This is Nordic Noir at its darkest and grittiest with some very grisly murders amidst the ice and bitter winds of arctic Greenland.

Matthew Cave, a Danish journalist has recently moved to Greenland to work for the local paper after the deaths of his wife and unborn child in a horrific car crash. When a mummified corpse in a crevasse in the glacier, possibly that of a Norseman who died 600 years ago, Matthew's paper sends him to report on the find. However, the next morning the mummy has disappeared and the policeman guarding it overnight is found horribly murdered, flayed and eviscerated on the ice. Matthew's editor is reminded of similar gruesome murders from forty years ago in 1973 and suggests that he look into the similarities and he soon finds himself embroiled in a scandal that someone is still keen to keep quiet.

In parallel with Matthew's investigation, the events of 1973 are told through the voice of Jakob Pedersen, the policeman who originally investigated the murders. Although he disappeared during the investigation but Matthew has been given his notebook with details of his discoveries. It's a gruesome tale of child abuse and corruption and Matthew soon finds his own life in danger.

The descriptions of the bleak, forbidding landscape, the harsh lives of the Greenlanders and the culture of sexism and corruption in the 1970s all lead to a very atmospheric novel. The characters are diverse and interesting, including a feisty young Innuit women, Tupaarnaq who befriends Matthew. Covered in colourful tattoos she has just been released from prison after serving time for murder. Overall, it's a brutal story with thrilling twists and a high degree of tension maintained throughout.

With a very interesting setting in Greenland, this well written novel contains a lot of some of the worst crimes against human beings. The plot is excellent, and if you can stand the gore, it's a very good book.

Rating: 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars

I am usually a fan of Scandinavian Noir, but this book was kind of a middle of the road read for me. I gave it 3.5 stars, but rounded down to 3 stars. Three stars in the NetGalley rating system is a ‘Maybe’ for recommending to others, and that is where this book falls for me. I’d recommend it if you have a strong stomach for violence and thinly veiled scenes of sexual abuse of girls. I’d recommend it if you’re willing to start a less than stellar first book in a new series to see how the story arc develops in the next book of the series. I’d recommend it if you like reading about the landscape, weather, and social structure of Greenland as I did. It was fast paced, and suspenseful.

The hero, Matthew Cave, has recently moved to in Greenland to work as a journalist on the local paper. For me, he jumped into the deep-end of a newly resuscitated 40-year-old murder mystery much more quickly than I would have expected that a newcomer would. His character was a bit over blown in the sleuth role for my taste. He worked hard in the face of local opposition and continues even after he finds another dead body that has been horribly mutilated. Personally, that would give me pause about my level of involvement.

Some parts of the mystery were expertly resolved. They developments surprised me, which I always want in a mystery. The dual storyline was a good way to go back and forth in time. I think that I actually liked the 40 year-old storyline better than the current one. Based on the description of Greenland and its societal structure, I realized that it isn’t a place that I would find very inviting or habitable. It would take a strong constitution to move as outsider to this often bleak and unforgiving land.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Text Publishing Company; and the author, Mads Peder Nordbo; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book could be the start of a whole new crime genre – something like Nordic noir, with all of its gritty realism and cultural quirks: let’s call it Greenland Grim. In this new thriller you can almost feel the bitter Arctic chill streaming from its pages. The mystery begins in Greenland’s urban centre, Nuuk, a far cry from the bright lights of a warm European capital. This small, isolated settlement sees snow for ten months of the year, and in mid-winter the nights last for 20 hours…

It’s here that the discovery of a mummified, eviscerated corpse prompts a newspaper reporter to review a series of similar deaths which took place 40 years ago. His investigations trigger yet more grisly murders as the guilty successors scramble to hide the crimes of the past.

That scenario alone is an intriguing basis for a thought-provoking thriller but this book also offers startling snapshots of life in Greenland itself. It reveals the social and political conflicts between the colony and its Danish government, and the cultural clashes between Danish and Greenlandic societal norms.

You might flinch at the opening chapter because it kicks off with a gruesome, stomach-turning sequence but that is by far the most explicit episode in the entire book. Thereafter it’s a sensitive series of insights into loss and loneliness, with the two storylines packaged in Russian doll fashion, one inside the other.

