Book excerpt: DIV When the tenant of a house that university professor Nina owns with her doctor husband goes missing after an uncomfortable visit, Nina starts her own investigation ... with deeply disturbing results. The long-awaited new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Bird Tribunal. **The Times Book of the Month** **NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER IN NORWAY** **WINNER of the Norwegian Booksellers' Award** **Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger** 'A clever, quirky mystery, full of twists and reminiscent of Agatha Christie at her best' The Times 'Ravatn, one of Norway's premier crime writers, manages to conjure up an extra level of chilling atmosphere that will make you want to put the heating on ... The Seven Doors packs a brutal punch' The Sun 'Elegantly plotted and economically executed ... Ravatn smoothly mixes Jungian and Freudian psychology with folklore and an affair's lethal consequences. Inexorable fate drives this searing modern take on ancient Greek tragedy' Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW _________________ University professor Nina is at a turning point. Her work seems increasingly irrelevant, her doctor husband is never home, relations with her difficult daughter are strained, and their beautiful house is scheduled for demolition. When her daughter decides to move into another house they own, things take a very dark turn. The young woman living there disappears, leaving her son behind, the day after Nina and her daughter pay her a visit. With few clues, the police enquiry soon grinds to a halt, but Nina has an inexplicable sense of guilt. Unable to rest, she begins her own investigation, but as she pulls on the threads of the case, it seems her discoveries may have very grave consequences for her and her family. Exquisitely dark and immensely powerful, The Seven Doors is a sophisticated and deeply disturbing psychological thriller from one of Norway's most distinguished voices. _________________ 'Wrenching and tense, a psychological chiller with multiple layers unpeeling graciously to reveal further strata of emotional bleakness and enigmas' Maxim Jakubowski, CrimeTime Praise for Agnes Ravatn 'Unfolds in an austere style that perfectly captures the bleakly beautiful landscape of Norway's far north' Irish Times 'Reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith – and I can't offer higher praise than that – Agnes Ravatn is an author to watch' Philip Ardagh 'A tense and riveting read' Financial Times 'A masterclass in suspense and delayed terror' Rod Reynolds, author of Blood Red City 'A beautifully written story set in a captivating landscape ... it keeps you turning the pages' Sarah Ward, author of The Quickening 'Crackling, fraught and hugely compulsive slice of Nordic Noir ... tremendously impressive' Doug Johnstone, Big Issue 'Chilling, atmospheric and hauntingly beautiful ... I was transfixed' Amanda Jennings, author of The Storm 'Beautifully done ... dark, psychologically tense and packed full of emotion both overt or deliberately disguised' Raven Crime Reads 'Intriguing ... enrapturing' Sarah Hilary, author of Fragile 'So chilling and bleak that it feels like the dead of win