Dark As Night by Lilja Sigurdardóttir BLOG TOUR #DarkAsNight @LiljaWrites @OrendaBooks #BookReview

 

Icelandic investigator Áróra receives strange and devastating news about her missing sister, while her detective friend Daníel looks into the disappearance of a family friend. The twisty, addictive, award-winning series continues....

When Áróra receives a call telling her that a child she’s never met is claiming to be her missing sister reincarnated, she is devastated … as ridiculous as the allegations might seem. For three years she has been searching for her sister without finding a single clue, and now this strange child seems to have new information.

On the same day, Icelandic detective Daníel returns home to find a note from his tenant, drag queen Lady Gúgúlú, giving notice on her flat and explaining that she has to leave the country. Daníel is immediately suspicious, and when three threatening men appear, looking for Lady, it’s clear to him that something is very wrong…

And as Iceland’s long dark nights continue into springtime, that is just the very beginning…

Twisty, intricately plotted and atmospheric, Dark as Night is the highly anticipated fourth book in the addictive An Áróra Investigation series, as Áróra and her friends face unimaginable danger and extraordinary experiences that may change everything, forever…

Dark As Night by Lilja Sigurdardóttir was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 10 October 2024 and is the fourth book in the Áróra Investigates series. The book is translated by Lorenzo Garcia. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour 

I have absolutely devoured every book in the Áróra Investigation series, and Dark As Night is my favourite so far. 

Lilja Sigurdardóttir is probably my favourite Icelandic author, she never fails to produce a story full of action and tense plots, with characters that are relatable in an incredibly described, and very evocative setting. 

Áróra Jónsdóttir and her sister Ísafold were brought up in England by their late Icelandic father and their British mother who still lives in the UK. Ísafold disappeared some years ago; and Áróra has always believed that she was murdered by her violent boyfriend, a man who has since also disappeared. Her body has never been found, despite Áróra's many attempts to find her. She will never leave Iceland until she knows what happened to her sister. 

Áróra works for the Directorate of Tax Investigations, tracking down monies that corporations have tried to hide away. She's something of a loose cannon at times, obsessed with pumping weights, not shy of using steroids to help her build strength and tearing around in her powerful Tesla. Her boyfriend, police officer Daníel tries his best to keep her on the straight and narrow, but it's a daily struggle. She's a strong woman who has one aim ... to discover what happened to her sister. 

Sigurdardóttir writes in short snappy chapters that really appeal to me. Despite the length of the chapters, and the overall novel, there's such a lot packed into this story, it's breathtaking in its energy at times. The reader is treated to more and more as each page flashes by, it's intriguing and tightly plotted. 

There are two main threads to the plot line. We have a very young child who claims that she is Ísafold reincarnated. This is a difficult, emotional time for Áróra, her head tells her that it's nonsense, yet her heart tells her that there may be something in it. The toddler knows so much about her and her sister, about their life with their late Father, it's puzzling. Daníel is doing his best to investigate these claims whilst also comforting her as she struggles with dealing with it. 

Daníel has his own issues. His long-term tenant and good friend, drag queen Lady Gúgúlú has upped and left after four happy years of living with him. Just a short note, with little detail is left and when Daníel is visited by three mysterious men who are looking for Lady, it soon becomes clear that there's a whole lot of danger in store. 

Written with such style and flair, with the accompanying descriptions of the Icelandic landscape, both the busy city and the isolation of the glacial areas, this is such a thrill packed and exciting read. The various plot lines work seamlessly together, creating a novel that is twisty and just fabulous. 

Highly recommended by me. 

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.

X @LiljaWriter

Lorenza Garcia was born and brought up in England. She spent her early twenties living and working in Iceland and Spain. In 1998 she graduated from Goldsmiths with a first-class honors degree in Spanish and Latin American studies. She moved to France in 2001, where she lived for seven years. Since 2006 she has translated and co-translated more than thirty novels and works of nonfiction from the French, the Spanish, and the Icelandic.