That title might also suggest a ‘girl on a train’ type novel, but this is much more ‘dragon tattoo’ territory. The strong female protagonist has as much attitude and more tattoos than Lisbeth Salander – and this book is much more Scandi crime than an ‘unreliable narrator’ domestic drama.

It’s also refreshing that the author chose to balance ‘the evil that men do’ with several more nuanced male characters; emotionally vulnerable, perceptive and considerate. Too often these days the entire male gender is portrayed as being culpable in all manner of forms of abuse against women and children. It was refreshing that author Mads Peder Nordbo avoided these clichés, and instead developed his fictional characters with the 3D complexity of real people, inevitably flawed but also inherently well-intentioned.

A riveting read, then, offering some beautifully nuanced moments which reflect the stark and complex splendour of Greenland’s uncompromising landscape. It’s almost poetic in places where the author incorporates the spiritual beliefs of the indigenous people. I hugely enjoyed the historical information about the early Norse settlers and their strange disappearance, too. Can’t wait for this author’s next offering.

8/10

Nordic Noir one of my reading guilty pleasures.
A really good storyline but be warned it is very dark and disturbing. The murders are brutal and very graphic, you have been warned. I read this book in one sitting and finally turned the last page in the wee hours. This read had me sat on the edge of my seat and tapping my kindle faster and faster. This read also had me holding my breath and in places stepping away from this book. It was a little disjointed in places but in no way did it detract from my reading pleasure. Maybe it was lost in translation. Still a very happy reader, almost five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, Text Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This was a beautiful, grisly, shocking and enlightening book. I've read a lot of the so-called "scandinavian noir," although never anything set in Greenland, and although Greenland isn't truly Scandinavian, being an autonomous territory of Denmark. This was among my favorites.

Readers know from the opening scene that what lies ahead maybe savage and brutal (trigger alert).
The point-of-view character, Matthew Cave, is a damaged Danish journalist, who was born in Greenland and returned to Denmark as a very young child with his Danish mother. Thus, subtly woven into the action is the kind of cultural contrast and social commentary that can only come from an outsider.

This is not propaganda, however. It's pure propulsive narrative. The author, Mads Peder Nordbo, unflinchingly portrays the worst of human nature, a la the Greenlandic variation. But Matthew is not a hostile outsider, and he sees and feels both the beauty and the horror.

Matthew is sent to report on the discovery of a Viking mummy in the ice fields. He hopes for an international scoop to launch his career and help him get his life back on track after a tragedy. Instead, what he investigates is a 40-year-long series of murders and a horrendous pattern of child abuse.

But I wasn't left with a feeling of gloom. I loved Nordbo's language as rendered in English by his translator, Charlotte Barslund. I loved several female characters (a child, a police employee and Tupaarnaq, a fierce tatooed felon.) I loved the air of hope that prevailed at the end of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

The Girl Without Skin
Mads Peder Nordbo

The Girl Without Skin is book one in the Matthew Cave series by Danish author, Mads Peder Nordbo. The novel was translated to English by Charlotte Barslund and is Nordbo’s debut crime novel. The author has done well in his first foray into the genre.

This crime novel bravely addresses some disturbing topics: rape and incest. Current political corruption, intrigue and mystery are blended well with the past, leading to interesting plot twists. The flora and fauna are both beautifully detailed. The scenery is so vividly described and utilized that it’s actually a character unto itself. Some of the names and locations were difficult but that is to be expected.

Overall, I enjoyed The Girl Without Skin and give it 3 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book to all fans of the crime mystery genre. There are some gory details that may be disturbing to more sensitive readers.

My thanks to Text Publishing Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

This is a very good Nordic mystery, but not for the faint of heart! A complicated tale of gory killings and child abuse. Takes place in Greenland and is very cold, dark, and atmospheric. Well written characters and also some interesting knowledge of Inuit culture.

I love mysteries that take place in new to me settings. And Greenland definitely fits that bill. Nordbo does a fabulous job of setting the scene, so that I felt I could see everything in detail.

Matthew Cabe is a Danish reporter assigned to Greenland after the death of his pregnant wife in a car accident. When a mummified Norseman is found in an ice crevice, Matthew and his photographer are sent to report on it. Overnight, the photographer’s camera and files are stolen. And the soldier guarding the mummified body is killed and the body stolen. Matthew’s editor has him research similar murders that happened in 1973 and he is given the diary of the policeman that investigated those murders.

