I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for free.
As always with my reviews, I am not including an outline of the story, just my impressions of the book.
"The Girl Without Skin" paints a bleak, cold, dreary picture of Greenland. The author's Greenland is a place where men in the past have done horrible things to young girls. Murders were committed to cover up these atrocities, but the bodies refused to stay buried.
Perhaps it was reading this book with winter coming on that added to the sense of dark hopelessness. Or maybe Nordbo is just that good at evoking the environment he wants.
The best part for me was having no clue whatsoever how things were going to turn out. I was baffled. Even after the murderer was revealed the author still had a few surprises for the reader.
I will definitely read more by this author

Journalist Matthew has left his Danish home after with wife and their unborn daughter died in an accident. In Greenland he tries to make a new start. When an old, in ice conserved body is found, he believes to have found the story of his life: a new iceman just like Ötzi might be the scoop of his career. But it soon turns out that the body isn’t several hundred but only forty years old. His first deception leads him to old Greenland murder cases that were never solved. Four men had been killed and sliced open. When he starts to investigate, he doesn’t know what kind of hornets’ nests he is stirring up with his questions.

At first, “The Girl Without Skin” attracted me since the description sounded like a typical Scandinavian thriller set in the Greenland ice. As it turns out, there is much more to it than just brutal murders that need to be unravelled. Apart from the suspense and the clever story about these long time unsolved cases, it gives insight in a hardly known culture and the way the small community works – which is even worse than any of the violent killings.

I liked how the story slowly unfolds, one thing leads to another and you end up somewhere completely other than expected. All steps are well motivated and the highly complex case is solved satisfactorily. There is just one aspect that was a pity a bit: the protagonists, the Danish journalist, and his Greenlandic female helper resembled by far too much Stieg Larsson’s characters. The fearless investigative reporter who is eagerly ready to risk his life for a story and the inscrutable tattooed woman who is said to be a murderer and who easily hacks into official and highly protected computers – we have read that before. However, the parallels did not diminish any of the story’s appeal and suspense.

OHHH MYYY GODDDD!!! THIS BOOK IS AHHMAAZINNGG...!!!

Its been a long time that a book has come by which has captured my attention. I was unable to keep it down. I actually put my other book on hold to finish this one and I just loved it!! The Girl Without Skin has the feel of Girl With Dragon Tattoo mixed with White out. It is a totally unique reading experience. I was right on the edge wanting to know what next will happen.

The Girl Without Skin started awesome but I was hoping for a little more at the end, it ended rather abruptly. Nevertheless, this is one book I would definitely recommend people to try it.
The characters were intense, the plot line tight but the best part was the scenic description. I could literally imagine the cold they felt, the mountains looming ahead.

I don't write very long reviews, I just write what I felt while reading the book.

All in all, my readometer gives it 5/5!!!

A fresh new take on the Scandinavian crime thriller. Nordbro skillfully crafts a tale that spans 40 years, following the murder of a man who is then flayed and dumped in a crevasse. Equally horrifying and gripping, this book ticks off all the boxes for me. Edge of your seat? Check. Historical significance? Check. Cold climate? Check. Fast-paced? Check. I could go on for hours. It's definitely a fast read and one that will stick with you for a while afterwards. Don't hesitate, pick this guy up today!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one has a high body count. If reading about people being murdered in very gruesome ways is not to your taste then you probably will not make it past the prologue.

The Greenland setting makes a very atmospheric background to this first rate thriller. Bodies are found in the ice, blood stains the surrounding snow scarlet, thick fogs help prevent people being found - it all adds to the suspense. Towards the end I thought the author might have included a few less bad guys and a few less deaths as I felt overloaded with it all.

Then we reached the end and it was great with several surprise twists and a tiny touch of romance to round things off. All in all an excellent read but definitely not for the faint hearted.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book.

Taking place in Greenland, a mummy is found on the ice; the next day the mummy is gone and the policeman that was tasked to guard it is found dead; gutted in a way that reminds the police of a series of murders from years back. Are they connected. Reporter Matthew plans to find out, which puts him in jeopardy.

