The Blood Strand: A Foroyar Novel

Police detective Jan Reyna, the sympathetic narrator of this psychologically astute series launch from British author Ould (Road Lines), returns to his place of birth, the Faroe island of Tórshavn, to visit his father, Signar Ravnsfjall, now suffering from a stroke and incapable of speech, whom he has seen only once in 40 years. When Jan was young, his mother, Lydia, left Signar, taking him to England, where an aunt adopted him at age five after Lydia’s death. Jan hopes to learn in Tórshavn about his past, particularly why Lydia left Signar. After arriving, Jan discovers that Signar was found unconscious at the side of a road in an area he rarely frequented. In Signar’s car were splashes of someone else’s blood, a recently fired shotgun, and a large amount of cash. The subsequent discovery of a corpse, its face riddled with shotgun pellets, raises the ante. The plot takes many unexpected twists en route to the satisfying ending. (Feb.)