It is a cold, dark, windy night in Oslo and Igi Heitmann pores over the debris in her dead father's office, trying to piece together the last days of his life as a failed private eye. She discovers a curious butterfly medallion in his desk - which in turn leads to a discovery of a young woman in a snow drift, two bullets in her head and a gun in her hand. Igi's father and the young woman died within hours of each other - is the same person responsible for both their deaths?

Igi soon finds herself in the role of detective, on a trail that leads to the city's underworld of corruption, sadism and child abuse. Caught amongst the shards of a dozen shattered lives, she must tread carefully if she is to reconstruct the violent and tragic truth, and not be killed in the process.

Book Review

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT appeals - not so much because it's a tight and involving mystery, or that there is a sense of an investigation and a resolution - but because of the characters, and in particular Igi, and in an odd way a dead young woman and a dead father. In the aftermath of her father's accidental death, Igi searches - possibly for a connection to him, but ultimately for why there is a connection between the seeming suicide of this young woman - and the death of her father.

To be honest, I'm not even sure why it is that Igi as a character appeals so much. Maybe it's the very very strange personal relationship she has with a man that she obviously loves very much, it's certainly not a conventional marriage by some people's standards, but there's a sense of love and commitment between the two of them - and acceptance - which was touching. There's the strange and long-term friendships that she has, there's even a relationship which is almost personal, with her car. And ultimately that's what made THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT work for me - Igi.

Submitted 5 years 4 months ago by Karen.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - 4:01pm