The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea

Image from Amazon.co.uk

This novel kept me turning its pages right up until two thirds of the way through, which is when I felt a little disappointed in the reveal surrounding the mystery. However despite this it was overall a good read. The Icelandic descriptions and isolation of the setting made this an atmospheric novel. It’s paced well, but I think the fact that there were hints of Icelandic folk tales and superstitions littered throughout made me want the twists to be more involved with that, than what it ended up as.

Rósa is betrothed to Jón Eiríksson, and is sent to his remote village. She finds that her husband is cold and unwilling to talk about his deceased first wife. The villagers too seem to avoid talking about it and to her, and suspicion seeps into Rósa as she becomes more isolated in this village. Jón’s behaviour towards her is strange and his work takes him further away from Rósa. As Rósa tries to live in this new home she hears strange sounds in the attic, and you wonder if Rósa is actually loosing her mind. There are whispers of folk tales and superstitions and all seems to come to a dramatic conclusion.

This is a tale of love and fear encased in a cold desolated setting, at times it gets very creepy. A perfect winter read. Despite me not being fully satisfied with the ending, (probably because I wanted it to be more about the folk tales) I appreciate the writing as the prose is lovely. I’d say to those interested in the blurb, to read it.

It is after all a good read, with superb writing that made me feel the cold as I read through this Icelandic tale.