesmark everyone knows everyone, and no one ever forgets.

Now someone wants back what is rightfully theirs. And they will stop at nothing to get it, not matter who stands in their way…

Published on February 4th by Corvus in hardcover, I am thrilled to be part of the Random Things Tour for ‘The Last Snow’ and grateful for my gifted review copy of this novel.

Following the success of her debut novel,‘The Silver Road’, was always going to be a tall order, but Stina carries it off with huge amounts of flair and style, plunging the reader into an abandoned village, haunted by people who have yet to gasp their last breath.

The environment and the weather create such an atmospheric reading experience, this is the type of novel where you can smell the snow on the air, the impending sense of isolation that it creates, piled onto this family who are already  not talked about favourably in the village of Odesmark.

The darkness of the narrative contrasts beautifully with the clean white nature of the icy landscape where Liv lives with her son, Simon, and father Vidar. And whilst it’s purity is beautiful to look at, you realise that one day it will melt and what will be revealed could not have been kept silent forever. It is much like this in so many families, the buried secrets, combined with the muted whispers of those who do not keep to society’s expectations, create an illusion , a veil beyond which the reader must peer.

Liv is trapped in this circumstance by reasons unknown when you start reading, following an opening scene of a young, nameless girl who tries to escape her home, giving herself to a truck driver, desperate for some kind of human connection which leads to you to consider what it is she has been escaping. Her identity and background hang a pall over the story as the narrative switches to Liv and her odd family.

Her pain is so obvious and well described that it seeps from the pages, creating a sense of dread and worry for her and her son.

Why they are living with her horrible father is a mystery, are the ties which bind them more than just accidents of birth?

How did Liv turn up with a son when no one in their small village even knew she was pregnant?

Are they really outsiders, or do they just resent the way that people around you want o know the ins and outs of every move you make?

Or do they have something to hide?

There is a pervading sense of unease as you navigate your way through the relationships that each of these people have, a menace which threatens harm and keeps you on your toes, and, more importantly keeps you reading! The tropes of Nordic Noir are out in full force here-the isolated location, the intricate family ties juxtaposed with a society is itself isolated because of the terrain. A thrilling, breath-taking character study of a family on the edge, about to implode, this is a wonderful read, especially for this time of the year. Highly recommended to any lovers of domestic noir, the run down farmhouse holds secrets which become deadly to reveal…

About the author…

Stina Jackson (b. 1983) hails from the northern town of Skellefteå in Sweden. Just over a decade ago she relocated to Denver, Colorado, where she penned her debut novel, the acclaimed The Silver Road. A runaway bestseller, the novel established Jackson as a rising new star within Nordic suspense.

Links-http://www.salomonssonagency.se/stina-jackson

Twitter @RandomTTours @CorvusBooks