Nordic crime fiction continues to be perennially popular and first-rate, with good reason. Case in point: The Reckoning ... complex, nuanced ... The banter between Huldar and Freyja, who share a messy romantic past, balances the book’s gravity with humor. That said, this book is not for the faint of heart: The Reckoning is dark, grave and graphic — but also gripping and compassionate.
Sigurdardóttir offsets sharp procedural elements and gruesome crimes with masterful character development and social commentary, creating a riveting, affecting thriller.
It has everything you want in a police procedural: strong, memorable characters, a puzzling mystery and bizarre murders, all served up perfectly ... The Reckoning makes for addicting reading. The believable odd-couple matchup of Huldar and Freyja is neither cloying nor precious, a fine line for an author to walk and one that Sigurdardottir does very well. The mortar of the book, though, is the mystery, with its seeds in the past and gruesome blossoming in the present. There is some grim humor presented to counterpoint the nastiness of the crimes committed, with both elements well-paced and harrowing right up to the final pages.
