I would like to thank Netgalley and Text Publishing for a review copy of The Girl Without Skin, the first novel to feature reporter Matthew Cave, set in Greenland.

Matt is sent to report on the discovery of a mummified Norseman found in the ice outside Nuuk but his exclusive disappears overnight along with the body and his photographer’s pictures. All that remains is the gutted body of the policeman guarding the mummy. The body’s condition is reminiscent enough of four unsolved murders from 1973 to set Matt investigating, ably assisted by Tupaarnaq, an enigmatic Greenlander with her own troubled past.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Girl Without Skin which is a novel full of twists and turns and firmly rooted in its location. The novel is told from two perspectives and timelines, Matt in the present (2014) and Jakob Pedersen’s 1973 investigation. These are linked by Matt obtaining Jakob’s notebook from that time and I think the switch to Jakob’s experiences at the time gives the events more impact and immediacy than a simple interpretation from Matt’s point of view ever could. It works well.

The plot has plenty of twists and mysteries from the disappearance of Jakob to what links the 1973 victims to the present day victims because the policeman, Aqqalu, is only the first. I found it riveting as Mr Nordbo slowly pulls all the pieces together, throwing in even more twists as he does so.

At first pass it seems overly coincidental how frequently the characters seem to have unknown links to others but then you put it in context - Greenland is a vast, sparsely populated country with little in the way of organised historical data so it’s little wonder there are so many links and nobody makes the connections. I really enjoyed these details and the descriptions of the physical landscape which seems to come alive as a dangerous character in some situations. I love reading about places I know nothing about and this novel is extremely satisfactory in that respect.

Matt Cave is an interesting protagonist. He lost his wife and unborn daughter in a car crash in Denmark so he has returned to his birthplace of Greenland for a fresh start, perhaps to look for the father who abandoned him, but that, I suspect, is for another novel as all the ingredients remain mostly unexplored. He is a good, honest man. His sidekick Tupaarnaq is fresh from serving 12 years in prison for murdering her family as a 14 year old. Her story is explained over the course of the novel.

The Girl Without Skin is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending (even if the title is too deep for me to work out).

Thank you NetGalley and Text Publishing for the eARC.
I was excited about reading a book set in Greenland, but was turned off by the extremely graphic content. The vivid feel of the landscape, weather and population is excellent and so is the characterization of the people. However, the flaying and disembowlment of people and animals, plus the rape and medical experimentation of young girls, turned my stomach
and made me very uncomfortable.
The book has great reviews, so I'm in the minority - the story is good, but the subject matter too stark and the details just too painful to read about for me.

I have long been a fan of Scandinavian mystery writers and this is an author I am adding to my list. This is a dark and disturbing story told in very graphic and often gory terms but it never felt gratuitous or out of place as if the author were merely trying to shock. These scenes were integral to the storyline. And what a storyline it is. Well plotted and fast paced. The descriptions of Greenland made me feel as though I were there. I really liked the main character and his actions and reactions felt realistic to the situation making him believable and sympathetic . I would love to read more of him. This story jumps back and forth in time but does it in a way that doesn’t lose you or the suspense of the story. This was one of those mystery novels that kept me in suspense until the end. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book for review.

A wonderful thriller set in Greenland. It's dark, I usually don't like Scandinavian mystery but this one was wonderful, atmospheric and enthralling.
A very good read, a book that you cannot put down.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

Matthew Cave, a budding journalist gets handed the scoop of the century! A man is found mummified frozen in ice!

Matthew’s editor wants him to break the story immediately but a series of events prevents him from doing this for a while and Matthew ends up on a completely different story.

In 1973 four men were murdered, the case remained unsolved and the investigating officer had gone missing.

He receives a note book which contains the notes of the case made by Jakob the investigating officer.

As Matthew delves into the past, the chapters rotate backwards and forwards, telling both sides of the story. We, the readers are desperate to put the story together until eventually everything unfolds.

As the case progresses Matthew suspects that whoever committed the murders was quite high up in the political rank and as he struggles to prove it, an ex convict who agrees to help him, becomes his only hope.

A great story but not for the faint hearted as some of the descriptions are quite gruesome, however I did enjoy this story, I like books who can offer me something different and not the same. The Girl Without Skin definitely delivered.

One of the things that the author does really well is to describe the Greenlandic area beautifully, it’s like I’m there.

I love the characters, they all seem realistic and some contrast each other very well, for example Matthew and Turnnapaq develop an unlikely friendship. She is stubborn, headstrong and an ex convince wgereas Matthew has a good heart and will do anything for you if you need help. I can also sense chemistry between them

So, is this the end or the beginning for Matthew? Can he solve the mursers before it’s too late?

hank you NetGalley for the free ARC.
Good thriller with spectacular background of Greenland. I feel I get involved in the story, but also learn so much about Greeenland's history! Great!

journalist, law-enforcement, international-crime-and-mystery, suspense, horror

Very dark. If you enjoy reading about the hard truths of man's inhumanity on a small scale, rather than war and that kind of high body count, this may be for you. There is a lot of blood, personalized torture, and apparently meaningless violence in a story that is of a particular species of horror to law enforcement anywhere in the world. The visualization of the countryside is beautiful, getting inside the murderer's head is disturbing, and the whole thing gives suspense a new depth. The writing is beyond very good, but the subject matter is quite disturbing.
Charlotte Barslund (Translator) needs to be loudly recognized for her work as well!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Text Publishing Company via NetGalley.

Well, the blurb warned me that this wasn't a story for the faint-hearted, and it was right. I did not enjoy the story. Nonetheless, I did enjoy discovering a new writer with a new setting (Greenland) and a multi-dimensional main character. The prose was repetitive at times, which may be a disadvantage of reading in the translation. Overall, it was well structured and had a good narrative style. I think we will be hearing much more from this author.

