Each year, I like to try out a first-time author’s book, hoping for an original, new talent to follow. Also, I like to sprinkle into my reading choices stories set in a different culture and locale. This one appealed to me for the descriptions of Iceland—the stark, rugged terrain, volcanic features, proximity to the ocean and lakes. The folk culture, Viking history, beautiful people, peaceful society—setting a mystery/thriller in an unfamiliar place adds spice. Thors has done a decent job of handling what could be a challenging juggling act of a plot, keeping the reader on track, avoiding too much confusion.

Unnur is a college drop-out, single mom working in a Reykjavik bakery, when her ex-husband rolls into town from five years in the US and Belgium, new girlfriend in tow, and wants to change the custody arrangement with their seven-year old daughter to an equally-shared agreement. Just a happy, boyish guy, their daughter Lilja is enraptured, although he behaves more like a playmate, not parental. The girlfriend, Loa, sends a weird vibe, intrusive, challenging, too familiar, judgy. Loa brings her seven-year old daughter along, Freyja, a strange, aloof, spooky-looking girl. Lilja is quickly accepting and eagerly friendly, hoping for a new friend.

Unnar is hiding secrets from everyone, including herself. The product of a rocky upbringing, abandoned by father and mother both, she was largely raised by her mother’s twin sister, Sandra, who was disinterested at best. When Sandra hooks up with a new boyfriend, it is not long before they dump twelve-year-old Unnar far from Reykjavik, at a distant farm for the summer, clearly not planning to bring her back home at all. The farm, located two hours away in the Dark Valley, is owned by Elias, a former American soldier, where he lives with his eleven-year old daughter, Freyja. This girl is in love with nature and Icelandic folklore, seeing the imagined creatures, telling stories, singing songs, roaming the countryside in search of flowers and herbs. When Elias tasks Unnar with protecting Freyja at all times, the girl thinks it strange, but agrees. The novel is told in two timelines, bouncing from present day to the Dark Valley part of Unnar’s life.

Unnar is the victim of memory loss due to trauma, as well as the adults in her life keeping secrets about her past. It leads to a lifetime of uncertainty, not trusting people for who they say they are, or their intentions, always questioning those around her. Only her daughter Lilja is trustworthy, and Unnar is fiercely protective of the child, while struggling to give her a normal, safe, wholesome life. We know that Freyja, Unnar’s friend in Dark Valley, goes missing, never to be found. Unnar’s memories around this are terribly fuzzy, but she feels that Loa, a cold crime detective, is somehow linked to her past. I won’t go into the details of various mysterious items from the past making appearances, since piecing these together to discover the truth of Unnar’s past is the fun of this novel.

Thors does a pretty good job of pacing, unraveling Unnar’s memory and the clues at a quick pace to sustain tension. Plotting isn’t flawless, but it is pretty good, creating a believable series of events, characters popping in and out, moving everything along in both timelines, until we, and Unnar, learn the truth of her past during the inevitable re-creation of the past trauma. I hold P.D. James and Louise Penny as the masters of thriller plotting, their weaving calculations are unpredictable, masterful. Thors does fairly well in her rookie effort, keeping the reader as off-kilter as the traumatized protagonist. The story is entertaining, but the setting and cultural bits are what bring it unique flavor and interest. I consider this a 2-3 day palate cleanser of a novel, hoping Thors develops her skills and brings more of mysterious Iceland to fellow readers. Recommended.