#IRememberYou #YrsaSigurdardottir #Review

I REMEMBER YOU 

Yrsa Sigurdardottir 

So I ignored the warning on the front and back cover of  I Remember You. A not-to-be-read-in-the-dark-novel, it said... a-not-to-be-read-alone-book, it said...Yeah, well whatever I said. I read loads of crime, I love a good psychological thriller, I could murder a good gothic novel...But Mrs Yeah, well whatever hasn't read any Sigurdardottir before! I should have paid more heed to these warnings on the cover - they are there for good reason!

This book re-defines chilling. Using the words 'horrifying' and 'thrilling' feels like I'm doing the author a disservice. Other reviewers say 'spooky', 'scary' and 'creepy' which although seem perhaps a little lacking in the world of sophisticated adjectives, they totally do the job in capturing the atmosphere of this haunting story. 

 I loved I Remember You. Course I did. An isolated village in the Icelandic Wesfjords, three friends alone, cut off while they renovate a derelict house...What's not to love? It's the perfect premise for a story and the author doesn't miss a moment in building an atmosphere of tension and ghostly suggestions that will chill you through to the bone. 

"How had she ever imagined this could work? The three of them, all alone in the dead of winter in a deserted village way up north in the middle of nowhere, without electricity or heat, and the only way back by sea." 

I loved the setting and the location. It is so well conveyed with such excellent prose and the village buildings, the weather and the sense of isolation are as significant as the characters. There are many passages that describe the oppressiveness of the place and create a palpable sense of suspense and fear. 

"[Katrin did not] want to break the profound silence to which she is becoming accustomed."

There is perhaps more exposition than dialogue in this novel but the prose is very readable and fluent. Most chapters end with a cliffhanger and although the paragraphs look longer and the text perhaps appears more dense, the writing is polished and moves at an engaging pace which enhances the growing sense of trepidation. Sigurdardottir's writing is also perhaps more dense because of the overlapping layers of plot which she manages to control so effortlessly. We start with the three friends at the village who realise that they are not alone - that there is some kind of malevolent presence that wants them gone. Then we cross the fjord to another town where a doctor is investigating a suicide. As his investigation develops, he realises that the elderly woman who hanged herself was obsessed with his son -his son who vanished, never to be found. This is a novel which embraces dark, foreboding, threatening story lines and as they begin to collide, the reader is caught up in a terrifying journey as the truth is eventually uncovered. 

Not only does the author spend time creating the atmosphere and great plot lines, she also ensures the characters are fully formed, well crafted and that the dynamics between them are exposed, generating further layers of tension, suspicion and suspense. This is a compelling story and the reader is transfixed as the characters' stories begin to come together and the pieces of the jigsaw start to fall into place. 

I did love the concept and the characters, I loved the plot but I think I loved the descriptions the most. I loved how claustrophobic the weather felt, how it pre-empted events, how it added incredible tension and how it raised the risk for the characters. This description of sleet was particularly memorable.

"It appeared like a black, vertical curtain, against which the feeble moonlight was powerless."

And then I also loved this cliffhanger:

"Just as he said the last word, the house was struck by a huge blow that even the storm couldn't deaden." 

Yes, take heed. Don't ignore the warning. Don't read alone, don't read in the dark. 

Yeah well whatever, I don't really mean that! I don't want you to follow these instructions just as I didn't! 

DO read this book! If you like giving yourself the "heebie jeebies", if you like scaring yourself silly and you love a mixture of ghostly thrills, dark mystery and Icelandic Noir then this book is definitely for you! 

It is dark, threatening, foreboding. It is creepy. It's a great read...with the light left on.

I Remember You was published by Hodder in 2013.  

I heard the author speaking at Bristol Crime Fest this May, added the title to my wish list and purchased the book recently. It has waited very patiently on my TBR pile and I wish I hadn't left it there so long. I have more books by this author also sitting waiting to be read - I hope to get to them very soon!