Cal and Elsa’s worst fears are realised when a nightmare scenario takes place on an idyllic Norwegian island. Two gunmen start shooting indiscriminately at a group of teenagers who are attending a summer camp. In the aftermath of this appalling national tragedy, Cal and Elsa discover that their daughter, Licia, is not amongst the survivors. Gradually, over the course of the story, it becomes more and more clear that there are deadly secrets to be revealed about just what happened to Licia.

The powerful first chapter is dark and complex and sets the scene for a tense family drama. The author writes well, and keeps the suspense high, thus bringing to life a nightmare set of circumstances which reveal a family in chaos. There are so many secrets between them that the investigation becomes like slotting together a jigsaw puzzle as Cal and Elsa desperately try to piece together flimsy fragments of information about what could possibly have happened to their daughter on that ill-fated summer day.

The Island is an intelligent and thought provoking read which shows the deep cracks which can appear inside a family who, on the surface, seem to know everything about each other, and yet when it comes right down to it, they know absolutely nothing at all.

I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about this book that I struggled to connect with. The pacing was a bit slow, the story didn't really go anywhere, and I didn't feel connected to or interested in the characters. All of this combined to make a rather uninteresting reading experience, which is a shame as the synopsis did sound good.

I think part of the issue is the way the book is written. Due to it's writing style, I mistakenly assumed that the book was originally written in Norwegian, as it reads very much like a poorly translated novel. Not that I have an issue with translated novels - I personally love a good Scandi thriller, and I do tend to enjoy the writing style in these novels; however, we all know that it depends on the strength of both the book and its translation, and I have had previous experiences when I struggled to connect with a book on the basis of its translation. And so, I was willing to put my lack of engagement with this book down to a similar thing. So I have to admit I was very surprised when I realised that the book was in fact originally written in English. As such, I can only assume that the author intended to mimic the writing style of a Scandi Noir, and that that is perhaps part of the reason for its stilted and unusual tone.

All in all, this one just wasn't for me. However, I've seen other reviews note that his previous work is stronger, and so I would be willing to try another of the authors books. But unfortunately, this one is not one I can recommend.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to be provided with an advance reading copy of this book by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

A good thriller but for me, it just didn't have enough to keep my attention the whole time. It was also just quite sad at times!

loved this authors first novel so I was very much looking forward to this one and it didnt disappoint.

The Island is a claustrophobic thriller come family drama that opens with a horrifying act of violence, giving the reader a bird’s eye view as it unfolds. From then on in it is a mystery that is extremely entertaining whilst asking a lot of relevant questions about society today.

A deeply moving and cleverly woven tale of heroes and villains, of family secrets and obscured truths, The Island manages to be a thought provoking tale and becomes more of a page turner as it goes. It also has the benefit of an ending that may keep you up at night wondering about your own moral centre.

Overall a really terrific read. I have no problem highly recommending it.

What a storyline. I never saw the twist coming in this one. All the characters were well portrayed and relatable
A compelling read

A really good dark and gritty read which kept me reading. There are a lot of twists that I did not see coming. The plot is very current and very cleverly written and kept me guessing the whole way through..

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

I thought this was going to be like some of the other books I have read called The Island but it was strangely different, a husband and wife who have three kids, they hear there has been an explosion in town and that the Summer camp where their kids are has had gunman invade it, one of his daughters was on that island but where is she now? Will the family find the answers they are looking for? It was a good plot line but for me it was a bit too slow, I felt as though the story was not really going anywhere and I didn't feel I connected with any of the characters, but that is my opinions I am sure other people will like it. There were bits of the book that I found good though.

This wasn’t what I expected but really enjoyed the read kept me guessing all the way through. I enjoyed the characters found the setting a little hard to picture but overall would recommend

3.5 stars
It seems longer than 5 years since I read A Line of Blood which I really enjoyed and have been hanging for the follow up ever since. Sadly, for me, it wasn't quite worth the wait as I did struggle with it somewhat.
Norwegian Elsa and Scottish Cal have three children. When first we meet them, they are at home in Norway with the youngest. The middle child is at a friend's and the oldest is at summer camp. They are due to return to the States soon after living in Norway for just the past few months. Their world is rocked when there's an explosion in town. Swiftly followed by reports that the island that is hosting the summer camp has been invaded by gunmen, the death toll high. Fearing for his daughter, Cal watches the news attentively and sees his daughter as she appears to be saving others. But she disappears, not seen alive again and her body never found. What has happened to her? As time goes on, as the trial of those responsible nears, Cal and his family still need answers but they are not easy to find...
My main gripe is this. For a book written in English it really read like a translation. It is set in Norway and I can't help but feel like the author wanted to get on the Scandi Noir train and write his book in the same style as Scandi authors write - obviously they have been translated... This meant that I really struggled to get into the book initially until this feeling started to settle down for me. It also started off very slowly and didn't really feel like it was going anywhere soon for the majority of the book. And the ending when it came was a bit predictable and flat and not wholly conclusive.
Gosh... that all sounds a bit gloom and doom and I guess it is a tad but the strange thing is that despite all the above, I never really contemplated giving up. Maybe I was holding on for something that I thought was coming, maybe I was too trusting, but even with life being too short and all that, I was reading as quite a pace through the book so despite my niggles, it didn't appear to drag.
It also didn't really help that I completely failed to connect to either Cal or Elsa. I so wanted to bang both their heads together at times; they annoyed me! The only character I did like was the middle child Vee, although I found her to be a little strange and irritating at times.
Although it did get on well with itself, I also found the story a little lacking in substance. It took quite a while to get to where we got and, when we got there, it wasn't completely satisfying. Parts of it were good, interesting and intriguing but there was something that made it lack cohesion and I don't feel the ending was complete enough for the time and effort taken to get there.
Sorry, not for me. But that said, as I did enjoy his previous book, this would not put me off future books, I'd just probably cherry pick. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The story is told from the point of view of a man living in a foreign country whose daughter is on an island which is subjected to a terrorist attack. The main character is trying to deal with the aftermath, trying to understand the country, its customs, his wife and daughters thoughts and actions. At the beginning of this book I felt that the story borrowed too heavily from the Åsne Seierstad books on the massacre at Utoya and the Two Sisters who got enticed to join Al Qaeda and go to Syria. I almost gave up after a few chapters. However I am so glad I stayed with this book. There is a brilliant twist towards the end which is very cleverly worked in. It is nether a total surprise in retrospect nor is it blatantly obvious as happens in a lot of thrillers these days. The characters are very well drawn and the visual descriptions are excellent. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

"The Island" by Ben McPherson is without doubt one of the best thrillers I have read this year! Set in idyllic Norway, it is a chilling drama that flipped my mind, more than once. Following an unexplained explosion in the city of Oslo, the occupants of a nearby island find themselves under attack; the extent of which causes the devoted Curtis family to seriously question the police response as their eldest daughter remains unaccounted for. Cal Curtis, the Scottish satirist husband of Elsa, a Norwegian citizen and father of daughters Licia and Vee has brought his family to Norway for a six-month stay finds himself in a nightmare that he is unable to leave.

This tense and totally gripping thriller is a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐read!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. This book started with a blood bath and just continued to be disturbing in my opinion. Was not for me.

A remarkable noir thriller describing how a shocking act of violence can set a chain of unprecedented events and rattle the core of a family and a town. Absolutely incredible!