BlogTour Cold As Hell by by Lilja Sigurðardóttir,

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Cold As Hell by by Lilja Sigurðardóttir, translated by Quentin Bates.

‘With rights sold in 14 countries, Cold as Hell is the first in the riveting, atmospheric and beautifully plotted five-book series. An Áróra Investigation, from one of Iceland’s bestselling crime writers.’

About the Author

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, her English debut shortlisting for the CWA International Dagger and hitting bestseller lists worldwide. Trap soon followed suit, with the third in the trilogy Cage winning the Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year, and was a Guardian Book of the Year. 

Lilja’s standalone Betrayal, was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja is also an award-winning screenwriter in her native Iceland. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

Follow @lilja1972  on Twitter, Visit liljawriter.com

About the book

Estranged sisters Áróra and Ísafold live in different countries, and are not on speaking terms. When their mother loses contact with Ísafold, Áróra reluctantly returns to Iceland to look for her. But she soon realizes that her sister isn’t avoiding her … she has disappeared, without a trace.

As she confronts Ísafold’s abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend Björn, and begins to probe her sister’s reclusive neighbours – who have their own reasons for staying out of sight – Áróra is drawn into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation.

Baffled by the conflicting details of her sister’s life, and blinded by the shiveringly bright midnight sun of the Icelandic summer, Áróra enlists the help of police officer Daníel, to help her track her sister’s movements, and tail Björn. But she isn’t the only one watching…

Review

Historically Áróra and Ísafold have had a bit of a bumpy ride as sisters. They have become disconnected from each other, and yet old loyalties and the need to protect is never far from the surface. When Ísafold disappears Áróra feels she owes it to her big sister to help, despite the fact she has ignored her attempts in the past, and has repeatedly returned to a bad personal situation.

This book is the first in a new series, and it looks like it’s going to be a humdinger of a popular one. Whether intentionally or not the author has given this book a different style – it’s still Scandi noir, but it’s darker. There is an almost staccato like approach to the chapters and characters, and the main characters swim silently between black and white in the greyish areas of conscience and guilt.

Adding the almost anonymous quality of the perpetrator gives readers the sense of this could be me or you, which is also exactly what happens with the ethical aspect of the crime in this story. If you weigh the scales of punishment and justice – what would you do?

I think this is Sigurðardóttir’s best work so far. She’s risen above the expectations of the genre and given it what I believe to be her individual style writing voice, and I think it’s just the beginning. I am looking forward to where this series is going to take us.

Buy Cold As Hell at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books, pub date 28 October 2021 |  Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Girls Who Lie by by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb.

About the Author

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in Globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland and deciding to write a novel – something she had wanted to do since she won a short-story competition at the age of fifteen. After nine months combining her writing with work as a stewardess and caring for her children, Eva finished The Creak on the Stairs. 

It was published in 2018, and became a bestseller in Iceland. It also went on to win the Blackbird Award, a prize set up by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jónasson to encourage new Icelandic crime writers. It was published in English by Orenda Books in 2020. Eva lives in Reykjavík with her husband and three children and is currently working on the third book in the Forbidden Iceland series. 

Follow @evaaegisdottir on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads

About the Translator

Victoria Cribb is one of Icelandic literature’s best-known translators into English, working with Arnaldur Indriðason, Sjón, and Gyrðir Elíasson, among others. She became interested in Iceland as a teenager and taught herself the language with a 1948 Linguaphone set.

About the book

When single mother Maríanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, it is assumed that she’s taken her own life – until her body is found on the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected fifteen-year-old daughter Hekla has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

Fifteen years earlier, a desperate new mother lies in a maternity ward, unable to look at her own child, the start of an odd and broken relationship that leads to tragedy.

Police officer Elma and her colleagues take on the case, which becomes increasingly complex, as the list of suspects grows ever longer and new light is shed on Maríanna’s past – and the childhood of a girl who never was like the others…

Review

This is the second book in the Forbidden Iceland series and whilst both books can be read as standalone novels I highly recommend reading the first –  The Creak on the Stairs. 

The story begins with a homicide, a less than perfect mother is found dead – is it suicide or something more nefarious? Elma starts to reconstruct the dysfunctional family structure and ties, which leads her in unusual directions. What kind of person treats her child like a hateful mistake? It’s a multi-layered story with plenty of areas that are neither black or white. Imperfect people with perfect little secrets, the kind of secrets that destroy people.

I was actually quite interested by the fact both books are very much individual experiences, despite some of Elma’s personal experiences and history flowing into this one. To the point where I had actually forgotten the connection. It’s the kind of book, and series, that makes a readers want to go back to the beginning, because you will almost certainly miss something the first time round.

