by Lilja Sigurdardóttir (T. Quentin Bates)
SYNOPSIS
On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women – one of them barely alive.
As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel's former wife, and the connections don’t stop there…
Daníel and Áróra’s cases pit them both against ruthless criminals with horrifying agendas, while Áróra persists with her search for her missing sister, Ísafold, whose devastating disappearance continues to haunt her.
As the temperature drops and the 24-hour darkness and freezing snow hamper their efforts, their investigations become increasingly dangerous … for everyone.
Atmospheric, twisty and breathtakingly tense, White as Snow is the third instalment in the riveting, award-winning An Áróra Investigation series, as crimes committed far beyond Iceland’s shores come home…
REVIEW
White as Snow is just so unique, as are both of the the previous books in this series. The characters and its setting have such a quirkiness about them. This, coupled with descriptions of the impending midnight sun and the increasing darkness, almost gives the story an otherworldly quality. Every time I read from this series, I immediately want to book a ticket and head to Iceland to meet some of these intriguing people and explore what sounds like a a completely fascinating country.
The 'crime' aspects of this particular story are quite harrowing as Police detective Daníel is brought in to investigate when the bodies of four dead women are found in an abandoned shipping container. The use of shipping containers in police investigations is quite iconic, it immediately made me think of a particular Inspector Wallander mystery and also the classic second series of The Wire. I guess it lends itself really well to this genre because the results when they are used illegally can be so shocking. The flashbacks to when Bisi and the other girls were trapped inside are incredibly effective. The claustrophobia, fear and loss of hope were so real and I actually found it hard to read some of these sections, especially after learning a little about their backgrounds.
Alongside this police investigation, Áróra is back. She takes on a case on behalf of Daníel's ex-wife who has some suspicions about her new partner which turn out to be far more serious than anyone expected. After some digging, Áróra begins to piece together a very sinister connection to the shipping container deaths, and those moments in the book when everything starts to fall into place are just brilliant. I am a huge fan of Áróra and Daníel's relationship. I think they make a really interesting pair and having Áróra work as a financial investigator gives a fresh twist on the more typical detective duo or detective/reporter combinations.
If you haven't read the previous books in the Áróra Investigation series, I would personally go back and start at the beginning. Áróra is a very unusual protagonist, and everything about her life, history, relationships and career are atypical. The events that happen in the first two novels build and build throughout the series and are scattered amongst the events in this new story, so even though it can be read as a standalone, it's great to have that foundation before starting.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranesin 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series and Lilja's 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. In 2021, Cold as Hell, the first in the An Áróra Investigation series was published, with Red as Blood to follow in 2022. 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.
Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language a new profession as a seaman and a family, before decamping en masse for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, netmaker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism, largely by accident. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, Lilja Sigurdardóttir - @lilja1972, and Orenda Books - @OrendaBooks for the opportunity to read and review
Fiction: Police Procedural / Nordic Noir / Thriller
Publisher: Orenda Books
ISBN: 978-1914585845
Pages: 288pp
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