The book tells its story from the viewpoint of both Matthew and Jakob, the original policeman. Be prepared for gruesome scenes. This is considered Scandinavian Noir and it is as dark as a Greenland winter.

It’s a fast paced book and kept me in its grips for its entirety. I had no idea how it would play out. I’m adding Nordbo to my list of authors to read again.

My thanks to netgalley and Text Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

"Nordic Noir" has become an actual category of mystery/thriller. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the sub-genre. Although Nordbo is not yet listed among the authors mentioned, with this book it is clear (to me at least) that he is bound to be a very strong voice in the bleak landscape of horrific crimes.
Danish journalist, Matthew Cave, is sent to Greenland to research the story of a recently discovered mummified body. The expectation (and hope) is that this is a body from the Viking age of explorers. But shortly after Cave arrives a policeman who was guarding the find is brutally murdered and the mummified body is missing.
As an investigative journalist, Cave is accomplished at doing research and he soon discovers some horrifying similarities between the gutting and skinning of the policeman and a series of murders that occurred in a remote town nearby in the early 1970's.
Although Cave manages to get the notebook of a policeman who investigated the 1973 murders, but of the locals seem to be pretty unmoved despite the gruesome nature of the killings and the local police help is tepid at best. And so reporter Matthew Cave suspects a cover-up and takes on the investigation alone. But the closer he get to discover the truth to the mummified body and the decades-old murders, the more danger he finds himself in.
I've read a few books in this "Nordic Noir" sub-genre of thriller/mystery and there is something remarkable and ... I'll say it ... beautiful in the juxtaposition of horrible crime and stark, harsh landscape with the human drive to seek truth and retribution or closure. This book fits so nicely into this category. The crimes couldn't be much more terrible. The title alone brings to mind such a dark visual that you have to know going in that this will be pretty gruesome.
But the story here unfolds so nicely and we're caught, like spectators driving past an accident, that the combination keeps us turning pages. It's a great reading experience (if you can handle the cruelty).
This is a top-notch mystery and a thrilling read. It is highly recommended.
Looking for a good book? The Girl Without Skin by Mads Peder Nordbo is a wonderful read in the Nordic Noir sub-genre and well worth reading if you don't mind a little gruesomeness in your mystery/thriller.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This book has Shades of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” but is not in that class. For the squeamish the murders were brutal and described with very gory details. I found the Scandinavian/ Inuit names at times slightly confusing and often mixed the characters up. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great.

I love that this book is set in Greenland. It's a unique and interesting setting, and I really enjoyed that about this book. It doesn't paint Greenland in a great light, though. I'm sure it's absolutely gorgeous, but reading this didn't make me want to run out and visit. It's a brutal read in many ways. There's quite a bit of child abuse and quite a few nasty individuals. Although the actual abuse isn't really described as it's happening, it is still incredibly unsettling and disturbing. I really like Tupaarnaq's character, and I'd definitely read book 2 to see if she's in it and to see what Matthew is up to. It's definitely worth checking out if you like Nordic Crime!

A super big thank you to Netgalley and publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
Matthew Cave is a journalist in Nuuk, Greenland. He is sent to the scene of a mummified body discovered on the desolate Greenland ice sheet. After he sees the body and a news photographer take pictures, they return to Nuuk. The next day, the policeman who was left to guard the body is found gruesomely murdered and the mummified body is gone. Matthew soon realizes that the policeman's murder is similar to a series of unsolved murders in Greenland forty years earlier. He starts investigating and the person he trusts the most is Tupaarnaq, a woman recently released from prison for killing her family at the age of 14.
Together they uncover a coverup of murder, rape, incest and more. The book alternates between two narratives, one in 2014 and one in 1973. The 1973 narrative is based upon a diary of a policeman presumed dead. He was investigating the murders and incest, despite orders from superiors to stop investigating. The book moved slowly in the first half, while I tried to put all this together. The murders are resolved, and some of the abusers are exposed. The description of the dead bodies is graphic enough that cozy mystery fans are not going to want to read this. I have been to Nuuk, and I enjoyed the description of Nuuk.
Thanks to Text Publishing Company for sending me this book through NetGalley. #TheGirlWithoutSkin #NetGalley

3.5 Stars rounded up to a 4

When a mummified body is found in the crevasse on the edge of an ice sheet, the body is believed to be the rare find of a Viking corpse. Journalist Matthew Cave is sent to cover the story. He and his photographer are excited to be first on the scene and look forward to breaking such a huge story. But the next morning, the mummified corpse is gone and in its place is the body of the police officer guarding the corpse who has been flayed and gutted. This is a brutal one folks.