This book was very well written, but with a disturbing subject matter (child abuse). The murders themselves were handled well, almost lyrically. Things that I thought were obvious were not real, and there were surprises and twists throughout. The only thing that keeps it from 4 stars was the angle around treatment of young girls. This became an integral part of the story (it was not gratuitous) but disturbing nonetheless.

Grittier than my usual thriller choices, and with some scenes completely off the charts in terms of gore, I really enjoyed this book by Mads Peder Nordbo; his first to be translated into English.

In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, journalist Matthew Cave has returned to Greenland, the land of his birth. As the story opens, Matthew is on the verge of obtaining a worldclass scoop. Hunters have found a mummified Norseman on the edge of the icecap. The body could answer so many questions - scientific, historical, anthropological - about why the Norsemen suddenly disappeared from Greenland after centuries of settlement. But Matthew is denied his scoop when the mummy disappears and the police officer guarding it is murdered.

Matthew's editor has an idea that the murder's signature is similar to a string of unsolved murders in the mid-70s, and sends him off to investigate in that direction. He doesn't have a lot to go on until a local policeman unofficially provides him with the personal notebook of the detective who was investigating the original murders. And then things get very grim indeed...

And I do mean grim. There probably should be a trigger warning on this book, as it deals with some very disturbing themes including child abuse and incest. But if you can stomach that, it is a cut above the usual thriller fare, with the plot going off in very unexpected directions from time to time. Even with hindsight, there is no way I could possibly have guessed at how the story would be resolved, and I really admire that.

Matthew Cave is a damaged but dogged investigator, and I'll look forward to reading the next instalment of his story. Tupaarnaq, his unlikely Inuit ally, is angry, gruff and yet so vulnerably appealing, that I hope she returns too. Finally the Greenland setting is just so atmospheric, and Nordbo describes it so beautifully - I want to become more familiar with it.

This book is a perfect example of what is happening nowadays in the book industry. In the past, editors worked with novelists to perfect their work. Not that many books were published. In fact it was a great honor to be published. Now, hundreds and thousands of books are published each year, sans guidance and corrections and deletions from an editor.

This book has a good and unusual plot, but poorly executed. Too many details, unneccesary, that totally slow down the story (whole paragraphs, and pages even, that need cutting) plus poorly written dialogue, very stilted.

Now someone in Hollyood is/was able to see the core story (and did in this case) and ferret out the bones of it to make a film. I’m betting that this film is 10 times better than the book. And then, when the film becomes popular, everyone wants to read the book, And voila! a best seller is born from a perfectly mediocre book.

And, of course it doesn't hurt that this book is Scandinavian, given the great success of the trilogy of The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, which was a tremendous read. This is a wanna be sequel and it fails.

My thanks to Text Publishing for an ebook edition of this novel via NetGalley. It is currently available as an ebook in U.K. and USA and will be released as a paperback edition in U.K. on 28 February and in USA on 11 June 2019.

Matthew Cave is haunted by the death of his wife and unborn daughter in a tragic car accident. He has relocated from Denmark to Nuuk, Greenland and is working as a correspondent on a newspaper there. Following the discovery of a mummified body in an ice crevice he is quickly drawn into an investigation involving a series of gruesome murders which appears similar to unsolved murders that took place q40 years previously. Both his editor and the police prove quite obstructive. Along the way he meets the troubled young Greenlandic woman Tapaarnaq, recently released from prison.

The narrative moves between the present (2014) and the events of 1973. It is a well written and gripping story though is brutally graphic in terms of violence. Nordbo does not shy away from depicting political and social issues impacting on life in Greenland. It makes for a powerful, if at times, disturbing narrative.

He does also offer rich descriptions of the landscape, the sea, and the weather that creates a strong sense of place throughout. Against this backdrop the story unfolds with many twists. I became quickly invested in Matthew and Tapaarnaq.

Certainly there are echoes of Lisbeth Salander in Tapaarnaq given her background, attitude towards men, hacking skills and tattoos. The title furthers this association with ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. And indeed why not?

As a lover of Nordic Noir and a great admirer of Stieg Larsson’s ‘Millennium Trilogy’, I am happy to have my attention brought to a novel (and new series) that is unflinching in examining the darker aspects of a society while providing a solid crime thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat and now eagerly awaiting more.

