David Hewson starts off with Tristan mowing his roof in his black pyjamas when a grind (whale hunt) are sighted just outside the village he was appointed to as a sheriff, who's only duty is the grind to keep it legal. His wife, Elsebeth, tries to get him dressed and down into the town, but Baldur Ganting who captain of the Alberta, the largest fishing boat in the fleet, beats her to the job, shame is found in this, in a teasing manor. Hewson describes how the grind is usually dealt with in the Faroe Islands and Tristan is knifed by a boy that later escapes onto the Island with his brother. They then send search parties out on moors and mountains to find them to no avail. Many more plots are uncovered and Elsebeth is almost run over by her husband in a tunnel by mistake. What's uncovered are the murders of several people where the mystery of the killer is later found out. I know it's a tease to tell you this but it ends up pretty good for our sheriff but ends up sad for the mother of the boys. Read it and find out what happens.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for a review copy of Devil’s Fjord, a stand alone set in the Faroe Isles.

When Benji and Jónas Mikkelsen disappear during a grind (whale killing) the newly appointed District Sheriff for the fishing, Tristan Haraldsen, feels responsible and tries to discover what has happened to the boys. In the course of his investigation he uncovers some unsavoury secrets in the village of Djevelsfjord.

I enjoyed Devil’s Fjord which is an interesting mix of the investigative and cultural set in a small, dying village. It is a novel of two halves with the first setting the scene at a leisurely pace and the second containing all the action and twists a reader could wish for. At first I wondered what kind of novel I had wandered into as there is little action in a crime sense, preferring to concentrate on Tristan and his wife Elsebeth’s adjustment to a life very different to the town living they’ve been used to in a small, insular village which will never accept them. And then there’s the description of the grind which is visceral and, to my urban eyes, brutal but a matter of survival to the villagers. It is extremely well done and worth reading as Mr Hewson sets out both sides of the argument convincingly. It’s more literary than my usual fare. The claustrophobic sense of the villagers keeping secrets pervades the novel but in the second half of the novel Tristan starts to unravel them bit by bit in a couple of tense showdowns. I definitely disagree with Mr Hewson’s solution to what Tristan discovers as it is rather bleak and presents a depressing view of human nature on the whole, especially when the good are not rewarded but I loved the final twist which ironically sums up the novel. I wish I could say more but no spoilers.

Tristan and Elsebeth Haraldsen are an interesting counterpoint to the villagers. This rather naïve, urban couple choose to spend their retirement on a remote, picturesque island where life is hard and grounded in such practicalities as finding enough food and money to live on. It is a harsh, brutal life and the villagers’ personalities reflect it. Well meaning anything doesn’t cut it and the two views struggle to find common ground.

This is not an easy read with its strong descriptions of a harsh way of life, made more vivid by different points of view. I found the shifting narrative a bit disruptive to my concentration at times but given the nature of the novel I think it is the only way to truly convey all sides of the story and the insertion of certain scenes leaves the reader puzzled and wanting an answer.

Devil’s Fjord is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.