Matthew soon finds similarities between this case and the case of four men who were found murdered in the same manner i 1973. The Danish Police officer in charge of that investigation went missing - assumed to have been murdered - but his journal and information on the men and missing girls from the village was left behind.

Matthew and Jacob are both tragic figures. Matthew lost his pregnant wife and unborn daughter in a car accident. He suffers horrible nightmares and mourns their loss every day. Jacob's father abandoned him and his Mother when he was four years old. He has no answers why and has always wondered why his father never came home. Both are haunted by the brutality of the murders and their link to missing girls in the village.

Matthew soon receives help from a woman named Tupaarnaq who was recently released from prison for serving time for murdering her family - she has always claimed to be innocent of the crimes. The Character of Tupaarnaq reminded me somewhat of Lisbeth Salander from:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with her tough and gritty nature. But Tupaarnaq takes it up a notch with her distrust and disdain at men.

The time jumps back and forth between the current day and 1973 as both men try to solve the case. Which one will solve it? At what cost does the truth come? Again, this is a brutal book which involves grisly murders, disturbing crimes against children and the search for the truth. Plus, those statistics given in the book - shudders - how one wishes they were not real. There is a lot to think about here. It had me thinking about the cold and the harshness of the environment and its possible effect on one’s mental status. Who would commit such murders? Who has the skill to flay and gut a man? Why? Who are the victims? Who took the missing girls? How are these crimes related, if at all?

This is a translated book and it may take readers in some places they do not want to go. It's dark, gritty and raw. This book is also very atmospheric. Make no mistake, the land is also a character in this book. The Author does a great job as describing the numbing cold, the landscape, the chill, and the characters reaction to the weather and landscape.

Not for the faint at heart but well worth it if you have the stomach for it.

Thank you to the Author, Text Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an author I have never tried before, but I most certainly will be readinr more from. The topic is perhaps not my favorite but the story is very well written and the language is great. I actually read it both in English and Swedish to compare. Its been a long time since I read about Greenland and those books all took place in the early 1900s written by Peter Freuchen. I can really recommend thriller fans to try this. I also have to thank #Netgalley and#TextPublishingCompany for giving me the chance to try something new like #TheGirlWithoutSkin #FlickanUtanHud #PigenUdenHud The first book in a new Greenland series by #MadsPederNordbo

This was not my normal type of read, but the author was coming for Adelaide Writers Week, so I thought I would give it a go.
It's a great, if not a little disturbing read. from the first few pages you're drawn into this cold dark world, where terrible things have happened...and are happening again.
I like the way the book moved from present day, back to the 1970s, slowly filling in all of the pieces of the puzzle.
The shocking thing, was hearing the author speak, and finding out that the violence in the book is a true reflection on what is happening in communities in Greenland...
All in all , and eye opening, sometimes uncomfortable, but gripping read.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It took me awhile to get into the story. Even then I was more interested in the flash back murders that took place 40 years prior. But there was enough that kept me reading until the end!

This story is not for those with weak stomachs ... The murders are described in explicit detail and there is discussion of past child abuse which I found disturbing. This is balanced with the rather simple relationship between the reporter, a recently released felon, and a policeman who investigated the original murders.

There was a huge twist towards the end of the book and the mysteries were all eventually solved. Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the free book in exchange for my honest review.

The Girl Without Skin is a murder mystery set in Greenland. It begins with journalist Matthew Cave investigating the discovery of a mummified Viking body.

