Harbour is the third novel from Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. It is set primarily on Domarö, an island on the southern Roslagen archipelago between Sweden and Finland. Maya, a six-year-old girl, vanishes after being out with her parents at a lighthouse on the neighbouring island of Gåvasten. We follow Anders, Maya’s alcoholic father, as he moves back to Domarö two years after her disappearance, trying to find answers. Something very strange is happening on and around Domarö. Anders senses something is wrong but puts it down to his current state of mind.

Simon, the partner of Anders’s grandmother Anna-Greta and Anders’s grandfather in everything but blood, lives a short walk from Anders’s hut on Domarö. He, along with Anna-Greta, tries to help Anders get over the hardship that has plagued his life since Maya’s disappearance. Simon is an old magician and keeps with him a mysterious slug-like creature in a matchbox called Spiritus, giving him power over water at an unknown cost. Simon, having moved to Domarö as an adult, is unaware of a secret the others - including Anna-Greta - keep from him. But time is running out as the secret, only known to those living there permanently, begins to surface.

Some of the locals start acting in an uncharacteristic way, more of them are disappearing, and those who were dead have come back bringing dire consequences. The danger increases for everyone on Domarö as a mystery, about the sea surrounding the islands, unravels.

Harbour is very reminiscent of something Stephen King would write, especially with the possessed people element. But, at the same time, Lindqvist has his own unique style. The way he constructs his narratives is excellent. Let The Right One In brought a fresh approach to a tired sub-genre and can be considered one of the best vampire novels of all time. His second novel, Handling the Undead, broke new ground in the zombie sub-genre. It was outstanding and cemented his place as a leading horror writer.

One of the key elements in horror writing is tension, and it is something that Lindqvist has mastered. In Harbour, Lindqvist dips in from past to present and from character to character in an almost seemly way, without losing any of the tension that has been built.  The pace of the novel is also excellent and doesn’t falter throughout the story.

In terms of story alone, Lindqvist is not only one of the greatest in the horror genre, he’s one of the best across all genres. Harbour is a fantastic story of love, loss and everything in-between. It is Lindqvist’s most ambitious book, in terms of what he asks of the reader’s imagination. But it pays off, and he delivers his best novel to date.

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