Book Review: The Reindeer Hunters

The Reindeer Hunters

By Lars Mytting

Review by Dave

I’ve read a few books over the years but every now and then something stands out as truly exceptional. This year it was the second novel in Lars Mytting’s The Bell in the Lake trilogy, called The Reindeer Hunters. It continues the series on beautifully – answering questions raised in the first book and leaving you hungry for the third and final instalment. It can be read as a standalone, but you always get more out of it having read the first. Set in 1903 in the same fictional village in Norway, the book tells of Pastor Kai Schweigaard wrestling with the consequences of his past. He becomes obsessed with finding the ancient tapestry of a Doomsday vision, believing it will be his redemption. The tapestry was woven in the 1600s by the conjoined twin sisters from the first book, given to the village church and lost at some point over the centuries. From Sixteen Trees of the Somme onwards, all Mytting’s books have had a profound hold over me. His writing is just so evocative, I felt cold reading it in a warm room. The plot is engrossing, but balanced out by many gentle, beautiful moments. It’s an intriguing tale of a punishing environment redeemed by moments of startling humanity. A magnificent story about love, sorrow, courage, and learning to embrace change. A trilogy to lose yourself in.