If you do not like murder mysteries with gruesome crimes – murder, child abuse, and sexual assault- then this may not be the book for you. I would have also liked the book if it was actually about studying the Viking mummy and where he came from. Greenland has different cultural influences – Danish and Inuit

So the Viking mummy case was put on hold due to the murder of the police officer guarding the body. While Matthew was waiting for permission to publish the article, someone tells him to look into an old cold case from the 1970s. The case involves four men who were murdered and also were probably abusing their daughters.

The title refers to one of the main characters,
Tupaarnaq. She served time in prison for killing her parents and sisters. By the time she was released, Tupaarnaq was covered in tattoos. Her name means “wild thyme.”

It really is a good book, even with all of the gruesomeness. Honestly, there were so many twists at the end that I never saw coming.

I received this ebook from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

Before I start talking about the book itself I feel like I need to say that this book contains graphic violence and involves childhood sexual abuse. If wither of those are dealbreakers, this isn’t the book for you.

But this is a powerful, powerful book. I really actually hated putting it down.

It takes place in Greenland in 2014. A mummified man is found but quickly disappears, the robbers leaving behind the disembodied police officer that was supposed to be guarding the artifact. The murder is eerily similar to to four unsolved murders from 1973. Journalist Matt Cave starts looking into the murders, but quickly finds himself stymied at every turn. The only person who appears to take him seriously is a reclusive young woman, recently released from prison for manslaughter.

I loved that this was set in Greenland. I knew almost next to nothing about that country so I really, really enjoyed getting to learn about there - I kind of want to visit at some point now! The author really incorporates Greenlandic culture and found myself looking things up and reading further about them.

The story itself was also so, so good. The mystery was twisted and reminded me of a great psychological thriller film. It starts out seemingly straightforward and then goes off the rails in the best way. There are some great twists and turns that really left me picking my jaw up off the floor.

Overall, if you love dark, insidious thrillers that will make you shiver, this is the book for you. This is definitely going in my “will read again” pile.

This translated crime fiction from Danish author, Mads Peder Nordbo, falls squarely into the Scandi-Noir genre, it has all the dark and disturbing elements, grisly murders and a brutality that is the trademark of that genre, albeit it is set in the unusual setting of Greenland. It offers a social and political commentary on the dark history of the country. The grieving Matthew Cave has returned to Greenland from Denmark, he spent the first four years of his life here, coming after the traumatising death of his wife and unborn daughter in a car accident. He is based in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, working as a journalist on the local paper, Sermitsiaq, and looking to find out what happened to his father, an American soldier that used to be based at Thule air base. Lured by the possibility of a exclusive, Cave arrives on the scene at the ice fields, where the rare discovery of a mummified Viking has been discovered.

The following day, he returns to find the mummified body has disappeared and the police officer guarding it has been gruesomely murdered and eviscerated. His murder echoes the MO of 4 murdered men in Nuuk back in the early 1970s, flayed and gutted, all the victims were suspected of terrible crimes. An investigating Danish policeman, Jakob Pederson, disappeared, assumed murdered, leaving behind his notes on the case, and on the missing lost girls of the time, now long forgotten. Cave is given his notebook, and begins to look into these forty year old murders, only to find the past rears its ugly head in the present with more murders as powerful and ruthless forces look to silence any emergence of the shocking truths and secrets. Cave finds himself helped by a young Inuit woman, Tupaarnaq, with her shaved head and tattooed body, recently released from a 12 year stretch in prison for the apparent murder of her family. She acts as guide to Greenlandic culture for Cave as he finds himself eating raw and bloodied seal liver on a seal hunt. Tupaarnaq is treated as a suspect for the murders by the police, which fuels her drive to find the real killers.

Nordbo does a terrific job in providing an excellent sense of location, from the heavy driving rain, mud, intense cold and ice, the geography of Greenland, Nuuq, its culture, the deprivations faced by the local communities, the sexism, and the politics and history of the country. In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, Norbo writes a riveting hard edged and heartbreaking story of child sexual abuse, secretive medical testing, political corruption and stomach churning murders. I loved the richly descriptive portrayal of the location, and found the novel atmospheric, so gripping, with plenty of tension and surprising twists. There is some wonderful characterisation in the diverse cast of characters presented in the book, I was particularly drawn to that of Tupaarnaq, a woman that faintly reminded me of Lisbeth Salander. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Text Publishing for an ARC.