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.
Trap by Lilja Sigurdardóttir (translated by Quentin Bates) is published in paperback by Orenda Books and is the second in the Reykjavik Noir trilogy. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
In December last year, I read and reviewed Snare; the first book in this series. I adored it and it got a very well deserved place on my Top Books of the Year list. I've been looking forward to the follow up ever since then.
I would advise that readers make sure that they've read Snare before starting on Trap. Whilst you could, at a push read this as a stand alone, the whole experience is enhanced by having some idea of what happened in Snare. These are fairly short, quick reads that carry the reader along a punchy and fast paced story.
In Trap we find Sonja and her young son Tomas in Florida. She's escaped the clutches of her ex husband Adam, and the drugs gang who used her as a mule. However, her respite from the horror and stress of dealing with some of the most dangerous criminals in the world is short and when Tomas is snatched, she finds herself back in Iceland.
Meanwhile, Sonja's lover Agla is still awaiting her sentence. Caught up in and mastermind of some of the largest financial misconduct cases that Iceland have seen, Agla is still plotting and planning. She needs to get some very large debts repaid to some very dangerous people.
Readers of Snare will be delighted to know that Bragi; the customs officer is once again, a huge part of this story. One of Lilja Sigurdardóttir's main strengths are the creation of her characters and Bragi is a huge favourite of mine. He's just a guy, working out his retirement, however he's also multi layered and determined that his wife will end her days in comfort. Nothing will stop him ensuring that the beloved lady who has been by his side for so many years will get the best care available as she comes to the end of her life.
Trap is a complex story, told so very well. There's some really dark, dry humour in there along with the realities of modern-day drugs smuggling and financial corruption. This author writes with great authenticity, keeping her readers gripped and engaged throughout the whole breathless journey.
With a tension that increases as the pages are turned and characters who are incredibly well created, realistic and at time, downright horrific, Trap is a brilliant follow up to the wonderful Snare. I was totally consumed by the plot, bewitched by the stylish prose and once more am left longing for the next instalment.
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, with Snare, the first in a new series, hitting bestseller lists worldwide.
The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California.
Lilja has a background in education and has worked in evaluation and quality control for preschools in recent years.
She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.
Follow her on Twitter @lilja1972
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