This was a suspenseful, intriguing mystery. Matthew Cave, an investigative reporter, is brought in on a story about what appeared to be a perfectly intact mummy that was uncovered after a storm. It was soon determined that the corpse wasn't as ancient as they believed and part of a mystery from 40 years previous. This was entangled with Matthew's desire to try and move on after the sudden death of his wife and child in a car accident. The story was suspensful and unique. My biggest problem was the translation. The book needs to be tightened up and rewritten in many spots. It has great potential but needs some work. Would have been 5 stars.

Wow and double wow this book just blew me away totally it was everything you expect from a thriller engrossing, compulsive and a very clever, complex storyline. Set in the stunning and atmospheric Greenland and switching from two timelines and perspectives it made for a book that was impossible to put down and as the pages turned the two timelines began to weave together into a very impressive and absorbing read. I loved the characters especially Tupaarnaq, Matthew and Jakob who all seemed very believable, the story is a sad one dealing with sensitive issues and people determined to find the truth no matter what the cost may be and to put wrongs right …but to say too much would spoil this wonderful book. I hope we will see more books by the author translated as this book has become one of my favourite books of 2018 it was an amazing and I loved it from start to finish.
My thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing Company for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

With plenty of gory content, this book is great for readers who love crime and mystery. The brutal murders had just enough detail to make you really cringe. Admittedly, I do not know much about Greenland or Nordic culture but I was able to learn a little bit from this book. Especially in regards to hunting and flaying.

Each character was well thought out and easy to remember. The number of links between each character were pretty wild. The author did a great job keeping tabs on them though so that you did not get muddled. I know that I would have had to literally draw out a graph to keep track. As for the pacing, it was great! There was just enough action to keep you reading but not so much that you found yourself getting lost in it.

I think the only flaw I came across was there were a few words that were used a little too often. "Groin" is one of them that really stuck out to me. There was some repetition (descriptions, phrases, and thoughts) that seemed unnecessary as well. However, overall I did find myself really swept up in the mystery and eager to find out what truly happened.

This cover is everything I’ve ever wanted.

Matthew Cave is a Danish-American journalist who has just moved to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, after his life is ripped apart in 2014. His first major assignment comes in the form of a frozen body found deep within glacial crags of ice. Scientists and police immediately assume that the man is an ancient Viking and that he likely died in battle, due to the fact that he has been gutted. All involved wonder if this will lead to career breakthrough, since it could very well turn out to be a world-famous archaeological discovery.

However, two fresh bodies are found in the following days, and seeing as though they’re insides are also missing, they met similar fates to mummy dearest. Oh, and the mummy? Yeeeeeaaahh, that thing totally vanished. It quickly becomes apparent that the police are dealing with someone who doesn’t want secrets getting out, and that’s when they (working with Matthew) begin to delve into the town’s gruesome past, which bears some remarkable similarities to the recent crimes.

In 1973, an officer named Jakob Pedersen begins to investigate child abuse in Nuuk, as Greenland’s rate for sexual assault against young girls is among the highest in the world. What he finds leads him to suspect many locals of heinous crimes, but four men in particular are the highest on his radar. As those men are found systematically gutted and flayed in the same way, suspicions turn to him and he wonders exactly how high up these crimes go. The Girl Without Skin alternates between Matthew and Jakob’s timelines in an impressively seamless way that left me absolutely on the edge of my seat, breathless, until like 5 am last night. Seriously, it was that freakin’ good.

“I have lived here once. Lived with a new god in my thoughts, but with the words of the old gods pulsating in my veins. I have lived here once – marked by nature’s toughness. Allowed myself to be shaped by the wind, the breeze and the frost. Loved the mountains and the sea because they were my body and my blood. Loved the fog because it was my breath.”

Back in 2014, Matthew’s journalistic investigation leads his life to intersect with that of a young woman named Tupaarnaq (my new GirlCrush™) who is of interest to the police because she just spent 12 years in jail for the murder of her family, and her father had suffered similar injuries to the recent victims. She was 15 when she was arrested, but now she is a warrior queen who suffers no fools and is covered in tattoos everywhere but her head, feet, and hands. (Is this derivative of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo? Don’t know, don’t care right now.)

