The Last Refuge

When Scotsman John Callum arrives in the Faroe Islands, he discovers a place that’s as forlorn and remote as he is. Callum is running from something, but it’s not clear what. For a while, it seems like he might just achieve the quiet solitude he seeks but by beginning an affair with a church leader’s daughter he arouses petty jealousies and local rivalries. When he awakes one morning on the Torshaven docks with a heavy hangover, a knife in his pocket and no recollection of the night before, even he isn’t sure whether or not he’s committed the first murder the islands have seen in 25 years. Proving his innocence is a tortuous and violent path with a local detective and forensics experts from Denmark investigating the killing. Robertson is a brave author to set a book in such an isolated and little-known place, but the setting creates a poetic backdrop for this deep, dark, psychological mystery. Read the full review here.