Wow........ what a thrilling roller coaster of a read I enjoyed the twists and turns and the edge of your seat moments this was a fantastic thriller

This is part of a great crime series. The storyline in this book is very complex. The story starts out slowly and then builds up. I love thrillers set in Iceland

With its gripping narrative and expertly crafted characters, this thriller had me guessing at every turn. Really good book.

This is the 6th book in the series, and just gets better with every book. This was another great book in the Freyja and Huldar series, and I really hope there is a next book.

Didn’t like this book at all. I liked the setting of a winter wonderland where there is a killer around. However some of the story was just so ridiculous as to be believable, for instance the detective in charge is heavily pregnant. So much so that two of the other characters discuss what to do if she gives birth in the office! And if that’s not enough, she accompanies the SWAT team along to a raid to arrest someone who is quite possibly armed and dangerous! Absolutely ridiculous.
Life is too short to read books I do not agree with. Forget it. Won’t be revising this author in a hurry either.

Yet again another belter from this author. I have become a little obsessed with Icelandic noir since falling in love with the actual country several years ago (have been three times now and already got the 4th trip planned) and I always like to take a book set there with me on my travels for that extra authenticity.

The Fallout is the latest in a series of books starring Huldar and Freyja, with their will-they-won't-they relationship while trying to solve murders in and around Reykjavik. The characters are brilliantly drawn, the plots keep you guessing and the atmosphere is as cold and bleak as the landscape itself. It works perfectly.

You don't have to have read the previous books in the series as they can be read as standalones, however to follow the main characters I would recommend reading them.

There were parts of this book that were very exciting and engaging. The beginning in particular, and the detectives' investigations were very well written. This is a heavy book with quite a few characters and sometimes I found the mixed timelines a little confusing. I also thought it might have maintained the pace better towards the end, although I did enjoy the twist at the end.

I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I am going to go back and read the first four in the series. I find as a standalone book, I am sure it would’ve had a great impact and generally a more thrilling read had I known the back stories of the characters – that’s not to say it cannot be read as a standalone. Very well written with lots of unexpected twists and turns I had the best time reading this book.

A new Huldar and Freya novel is always a massive treat for fans of Yrsa’s atmospheric Icelandic Noir and The Fallout is no exception.

Not wanting to go too deep into the plot (which is a patchwork quilt full of secrets and sins), let’s just say that it’s every bit as twisty and intriguing (if a little disturbing in places) as we have come to expect from a story teller as skilful as Ms Sigurdardóttir and its also very funny and heartwarming. The book packed with a brilliantly drawn cast of characters, especially tough and sexy detective Huldar and feisty child psychologist Freya (mild spoiler alert, Freya is now working for the Reykjavik CID and trying her best to maintain a professional distance from her secret lover - Huldar).

As always, there’s not a dull or unentertaining page in The Fallout and just reading it is as satisfying as a trip to the land of ice and fire in the 21st century.

Highly recommended. Many thanks to all concerned for letting me read and review this brilliant thriller.

Admittedly, I did not read the part where it said that this was book 5 in the series and I went into this book without having read the first 4. I did feel like I was missing a huge part of the back story, but again this was my fault.

That said, the book, I feel, can be read as a standalone novel, the reader will just not benefit from the background information.

I really enjoyed the way the book was told from different perspectives and how we learnt more and more about the crime.

I particularly enjoyed the relationship between the two detectives.

I will read the first four of this series as it is one, I believe, that I would enjoy.

Part of a series but works just as well as a stand-alone. This book is great for fans of My Dark Vanessa and Blood Orange.

Great description, good character development and some elements of dark humour. I liked the fact that it was a complicated plot, but didn't require rereading to understand it. It was unpredictable and full of suspense.

I enjoyed this book, however I did find the ending slightly unsatisfying.

3.5 rounded up.

11 years ago - A baby is stolen from the pram on the patio while her father ais showering.
5 months ago - the funeral of 10 year old Iris who passed away from the measles & her father becomes obsessed with finding out who she caught it from.
Now - plastic bags containing body parts are found in the trunk of a car.

I went through a stage of enjoying nordic noir but when I requested this I didn't know it was part of a series. And I have not read any of the previous five books in this Children's Home series. Did I miss out on any backstory or connections by jumping partway in? I don't know. However, it is still a good solid read with that atmospheric nordic air about it.

There is a creepy air about the murders but against the procedural side of things comes a chemistry between the two main characters - Freyja and Hulder. There has been so much of will they or won't they between police partners in other series that I just want them to get on with the crime at hand and to solve that. I'm not here for the romance but the thriller aspect of the story.

But what we also must endure is the anti-vaxxers or naysayers that is very real in today's society with regards to the COVID vaccine. In this case it's measles, but hey, an anti-vaxxer is an anti-vaxxer. Why just today on our news was a toddler in hospital with the first case of diphtheria seen in our country in over 100 years! Was he/she vaccinated? No. There's your answer. And quite frankly, I am tired of anti-vaxxers thinking they know better. Yes, it's their choice but don't shove it in our faces and don't jump up and down and blame the rest of us when you or your child fall ill to something potentially deadly that could have easily been prevented with a vaccine. But that is a whole other matter altogether. It does, however, raise readers' emotions on the issue as well as some of the characters at the heart of that plotline also.

While this is a crime thriller, I didn't quite feel the palpable tension that I have in other gritty crime reads. Maybe I felt something lost in translation as I have with some books that have not been written in English but translated from its native language. The author is an accomplished writer, that goes without saying.

