The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn

The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn

Translated by Rosie Hedger

Summary:

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.

My Review:

Being such a big fan of Nordic noir I really enjoyed The Bird Tribunal back in 2016 and now at last the long awaited return of Agnes Ravatn with The Seven Doors now out through Orenda Books and is a dark psychological thriller and follows the story of Nina who is a university professor and is trying to cope with the fact that their home that she loves is to be demolished, she has an adult daughter but her relationship is somewhat strained let alone Mads her husband.

Nina is dealing with the loss of the home she has lived in for many decades as Mads has agreed to the sale so that a railway can be built. Now that her daughter Ingeborg has arrived needing somewhere to stay as her own home has a problem with Silverfish. Ingeborg is pregnant with her second child. We find out that the Nina and Mads have a second home that they have rented out to Mari Nilsen. This is where the story becomes darker and tragic as Ingeborg has twisted the arms of her parents to allow her to move into the second home. When Ingeborg arrives she is more than just persuasive with her attitude and confronts Mari.

The following day Mari has disappeared and her young son, there is no trace of Mari. This has sent shock waves through Nina and Mads and it is Nina who decides that she cannot just leave it as it is and decides she needs to look into what really has happened to Mari and if her daughter played any role in her disappearance.

This is really why I am really taken with Agnes Ravatn’s writing as she weaves a story as seen through the eyes of Nina as she tries to uncover what happened to Mari, did Ingeborg play a part or was it Mari’s ex-husband. The more Nina tries to uncover the more she sees and is disturbed by her findings. Agnes Ravatn brings many characters to the plot and Nina is beginning to look at members of her own family. This is a very atmospheric novel and the plot will have the reader looking closely at each of the main characters. But Nina is one that many will warm to. A thoroughly engrossing psychological thriller and wonderfully translated by Rosie Hedger.

276 Pages

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Thank you to Orenda Books for the review copy of The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn.

The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn was published by Orenda Books and was published on 17^th September 2020 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.