Today is day 23 in my series showcasing my top reads of 2018, following the innovative idea of #bookvent from Jen Lucas of Jen Med’s Book Reviews.
Today’s book choice is the second in a series that immediately flew into my reading heaven list. I love Lilja Sigurðardóttir’s writing; it sparkles like an iceberg in the sun.
In this book, her characters are richly drawn, diverse and fascinating and her story arc is both chilling and thrilling. My #topread for today is……
Happily settled in Florida, Sonja believes she’s finally escaped the trap set by unscrupulous drug lords. But when her son Tomas is taken, she’s back to square one … and Iceland.
Her lover, Agla, is awaiting sentencing for financial misconduct after the banking crash, and Sonja refuses to see her. And that’s not all … Agla owes money to some extremely powerful men, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it back.
Set in a Reykjavík still covered in the dust of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, and with a dark, fast-paced and chilling plot and intriguing characters, Trap is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.
For the new reader, start with Snare, the first book in this terrific series and a great read in its own right. Trap follows on from Snare as we find Sonja only temporarily safe from the clutches of her rather horrible husband, Adam and sheltering in the USA with her son, Tomas. That shelter is short lived as Adam’s thugs are sent to get Sonja and Tomas and unceremoniously bundle them home to Iceland.
Sigurðardóttir has a very canny ability to paint her picture in shades of grey. Whilst it’s easy to work out who the real gangsters are, when it comes to the top level financial mis-dealings, there’s a rot somewhere in the highest echelons that someone does not want uncovered and woe betide the staff in the Prosecutor’s office who are not astute enough to work that out.
I like that about this series; that feeling that however dig you deep, you will never quite get to the bottom of Iceland’s financial banking scandal and the lingering feeling that not only is there more to uncover, but perhaps there are dodgy dealings still going on? Sigurðardóttir leaves that possibility hanging in the air, making this a rather fascinating and brilliantly edgy look at contemporary Icelandic society.
You can read my review here
Buy the book Amazon Waterstones
Live and Deadly 