cover image Forty Days Without Shadow: An Arctic Thriller

Forty Days Without Shadow: An Arctic Thriller

Olivier Truc, trans. from the French by Louise Rogers Lalaurie. Grand Central, $16 trade paper (480p) ISBN 978-1-4555-4759-3

In French journalist Truc’s gripping debut, which has been shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger award, two Norwegian police officers who cover reindeer-related crime, Klemet Nango and Nina Nansen, have to deal with a routine complaint that animals from one herder’s stock have crossed the road and mingled with another herd. Shortly after the officers’ visit, someone fatally stabs the first herder, Mattis Labba, and also severs and removes his ears. Klemet speculates that Mattis may have been killed in revenge for a theft, since reindeer thieves often cut off the marked ears of the animals they steal to prevent identification. The killing coincides with the theft of a valuable Sami drum from a local museum. Fascinating details, including the rift between the snowmobile lobby and the reindeer herders, enhance the fast-moving plot. Truc brings an obscure part of the world to vivid life. [em](Nov.) [/em]