It has the same noirish dark vibe that is tinged with an element of suppressed rage, frustration and despair. Ægisdóttir doesn’t shy away from speaking truths to the side of motherhood society likes to ignore to a certain extent. It isn’t all rainbows and daisies, sometimes it can trigger hormonal responses, and of course there are just some people who shouldn’t be mothers or parents at all. It’s a kaleidoscope of human emotions and mistakes, which bounce of each other to deliver a captivating read.

Buy Girls Who Lie at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books, pub date 22 July 2021 | Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Betrayal by Lilja Sigurðardóttir

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour by Lilja Sigurðardóttir – translated by Quentin Bates.

About the Author

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavik Noir trilogy, which have hit bestseller lists worldwide. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

Follow @lilja1972 on Twitter,  on Goodreads, Visit liljawriter.com, Buy Betrayal 

About the book

Burned out and traumatised by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Ursula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role in which she hopes to make a difference again.

But on her first day in the post, Úrsula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman, and life in high office soon becomes much more harrowing than Úrsula could ever have imagined. A homeless man is stalking her – but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And the death of her father in police custody so many years rears its head once again.

As Úrsula is drawn into dirty politics, facing increasingly deadly threats, the lives of her stalker, her bodyguard and even a witchlike cleaning lady intertwine. Small betrayals become large ones,  and the stakes are raised ever higher…

Review

Ursula is offered a dream job. A job that comes with risks, threats and dangerous political machinations. It puts her in her danger and she hasn’t thought about the fact it could put her family at risk too. She becomes drawn into the schemes of others and is also being threatened by an unstable man. simultaneously she wants to help a mother to bring the rapist of her daughter to justice.

This is Scandi Noir – crime fiction, but the author weaves a more important element throughout the story, one that is usually brought into connection with soldiers and veterans. Civilians, victims and bystanders can also suffer repercussions from witnessing the horrors of war, crime or pandemics.

It has caused an emotional disconnect between Ursula and those closest to her – they don’t don’t know that though. Her husband can’t quite put a finger on it, this feeling of distance or pretense, but she knows. The flashbacks, the triggers, the sense of displacement and of living in the past, which often interferes with the present.

Sigurðardóttir writes a gripping story, one that takes the reader on a bumpy ride of hidden crimes and monsters lurking in plain. Of course setting the tale in the world of cutthroat politics makes it even more intriguing, because it is ruthless and full of betrayals. Power games built on patriarchal rules and driven by misogyny and sexism. Using the little woman as a pawn, because she is always going to be dispensable. It’s a fast-paced gripping read.

Buy Betrayal at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher Orenda Books: Publication date: 15 October 2020 | Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orendabooks.

Read my reviews of Snare, Cage and Trap by Lilja Sigurðardóttir.

#BlogTour Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen

Today it’s my turn and time to kick off the BlogTour for Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen. Translator – David Hackston ( Twitter: @countertenorist ). It’s Scandi crime noir, and it’s witty in the way only Tuomainen manages to be.About the Author

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. Two years later, in 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir ’ when Dark as My Heart was published.

With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died (2017) became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’.

Follow @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Facebook,  Visit anttituomainen.com, Buy Little Siberia

About the book

A man with dark thoughts on his mind is racing along the remote snowy roads of Hurmevaara in Finland, when there is flash in the sky and something crashes into the car. That something turns about to be a highly valuable meteorite. With euro signs lighting up the eyes of the locals, the unexpected treasure is temporarily placed in a neighbourhood museum, under the watchful eye of a priest named Joel.

But Joel has a lot more on his mind than simply protecting the riches that have apparently rained down from heaven. His wife has just revealed that she is pregnant. Unfortunately, Joel has strong reason to think the baby isn’t his.

As Joel tries to fend off repeated and bungled attempts to steal the meteorite, he must also come to terms with his own situation, and discover who the father of the baby really is.

Review

I have to hand it to Tuomainen you just never know what he is going to bring to the table. Stealing a meteorite?

If you are planning a trip to Finland watch out for meteorites falling from the sky. The Finnish tourist board should hire Tuomainen to write their adverts for them. The only downside would be the amount of people wanting to travel there for the atmosphere he creates and quirky characters this author keeps introducing to the world.

In a way the author makes something clear that is often murky because of the religious meaning attached to it, the fact that those in the role of the representative of god are but mere mortals too. Joel disperses advice in his role as a priest, whilst simultaneously becoming a criminal and a sinner if you will.

