#Spooktober ‘I Remember You’ by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

About the book…

A terrifying ghost story from the Queen of Icelandic crime, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, author of the Thora Gudmundsdottir novels.

‘Yrsa is one of the most exciting new voices in the crime thriller world.’ – Peter James

The crunching noise had resumed, now accompanied by a disgusting, indefinable smell. It could best be described as a blend of kelp and rotten meat. The voice spoke again, now slightly louder and clearer:
Don’t go. Don’t go yet. I’m not finished.

In an isolated village in the Icelandic Westfjords, three friends set to work renovating a derelict house. But soon they realise they are not alone there – something wants them to leave, and it’s making its presence felt.

Meanwhile, in a town across the fjord, a young doctor investigating the suicide of an elderly woman discovers that she was obsessed with his vanished son.

When the two stories collide the terrifying truth is uncovered . . .

‘I Remember You’ was published in 2012 by Hodder Books, in paperback and e-book formats.

This is an absolutely terrifying book, also made into a film of the same name , that will make you jump out of your skin at least 10 times. Maybe more. It works on a deep psychological level that creates a sense of unease and dread that keeps you turning the pages, wanting to solve the mystery of just what happens in the two intersecting storylines, whilst desperately scared of the truth being revealed.

Because, you have a sneaking suspicion, it will be deeply unnerving…

There is a sense of menace that is created by the 2 prinicple locations where this novel is set-an island and a small town.

The main protagonists are all leaving or turning their backs on something, whether it is Gauder,Lif and Katrin who are abandoning their lives for the hope of a better one on an isolated island, or psychiatrist, Freyr, who is trying to leave his trauma behind him by burying himself in others.

The three friends were once four, Lif’s husband having died just prior to them setting sail to refurbish and renovate an old house , making it into a guest house. Having only had pictures painted of the island by Gauder and Einar, from their multiple trips there, Lif and Katrin are immediately struck on landing that firstly, the few houses which are on the island, as so far apart there is little sense of neighbourliness.

Then apart from their fear and sense of foreboding, things begin to happen that make them feel very uncomfortable.

From the skipper of the boat which brings them there, who tells them that previous owners all started out with good intentions, to the mysterious stain on a brand new floor, to shells which no one has collected  spelling ‘Goodbye’, it is quite clear they are unwelcome there.

Freyr’s wife keeps ringing him to tell him that their young son, who has vanished without a trace, keeps appearing to her to tell her he is unhappy. He has his own unresolved grief to deal with as well as deeply disturbed patients. And as if that wasn’t enough, he is called by the police to assist with an assessment of a vandalised school the one his son attended. There is no rhyme or reason behind the gratuitous damage, or the graffiti saying ‘Dirty’ and ‘Ugly’.

On top of this, he is sent to assist with an investigation into the suicide of an elderly lady, who has hung herself in a church in the next town over from her home. A difficult and implausible way to die, with little indicators of suicidal ideation, this troubles Freyr deeply.

As the two stories are carried through alternate chapters, you never get the sense that it is over loaded with too much plot or detail.

The balance is really masterful, you cannot immediately see how they will dovetail and when they do….its really something else.

As well as disturbing and uneasy, this is a novel which faces the way we deal with grief and loss head on. There is concrete grief, such as Lif’s lost husband, unresolved grief from Freyr’s son and general grief over the loss of loved ones who are left unremembered by the living. However, remembrance is not merely the provenance of the living, and as the plot ramps up the pressure, you can really feel each and every page pulse with tension and horror.

About the author..

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic writer, of both crime-novels and children’s fiction. She has been writing since 1998.
Her début crime-novel “‘Last Rituals’“ published in the US in 2007, and the UK in January 2008 was translated into English by Bernard Scudder, and is book 1 of the ‘Thora Gudmunsdottir series.

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997.

Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.

In 2000 the Icelandic department of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) awarded Yrsa for her book Við viljum jólin í júlí)(We Want Christmas in July.)

Yrsa lives in the Reykjavík suburb of Seltjarnarnes. She is married with two children

Twitter @YrsaSig @HodderBooks