As the plot begins to weave these timelines together flawlessly, an operation of considerable breadth comes to light. Because there are multiple mysteries, it’s possible that you might see an answer before it is revealed, but you probably won’t see everything. Regardless, the pictures painted are so beautiful, the characters so vivid and believable, I can’t imagine that any true lover of thrillers would find this boring.

“Causality,’ she went on. ‘If you want to understand why a ball is rolling, you need to find out what set it in motion. The rest is nothing but effect, and the effect is visible to everyone. The explanation is found in the cause.'”

I really don’t think I can hype this book enough, as it may very well be my favorite suspense novel I’ve read to date. The prose was rich and buttery, the scenery exotic and lavish, the characters shadows in the Arctic’s commanding twilight. I hung on with Nordbo (and his translator, Charlotte Barslund) through every word, scene, and plot twist. While Nuuk wasn’t made out to be the most romantic place in the world, I can honestly say that a little nugget of me wouldn’t mind visiting Greenland if I’m ever rich enough to make that sort of decision.

While all of these things held my interest into the wee hours of the morning and gripped my thoughts even while I slept (let’s just say my dreams didn’t not feature seals last night), it was the fact that there were no plot holes at the end that really impressed me. I can’t even think of the last time a mystery didn’t leave me with at least one or two glaring questions, and most of the time I’m a little leery of some of the characters’ motives/intentions. But not here. Maybe it’s because I haven’t read anything else in this particular sub-genre, but everything felt super contained and genuine.

This doesn’t come out for quite some time, but if you have the chance to request it from Netgalley, I can’t recommend it enough! Thanks to NG, the publisher, and all involved for my ARC.

Fall foliage is beginning to transform into bare branches and blanketed snow, and the colder the weather gets, the more reason readers have for staying indoors with a cozy new read. Whether you're in the mood for a steamy romance, heart-pounding thriller, or riveting historical fiction, there's a book for everyone on this list. Check out our list of the best books winter 2018 has to offer, complete with publishers' descriptions.

A thriller set in Greenland. A journalist, Matthew Cave, is hopeful that he has a scoop when a mummified body, thought to be hundreds of years old, is found on a glacier. But the find sparks a chain of events which lead to more than one murder and Matthew finds himself drawn into a very old investigation involving several missing girls, child abuse, some gruesome murders and the disappearance of a police officer. Matthew is helped with his investigation by the feisty Tupaarnaq (who seems strongly reminiscent of Lisbeth Salander) and an old notebook.
There are many twists and turns in this novel, and the extent of the child abuse seemed a little unbelievable (in fact, you'll find yourself hoping it's unbelievable as it's so extensive - I can't imagine many Greenlanders will enjoy their home being portrayed as a place where almost all female children are abused). The murders are brutal - but on the whole the people who are murdered were pretty brutal too. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Scandi-noir (or crime novels in general).

This was excellent! I read this over two days, as it was just so engrossing! I got lost in the intense mystery of The Girl Without Skin.

I don't know much about the author, but I hope he has more for me to devour. The writing reminded me of another book I'm currently reading - The Craftsman, they are not similar in story, but the way the landscape is set and forms part of the story as much as another character would, reminded me of Sharon Bolton's writing.

We start with a mummified corpse, and move on, quickly, to a set of new murders which are subsequently linked back to some old ones. We get some twists and turns, and end with a satisfying conclusion. It's an excellent read. Fast paced and thrilling.

There is gore and blood, and historic crimes; people to love and those to hate. I got sucked in to the character development quickly, and appreciated the hopping back and forth to 1973.

This book was filled with tension and atmosphere, and reading it felt claustrophobic, which contrasted with the open setting of the Icelandic landscape. It felt like I was there with Jakob and Matthew, solving the crime and uncovering the gruesome truths alongside them, in their respective time periods.

I would definitely recommend this to any thriller/Nordic suspense readers!

‘People up here have a habit of disappearing, but they pretty much always turn up again.’

This novel begins with two disturbing prologues. In the first, a man is being murdered. In the second, another man is in a nightmare reliving the car accident in which his wife and unborn daughter were killed. How are they connected? As the man wakes from his nightmare, he receives a telephone call. We learn that he is Matthew (Matt) Cole, a journalist for Sermitsiaq in Nuuk, Greenland, who is about to watch and report on a political debate. Matt is a Danish news reporter who took the job with Sermitsiaq after the deaths of his wife and daughter.

