ISLAND

After an extremely violent first chapter, the book, set in Norway, is the story of one family and how their lives were ripped apart by the mass murder of children and the search for the body of one of them. Scottish born satirist Cal and his Norwegian wife Elsa had arrived in Oslo for a six month stint with their three young children, before their return to life in Washington DC. Their eldest daughter Licia is away at a summer camp on a small island off the coast of Oslo. A bomb ripping through a building in the town centre sends shockwaves through the city, but it is what follows that truly horrifies a nation. Gunmen alight on the island where the camp is being hosted, and mercilessly open fire on the teenagers. The death toll is staggering and a community mourns. Bodies are repatriated onto the mainland and families grieve, but for Cal and Elsa their horror is only just beginning. Did Licia survive the shooting or is she gone forever? 424pp.