Two people in exile. Two secrets. As the past tightens its grip, there may be no escape... TV presenter Allis Hagtorn leaves her partner and her job to take voluntary exile in a remote house on an isolated fjord. But her new job as housekeeper and gardener is not all that it seems, and her silent, surly employer, 44-year-old Sigurd Bagge, is not the old man she expected. As they await the return of his wife from her travels, their silent, uneasy encounters develop into a chilling, obsessive relationship, and it becomes clear that atonement for past sins may not be enough... Haunting, consuming and powerful, The Bird Tribunal is a taut, exquisitely written psychological thriller that builds to a shocking, dramatic crescendo that will leave you breathless.
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[My pulse raced as I traipsed through the silent forest]***
(@OrendaBooks, 1 September 2016, first published 1 September 2013, 276 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs)
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I'd never heard of the author before and chose this book solely because I liked the image on the cover. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy the book at first because of the style it's written in, quite short chapters, dense yet quite tight prose. It took a while for me to settle into the flow of the prose. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is what's not made clear in the book and how everything is slowly, painfully revealed. This is a very complex book and I wasn't expecting that. Allis and Bagge are intense characters when they become obsessed with each other this heightens the intense feeling. Their motivations are never clear. Why the hell did Allis give up her relationship and job for a job she had no experience in? Where is Bagge's wife? The ending shocked me as I didn't expect it.
