Today I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Seven Doors. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour and Orenda Books for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

University professor Nina is at a turning point. Her work seems increasingly irrelevant, her doctor husband is never home, relations with her difficult daughter are strained, and their beautiful house is scheduled for demolition.

When her daughter decides to move into another house they own, things take a very dark turn. The young woman living there disappears, leaving her son behind, the day after Nina and her daughter pay her a visit.

With few clues, the police enquiry soon grinds to a halt, but Nina has an inexplicable sense of guilt. Unable to rest, she begins her own investigation, but as she pulls on the threads of the case, it seems her discoveries may have very grave consequences for her and her family.

Exquisitely dark and immensely powerful, The Seven Doors is a sophisticated and deeply disturbing psychological thriller from one of Norway’s most distinguished voices.

Review:

I have never read anything by Agnes Ravatn before, but this will not be the last time I pick up her work. I loved her writing style: it’s simple and nothing is overstated, but she still manages to convey the emotions within the book perfectly, so that I could really connect with the characters and understand the situation in which they found themselves. The translator should be congratulated on achieving this in a way that makes the translation look easy (although I’m sure it wasn’t!)

There are several references to myths and fairy tales in The Seven Doors. I really enjoyed this aspect of the novel, as it gave it some extra depth and the different stories were fascinating to read about.

The Seven Doors begins as a slow burner, and it takes a little time to get to the heart of the plot. I am, however, glad that I was patient, as there are lots of twists towards the end, which gave me food for thought. I wondered how I would react in a similar situation, and I wanted to know how the characters would deal with it, and this kept me captivated until the end.

The Seven Doors is available from Amazon.

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