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1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"Lucy Paterson brings finely honed narration skills to this mystery involving bullying, trauma, and murder." — AudioFile Magazine

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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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Lucy Paterson brings finely honed narration skills to this mystery involving bullying, trauma, and murder. Her very English voice is smooth and expressive, her characters well delineated. In this third installment featuring the Icelandic team of psychologist Freyja and detective Huldar, someone is killing school bullies. The first victim is Stella, who is brutally attacked in a movie theater. Then clips of the murder are shared with her peers on Snapchat. This murder is followed by others. There are layers to the bullying theme--Freyja was bullied when she was younger, and there is a form of adult semi-bullying going on among the police in the form of hostile jokes about gays. Sigurdardottir pulls the pieces into a solid story; Paterson's performance makes it a more satisfying whole. G.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 25, 2019
      In Sigurdardóttir’s stellar third Children’s House thriller (after 2019’s The Reckoning), Freyja
      , a frustrated child psychologist, joins forces with Huldar
      , an problem-ridden Reykjavík police detective, to try to catch a serial killer. The killer posts horrific images on Snapchat to announce the torture-slaughter of adolescent cyberbullies. The fraught relationship between Freyja and Huldar adds emotional depth; since a passionate but ill-fated one-night stand in 2018’s The Legacy, Freyja has realized Huldar is the wrong man in the right body for her. The less conflicted Huldar remains attracted to her. Meanwhile, Freyja must gingerly tiptoe around Huldar’s boss, Erla
      , who was once investigated for sexually harassing him. Sigurdardóttir indicts an education system that consistently lets its students down, parents who foster dysfunctional family life, and medical personnel who selfishly hide vital secrets. She also unflinchingly reveals the excruciating pain felt by bullies’ victims. This heart-wrenching story deserves a wide audience.

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