The Last to Disappear: a chilling and heart-pounding thriller perfect for winter nights

Last To Disappear is the fifth novel by Irish author, Jo Spain. When Alex Evans travels from London to Finland in November 2019, he's expecting to collect the body of his sister, Vicky, apparently missing six weeks and drowned in a lake. But he quickly learns that his often-reckless younger sister had not died accidentally: Vicky had been murdered.

Koppe is a popular winter village for Santa tourism, skiing, ice climbing and luxury car racing on the frozen lake, and Vicky was working for the local lodge as a guide. She was last seen with an American tourist on a night out, but her disappearance rang no real alarm bells as her fellow guides assumed she had simply moved on. Until an ice fisherman discovered her body.

Alex is less than impressed that the young local police chief, Agatha Koskinen is in charge of the case, with just two junior officers to assist. A single mother of three in her thirties: surely this requires someone with more experience? Needless, to say, they rather get off on the wrong foot, neither sharing all they know, but needing to come to an understanding if Alex's actions are not to interfere with Agatha's investigation.

Vicky's friend and fellow guide, Niamh Doyle suggests to Alex that the police might be less thorough than necessary to avoid any negative publicity that might have an adverse effect on tourism income. She also implies that some in the community seem to enjoy immunity due to their status, and that a certain reindeer farmer should be the prime suspect due to his history.

When Alex demands to know more about this Miika Virtanen, Agatha shares information on three women who have gone missing over the last twenty-one years, the first of those being Miika's wife, Kaya. Could this huge man, with a history of violence, be responsible for his sister's death? Vicky's unsent cryptic message to Alex suggests another direction. The other guides, too, suggest different suspects and motives.

As Alex also deals with his guilt at being unavailable when his sister needed him, and his concern for his mother's recovery from the heart attack precipitated by the shocking news about his sister, Agatha tries not to be distracted by reported sightings in town of the person who represents a threat to her young family. Her team of two officers, for all their apparent inexperience, show a diligence that brings positive results.

Using several narrators in a dual timeline format, Spain gives the reader a tightly-plotted thriller, with a generous helping of red herrings, distractions and twists leading up to a nail-biting climax. The story is so cleverly told that even the most astute reader is unlikely to deduce the perpetrator. She populates the story with a set of characters credible for their very human flaws, and she easily conveys the feel of an Arctic village in winter. A gripping Nordic murder mystery.

This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus.