Icelandic crime tends to be a bleak version of Scandi noir – actually I don’t think there is another kind of Scandinavian crime story. The long dark winters, deep snow, isolation and small, scattered population play large parts. I found THE ABSOLUTION to be particularly tough going as the crimes hinge on cyberbullying of young school-age teens. And, of course, there’s a serial killer. Scandi crime wouldn’t have it any other way.
Some crime tales involving social media invent a platform but this one goes straight for Snapchat. Apparently someone can circulate an image or clip to many phones and it will vanish after viewing. The Icelandic teens are horrified when a teenage victim of violence is shown in this way. Sixteen-year-old Stella was attacked and abducted after she finished working at a cinema. The police are notified about what’s in circulation but the kids are hiding something. Before too long the fact that Stella was a bully emerges. Maybe she’d have grown out of it, but her victims have had their lives made a misery on line. Someone took out their anger on Stella.
Detective Huldar works the case, along with child psychologist Freyja, who sits in on interviews with the youngsters and tries to advise on the age-old bullying issue, updated to teenager cyberbullying. The hunt soon moves to focus on adults, though gruesome messages keep coming to the Snapchat accounts on, now confiscated, phones.
Children's House is the title of this series and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir guides us around Reykjavik, capital of Iceland. Much of the suburban setting feels normal; just the persistence of snow and asking for someone’s patronymic instead of surname identify the location, besides names like Gudlaugur and Freyja. People have dogs, gardens, patios, apartments, new cars, beat-up old cars. They have the hospital cases, workplace tussles, domestic stresses found anywhere. Which is pertinent when discussing bullies. Kids can sometimes gang up on other kids, spiteful in their rooms, writing stupid sarcasm that isn’t funny to the victim. The internet gives bullying a wider reach now, since it can follow kids home from school. Platforms don’t appear to do enough to protect the innocent. THE ABSOLUTION takes the situation to extremes, making a detailed and involving case for crime fans. I don’t believe any reader will support this criminal – the acts are too hideous – but we should support stamping out online bullying.
The Absolution is the third installment in Queen of Icelandic crime fiction Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s series about the psychologist Freyja and the police officer Huldar.
The police find out about the crime the way everyone does: on Snapchat. The video shows a terrified young woman begging for forgiveness. When her body is found, it is marked with a number “2”.
Detective Huldar joins the investigation, bringing child psychologist Freyja on board to help question the murdered teenager's friends. Soon, they uncover that Stella was far from the angel people claim, but who could have hated her enough to kill?
Then another teenager goes missing, more clips are sent to social media, and the body with a “3” is found. Freyja and Huldar can agree on two things at least: the truth is far from simple. The killer is not done yet. And is there an undiscovered body carrying the number “1” out there?
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