When someone is teetering on the edge of a precipice it only takes a very small shove to stumble and fall. In Joel’s case that shove comes straight from his beloved wife. His pregnant wife. The wife who is either pregnant by immaculate conception or some other man, because it sure isn’t his baby.

He becomes obsessed with keeping the meteorite safe, the one that just plops out of the sky, and at the same time trying to figure out who did the dirty with his wife. The whole scenario is weirdly compelling. Set in the middle of nowhere in Finland, but also somewhere Russian goons happen to pop up to steal space rocks, the story is genre-bending and very much in keeping with Tuomainen’s individualistic approach to storytelling.

Tuomainen has this very specific style – his snark is delivered with the charm of a roguish gentleman, accompanied by the wink of a dust-covered experienced cowboy and it’s as dark as Poe’s heart. As a reader you can’t help but smirk at the noirish charm, because he always delivers a good story.

It’s Scandi crime noir, and it’s witty in the way only Tuomainen manages to be.

Buy Little Siberia at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books; pub date: 17 October 2019 | Paperback | £8.99 | Buy at Amazon.com.

Read my reviews of The Man Who Died and Palm Beach Finland by Antti Tuomainen.

#BlogTour Evil Things by Katja Ivar

Today it’s my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Evil Things by Katja Ivar. It’s a fascinating combo of Cold War political thriller with a hint of Scandi noir and a riveting murder mystery.

About the Author

Katja Ivar grew up in Russia and the U.S. She travelled the world extensively, from Almaty to Ushuaia, from Karelia to Kyushu, before finally settling in Paris where she lives with her husband and three children. She received a B.A. in Linguistics and a master’s degree in Contemporary History from Sorbonne University. Evil Things is her debut novel.

Follow @KatjaIvar @bitterlemonpub 

Buy Evil Things

About the book

Lapland, Finland, 1952. It’s the height of the Cold War and Finland is a snow-smothered powder keg. Sharing a long border with the Soviet Union the country is engaged in a high-wire act of protecting its independence from its sometimes dangerous neighbour. 

Hella Mauzer is the first female Inspector in the Helsinki Homicide Unit. Or was, until she was deemed too ‘emotional’ for the job and reassigned to Lapland. When a man disappears from a remote village on the Soviet border, Hella jumps at the chance to investigate. Her boss is sceptical; after all, people disappear in the snows of Finland all the time. Then a body is found. But the small village of Käärmela is harbouring a second crime. A crime whose evil is of another magnitude.

Review

I can imagine some readers may be inclined to overlook this book because the title suggests something more along the genre of horror. Luckily the blurb allays any such notion, because this is the perfect book for lovers of Scandinavian crime and Cold War fiction to dip into.

I’ll admit it took me by surprise. It is well-written and plotted with a fantastically obnoxious and eccentric main character. I think Hella Mauzer might be my grumpy soul spirit living in the type of freezing environment I would never venture into or live in.

One of the most annoying and most poignant points the author makes in the story is the second-class status of females in the police force during more than the first half of the twentieth century. Women were perceived, as is Mauzer, to be too emotional and fragile to work as effective police officers. They certainly weren’t allowed anywhere near a crime scene. Good gosh, they might cry or be overwhelmed with emotions. They should be at home making babies and baking cookies, waiting for their partners, who clearly have to be chosen by other people, because hey we all know women weren’t capable of making lucid choices for their own future. ‘Sigh.’

Those kind of attitudes are enough to drive anyone to become withdrawn or spend a lifetime pretending to be something they aren’t. They certainly do nothing for the career Hella wants to expand and enjoy. Instead she is blocked, deterred and insulted at every opportunity by the colleagues who should have her back, which leaves her in dangerous situations at times.

Unlike her male colleagues, Hella has a nose for crime. She has a gut instinct for things that just don’t seem quite right, but gut instinct just screams women’s intuition to her boss, which means he ignores her observations.

She heads up to an isolated area in Lapland to investigate the disappearance of a man, after his young grandson is found cold and hungry in their cabin. Everything Hella finds out suggests she would never leave the boy alone for six days, well not voluntarily. So, where the heck is he?

It’s a fascinating combination of Cold War political games with a hint of Scandi Noir, and a riveting murder mystery. The main character and the way she reacts to her environment and other people is what gives this read a flair of eccentric humour. You can almost imagine her stomping off into the cold or interviewing suspects with her brusque and less than charming manner.

I commend Ivar for coming up with a character who has to try and solve crimes within the constraints of misogyny and misguided misconceptions. She is without a doubt a writer to watch out for.

Buy Evil Things on Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press, pub date 11 Jan 2019

Visit bitterlemonpress.com and Buy Evil Things