Skåne, 1986: On the night of Walpurgis, the eve of May Day, where bonfires are lit to ward off evil spirits and preparations are made to celebrate the renewal of spring, a sixteen-year-old girl is ritualistically murdered in the woods beside a castle. Her stepbrother is convicted of the terrible deed and shortly after, the entire family vanishes without a trace.
Spring, 2019: Dr Thea Lind moves into the castle. After making a strange discovery in an ancient oak tree on the grounds, her fascination with the old tragedy deepens. As she uncovers more and more similarities between her own troubled past and the murdered girl, she begins to believe that the real truth of the killing was never uncovered.
What if the spring of 1986 claimed more than one victim?
‘Ok, I admit it. I’ve become completely obsessed with the mystery of Elita Svart. A dead girl whose spirit seems to hover over the area, even though her house was boarded up the day after her funeral. A dead girl whom nobody wants to talk about, yet someone still lays flowers on her grave.’
When Thea Lind moves with her husband to the village in which he grew up, and in which she is to be the new GP, she finds herself drawn to a Polaroid image of a teenage girl, dressed in white, bound at the wrists in ribbons held by four younger children in animal masks; a girl who died, was murdered, in an apparent ‘spring sacrifice’ to the Green Man. As her interest increases, the mystery deepens. Why does no one in the village, including her husband and in-laws, want to speak about the murder? Was Elita Svart complicit in her own murder? Is the man found guilty truly responsible for the death?
The book is chillingly atmospheric. Thea’s investigation is intercut with flashbacks to the events of Walpurgis Night, 1986 and extracts from a letter left by the murdered girl. The plot is purposely slow which only adds to the growing feeling of unease. Indeed, the novel reads very much like a gothic horror novel, reminding me of Harvest Home, of the Wicker Man, and of Midsommar. At times, the prose, and the pace, is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson. There is a strangeness, a coldness to many of the characters which, again, really fits the gothic tone of the narrative and adds to the reader’s disquiet and uncertainty.
Anders de la Motte has a great feel for the Swedish countryside in which the action takes place and he weaves the folklore, pagan rituals and beliefs into an unsettling mystery. RITES OF SPRING is unlike any other ‘Scandi-crime’ novels I have read. I look forward to the other seasons in the Skåne quartet.
Thanks to @ZaffreBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n @AndersdelaMotte for the invitation to take part in the BlogTour.
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