And of course, at the heart of the story is the eleven year old cold case in the disappearance of baby Mia coupled with the discovery of a dismembered corpse in the boot of a car. It was slow to start initially but it did warm up.

It's not the best thriller I've read but it is still a good solid read. There are plenty of twists to be had entwined with dark themes to keep you relatively engaged.

I would like to thank #YrsaSigurðardóttir, #NetGalley and #HodderBooks for an ARC of #TheFallout in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at <a href="https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/</a>.

It’s no problem that this is part of a series as very much a stand alone story. I hadn’t read the prequel but thoroughly enjoyed this.
I was all set for a five star rating almost to the end but thought overall a four star was fairer. The plot is very good and whilst as usual with any Scandinavian books the character names and place names do slow my reading down it was well worth it.
Great characters who I look forward to meeting again. I’m sure some of the people who had lesser roles will come into their own in another book.

Another great addition to the ‘Childrens house’ series. The storyline kept you guessing all the way through the book with lots of different storylines which cleverly come together at the end !

I seem to find each book in this series difficult to get into and then find myself sucked in and end up really enjoying the story. This just didn’t have the same impact as previous books but a good read none the less.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book. I like books about academia. I struggled to put this book down. However, the title doesn't really suit the book as it's not really just about Vladimir! It reminded me a little of My Dark Vanessa and Three Women. The ending was also a little disappointing but left me with lots of questions. As a debut, it is very good.

I didn’t realise when I started this book that it was part of a series. It certainly doesn’t stop you from enjoying the book. Great police procedural and who dunnit.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

The sixth installment of this series. It always has emotional drama involved as well as crimes being committed. If you like a good who dun it police drama then this is for you.

This series of books has always had a deeply emotional core. Yes - that has often come with a ruck load of smile producing carnage and delightfully gruesome murder attached, but there is no denying that the issues that are confronted are thought provoking and often highly emotive. That is especially true of The Fallout which is, as ever, very timely and relevant and all too scarily plausible in parts. The murders may have come down a notch in terms of skin crawling darkness, but they are still a cut (or chop) above your average domestic homicide and all too frustrating for Erla, Huldar and the team to solve, in part because getting the identity of the victim is proving more than a little challenging.

I do love Huldar and Freyja as characters. They are two who I was drawn to from the very first book and their tumultuous relationship, has led to many a smile as i've read through the pages. Huldar is a fairly traditional cop, determined, but not ambitious, slightly squeamish which, given the kinds of cases he's been faced with over the course of the series still makes me smile, and totally fascinated and hopeful when it comes to his relationship with Freyja. Freyja is focused, kind, empathetic and someone who maybe protests a touch too much when it comes to Huldar's attentions. It's fair to say that they haven't had the most straightforward of friendships - a little stretching of the truth and a work demotion will tend to put a dampener on a blossoming romance - but there is no denying the chemistry between them and the will-they/won't-they element of the series has been a real draw. Then there is Erla, Huldar's boss, one time lover and a general pain in his rear but someone he does respect and who, despite her gruff exterior and no-nonsense attitude, also makes me smile. There is something about her directness which makes her a likeable if disagreeable character. And there are some comical moments and surprising revelations with regards to Erla, especially after the bombshell dropped last time around.

As for the story, it is very relevant in today's society, given the whole rise in challenge and debate over the vaccinations for Covid-19. This is not the premise of this book, but the whole aspect of the anti-vax movement and the potential impact of parents who choose or maybe even just neglect to get their children vaccinated. Add into that a shocking scene which opens the book and seems almost incongruous to the rest of the story for a while, and the scene is set for a very emotive story. Yrsa Sigurdardottir excels in wringing out every ounce of emotion from the book, making the characters individual collective stories so evocative that you cannot help but feel for them. The sense of loss is palpable but so is the anger and the central investigation for Huldar and co seems, at times, almost secondary to the course of the book, even though it is a vital part of the whole picture. Once again children are the key to everything, but in what context is very slowly and carefully revealed.

There is a lot of suspense and mystery in this book, but perhaps less an immediate sense of threat that in some of its predecessors. That's not a bad thing, and totally suits the tone and theme of the story. Pacing is just right and picks up in the exact spot where, as readers, we realise something catastrophic may be about to begin. It is a book packed with mystery - not least the first victim's identity - but with so many more questions beside, and a book that will make you think. For me, I know exactly which side of the debate I sit on with regards to vaccinations, but many opinions will differ, and often for very good reason. But the devastating impact of one quick decision cannot be denied and has overwhelming consequence for others, hence the very appropriate title of the book. The tone is pitched perfectly, melancholic, driven by the notion of family and children which has always been key, but with a mixture of lightheartedness and chilling atmosphere which kept me entirely pulled into the story.

And then the ending. Unexpected - to a point - there did come a time when I had an inkling but it's still a bit of a shocker seeing it in black and white. It's a turning point in many relationships in this book, leaving us with a kind of sense of hope, maybe a thawing of feeling between Freyja and Huldar, and a perfect place to leave the team. I've loved these books and loved getting to know Yrsa Siguardaottir's work. Can't wait to read more of her books in the future.

A Gruesome Case..,
The sixth in the Freyja and Huldar series finds the pair working in the same building and, more worryingly, on the same team. A gruesome case arises and they are soon working on it together, threatening both their positions. The true identity of the headless corpse that has been found has to take precedence. This case will throw them all back into the past in a terrifying twist. With a credible and well crafted cast this is an often brutal and disturbing read but the complex plot is laced with a dry humour bringing a balancing lightness of touch. A worthy addition to the series.