The following day, Matt and his Inuit photographer friend Malik are sent out to report on a mummified body found on the edge of an ice sheet. If the mummified corpse is from the Viking age, the discovery is hugely significant. The body cannot be moved until it is stabilised so is left in situ with Aqqalu, a police guard. Matt writes his article but overnight, Malik’s camera was stolen, along with all the photographs taken. The pair are able return to the ice sheet the next day where they hope to take more photographs. But they find that the mummified body is gone, and the policeman who was guarding has been murdered. He is found naked and flayed.

Matt’s story is on hold. He is unable to release any information about either of the bodies.

‘Less than twenty-four hours ago he had held a global scoop in his hands, only for it to slip through his fingers as it turned into a violent murder.’

His editor suggests that he have a look into some brutal murders which occurred in Nuuk during the 1970s: the death of Aqqalu has reminded him of them. Those murders, involving men suspected of abusing their daughters, were also flayed. And then there’s Tupaarnaq, an Inuit woman who has just been released from prison where she served time for murdering her entire family.

Matt starts investigating, and if you want to know more (surely you do) then you’ll need to read the novel for yourself. Be warned: it’s brutal, dark and graphic. It’s bleak, cold and horrifying. It’s also fast-paced, with a number of twists to keep you wondering.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Mads Peder Nordbo’s The Girl Without Skin is an interesting and chilling read that deals with gruesome murders and child sexual abuse. While the book is a thrilling read, the characters are flat, the transitions are choppy and the mystery could be better written.

In the tiny village of Nuuk, journalist Matthew Cave is sent to report on the discovery of a mummified Viking corpse found on an ice sheet. However, the next day, the mummy disappears. In its place is the butchered body of the policeman who was guarding it. The death is exactly like the brutal unsolved murders which occurred in the town in the 1970s. As Matt digs deeper and finds a journal written by the missing policeman who investigated the earlier murders, past and present intertwine. With the help of Tupaarnaq, a young Inuit woman who was jailed for murdering her family, Matt discovers the darkness lurking within the town.

I’ve never read a book set in Greenland so I was excited to check this one out. Nordbo crafts a bleak but compelling setting. The tense and gloomy atmosphere is excellently done and kept me on edge throughout. I also liked the glimpses into the fascinating local Inuit culture.

Nordbo skilfully weaves a tense mystery with relevant social criticism. The plot starkly and painfully presents child abuse, incest, and exploitation. It also deftly captures the claustrophobia of small towns as well as politics and corruption. The book is extremely dark and gory with gruesome murders and the horrifying treatment of young girls. Not everyone will be able to stomach it. However, the book is realistic and left me sad and shaken.

The mystery is intriguing and fast-paced with some good twists. However, I wish the book explored the murderer’s intentions more. Furthermore, the mystery plot could have been better written because things often got muddled. The transitions between the past and the present are choppy and confusing.

I’m not sure if it’s the translation or Nordbo’s writing but the characters are underdeveloped and I struggled to connect with them. While Matthew has a sad backstory and is a fairly likable protagonist, he is forgettable. Tupaarnaq’s history is devastating and evokes sorrow and horror. However, her development is limited with little focus beyond her “toughness” and Nordbo’s near-obsession with her physical description.

The Girl Without Skin is a great crime thriller that presents relevant issues. Although I think the plot and characters could have been much better written, this is an intriguing read and I would check out more of Nordbo’s work.

A challenging read, the Icelandic names and place names coupled with the historical police investigation and Mathew's investigation means you need to read carefully. The Tapaanuq character reminded me of Lisbeth Salander from Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Abusive practices and their covering up is perhaps not so uncommon in isolated small island communities. The identity of the killer was unexpected. I enjoyed the spiritual and lyrical aspects of the Greenlandic nature.

I'm beginning to really love Danish authors, as they have the rare ability to portray both the best and worst humanity has to offer. This book is no different. Tough, unblinking examination of murder most foul, with excellent 3-dimensional characters and believable plots. Highly recommended!