Yrsa Sigurdardottir | THE RECKONING

Plot (via Goodreads):

Vaka sits, regretting her choice of coat, on the cold steps of her new school. Her father appears to have forgotten to pick her up, her mother has forgotten to give her this week’s pocket money, and the school is already locked for the day. Grownups, she decides, are useless.

With no way to call home, she resigns herself to waiting on the steps until her father remembers her. When a girl approaches, Vaka recognizes her immediately from class, and from her unusual appearance: two of her fingers are missing. The girl lives at the back of the school, on the other side of a high fence, and Vaka asks to call her father from the girl's house. That afternoon is the last time anyone sees Vaka.

Detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja are called in. Soon, they find themselves at the heart of another shocking case.

Review:

After finishing The Legacy, I was eager to see where the story between Huldar and Freyja would go and was anticipating The Reckoning - the new installment in this darkly crafted series. While the plot to this one seemed to be a bit more complex, I did find this read to be a little slower than The Legacy, but a lot darker. While The Legacy did have some mentions of abuse within the storyline of Freyja's work, The Reckoning dives headfirst into the ugly world of child abuse, sexual assault, and the shattered world it leaves behind.

For such a dark and complex plot, this one was a little slower paced that I was hoping for when it came down to the heart of the novel. Nevertheless, I did find it enjoyable and I absolutely love the interaction and the tension between Huldar and Freyja. Even if I didn't like the novels, I would continue reading just to see what happens between the two of them. Yrsa Sigurdardottir definitely takes her time building the relationship between these characters in a realistic and satisfyingly stubborn way. Even with a slower pace, this novel definitely had a lot more going on between the alternative chapters bouncing back and forth between Huldar, Freyja, and a plethora of other characters that tease the reader into getting the full scoop as to what has happened, what is currently going on, and what is only a dark and twisted tale to come.

With so many characters, I did find it hard to follow at times, but the author did a brilliant job of not only wrapping this story up with a whopper of a reveal, but kept me interested at times when I questioned if I should step away in the slower moments. I'm glad I stuck around because not only did all of the pieces of he puzzle fit together wonderfully, but this opened up my mind to be a bit more patient with novels when I wonder if I should set it aside or continue and proved through great writing that the payoff in the end can be well worth it if you just be patient with a story and not give into feelings of frustration when things don't always seem to make sense. After this, I will definitely be checking out book three in the series!

Special thanks to Minotaur Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5