I like this book even though It is a very sad story. This is a creepy, violent, gruesome and a very graphic novel. The setting is frigid Greenland. The authors description of the location is truly awesome. I experienced the chill, the darkness and the dampness as if I was there physically while reading this book. The plot is complicated and thrilling but well written. I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. Advance reader copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Girl Without Skin is a creepy dark thriller that takes place in Greenland. The first murders took place in 1973 and now in 2014 there are new ones. This book is a intense thriller that I had to read in one sitting. It was well written and the characters are great. This is a must read.

A 40 year old mystery that jumps back and forth and a seamless translation (often this is NOT THE CASE) that I think will earn this author many fans.

The story is very, very gruesome and violent, but so is murder and the lengths humankind will go to protect what they THINK is a secret!! Like I said earlier this is my first from Nordic author Mads Peder Nordbo but I doubt it will be my last. I recommend it highly.

So so chilling set in Greenland a frozen body a frozen body that goes missing.One of the best written multi layered atmospheric thrillers I’ve read this year .Highly recommend this is an author to watch. #netgalley #Girl Without Skin #textpublishing,

Scary, brilliant crime novel with a lot of local history and folklore from Greenland. I originally read it in danish, and the translation has take away none of the horror or suspense. Highly recommended!

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse

This is a very tense, well-plotted thriller that managed to surprise me quite a few times!

It's the story of two men, Jakob in 1973 and Matthew in 2014. Both deal in some pretty gruesome murders and they're fates are linked when a mummified corpse is discovered.

Matthew is living in Greenland as a reporter when he gets a call from his editor to check out a body frozen in the ice-is it from thousands of years ago? The next day when he goes back to find it it is missing and the body of a young man is found flayed and hacked apart in the same spot. There is a lot of suspense and mystery in this book but sometimes a bit graphic as far as how the murders are done.

Journalist Matthew Cave and his photographer Malik were on the helicopter, heading for the mummified corpse that had been found on the pack ice. The discovery was exciting archeologists as they expected it to be a Viking – a discovery which would resonate around the world. With everything done, the helicopter returned to Nuuk, leaving a policeman overnight to guard the corpse. But the return next morning showed them all much more than they bargained for. The corpse was gone – the policeman was dead; murdered in a gruesome manner.

With that story on hold, Matthew began to investigate a series of brutal murders back in 1973 which had never been solved. The horrors of what he uncovered were accentuated once he met with the enigmatic Inuit woman, Tupaarnaq, who had served jail time for murdering her entire family. She was just out of prison, but Matthew felt something wasn’t right. And when danger headed their way, he knew he was close to discovering something that he wouldn’t be allowed to uncover. His, and Tupaarnaq’s lives were in danger…

Set in two timeframes – 1973 and 2014 – The Girl Without Skin is dark, gritty and intense. It is also gruesome and violent, showing that “they” would stop at nothing to keep secrets hidden. This is my first by author Mads Peder Nordbo (and the first of his to be translated to English) and although bleak and gory, I enjoyed this crime thriller and recommend it highly.

With thanks to Text Publishing for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is Nordic Noir at its finest, and also its darkest and most disturbing. It is a complex and thrilling story with social, political and historical implications. The author is a Danish man who has lived in Greenland. This is his first crime novel which will be published n English, and the first of a future series. The translation is impeccable.

The writing is intense, atmospheric, and visual which immerses the reader in the setting which is the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, and surroundings. The sense of place is awesome. You can feel the chill, the darkness, the frigid icy waters, icy pellets hitting the skin when it rains and people shivering in the cold. The capital and landscape are well described in visual prose.

The intricate plot focuses on some gruesome murders in the early 1970’s which have been all but forgotten and some similar murders close to present time.

Matthew is a Danish reporter assigned to cover a story of scientific and historical importance. The mummified body of a probable Viking man who died centuries ago has been discovered in an ice crevice. His story reporting the find would be of worldwide interest. During the night the body is stolen. The policeman guarding the site was dead and his body eviscerated. The photographer’s equipment and film had been stolen. Matthew’s story is thereby killed by the newspaper on orders of higher ups. This does not stop him from investigating similar killings which took place in early 1970s. He suspects prominent politicians may have been involved in their coverup.

Matthew meets a young Inuit woman, Tupaarnaq, who has just been released from 12 years in prison. She was charged with killing her parents and two younger sisters when she was 15. Her father had been gutted and the others shot. She was found covered with blood. Their uneasy alliance is a pleasure to read. Tupaarnaq is covered with tattoos, her head is shaven and is a lethal hunter with her rifle. Matthew suspects she has information that she is not revealing.

Events in 1973 were investigated by a young policeman, Jacob. He believed crimes were related to child abuse and covered up by authorities. Young girls, aged about eleven, were suspected of being raped by their fathers. 3 of the girls vanished. Four of the suspected fathers were murdered, flayed, and their internal organs removed. Jacob managed to rescue and hide the 4th young girl putting both their lives and career in danger. Jacob is brutally attacked in his home and disappears. The girl he was hiding has been abducted and probably murdered before she can reveal what she knows.

Recommended to those who enjoy well written, Nordic Noir with a thrilling and complicated plot. Readers missing Lisbeth Salander may have a new girl to take her place. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Many thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

One of the best slow burning thrillers I've read since the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. This book reminds me of the Millennium Trilogy but brings its own unique pleasures.

The writing is superb, the setting is divinely creepy and the characters are all incredibly well written. Each character acts true to his or her nature and no character does something for the sake of advancing the plot. It is well crafted, beautifully written and achingly sad.

My favourite book of 2018 for sure!

Full comprehensive review on www.notesandanovel.com in the next 2 weeks.