Mytting follows up Norwegian Wood, his bestselling study of chopping logs the Scandinavian way, with a mystery novel that fits together like a piece of fine marquetry. Edvard Hirifjell is a young mountain farmer haunted by a smorgasbord of family secrets: the strange death of his parents when he was a child, a missing inheritance and an unexplained feud between his grandfather and great-uncle that dates back to the second world war. In search of answers he leaves Norway for the Shetland Islands, once Norwegian territory, where the trawlers still have Nordic names but the landscape is eerily free of trees. Sharp observations – the pleasant rattle of a matchbox; a beach “scrubbed clean” by a storm – underpin a study of roots and relics. As Edvard observes: “A man dies. He leaves behind tools and books and clothes. But he also leaves clues.” Truth emerges like new growth.
• The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting is published by MacLehose Press (£16.99). To order a copy for £12.74, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99
