Monday 4 November 2024

The Troubled Deep by Rob Parker #TheTroubledDeep @robparkerauthor @BloomsburyRaven #BookReview

 


Nobody ever knew what happened to the Brindleys. One summer they were there - flashy, loud and beautiful - and then they were gone. A mother, father and two children, vanished into the East Anglian night.

Some said the family never made it home from the party; their speeding car thrown off the tracks and the four of them silently buried in the marshes. Others said they had simply moved on. For thirty years, the case remained as cold as the freezing waterways of the Norfolk broads.

Until Cam Killick found the car.

An ex-marine and ex-SBS officer, Cam Killick's PTSD has made the return to civilian life a living nightmare. The only place he can find peace is underwater, where the world is muffled to white noise. As a cold case diver it is his job to scour the waterways of the country for the lost, the submerged, the drowned, laying their stories to rest alongside them.

Except when Cam throws open the doors to the Brindley car, all four bodies are missing. And Cam will soon learn that some secrets, once submerged, are better off staying that way




The Troubled Deep by Rob Parker is published by Bloomsbury Raven on 16 January 2025 and is the first in the Cam Killick Norfolk Mystery series. My thanks to the author and the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

There's nothing better than starting a brand new crime series, especially one by such a talented author as Rob Parker. The anticipation for the new character, and the setting is high, and I was certainly not let down by this one. In fact, I'd say that the novel far exceeded anything that I expected. 

Set on the rural Norfolk Broads and featuring ex-SBS diver Cam Killick, accompanied by his faithful dog Nala, this is a unusual premise, but one that I found quite fascinating. Cam is such a flawed character, he struggles with severe PTSD after his time in the military, and apart fron Nala, the only relief that he can get is when he is under water. So much so, that he will often sleep in the bath. His job as a diver who investigates cold cases is perfect for him, allowing him the time to spend on his own, and to immerse himself under water. Often that water is dangerous, cold and full of hidden obstacles, but for Cam, this job is a lifeline. 

Many years ago, the Brindleys, a well-known Norfolk family disappeared. They were the sort of family that made headlines; wealthy, important, powerful. Mother, father, son and daughter left a party one night and were never seen again. There have been many theories as to what happened, but they've never been found. 

Until now. Cam has studied the local roads and the waterways and is convinced that their car went off the road, into the water. After much searching, he discovers the car, just where he thought it would be. However, when he manages to open the car doors, it is empty. There are no bodies. The whole Brindley family have disappeared. 

And so begins an exciting and complex case that Cam works hard on. He is determined to discover just what happened to the family, and this will bring danger to his life. There are so many twists and turns in this plot that you may get a little dizzy at times, but you will be absolutely transfixed as the story progresses.  There are characters who are determined to keep the long-hidden secrets under wraps, and would do almost anything to protect themselves. It's a gripping and exciting ride for sure. 

Cam Killick is beautifully created, his flaws add so much to his character, allowing the reader to see past the determined case cracker and discover the person below. His relationship with Nala the dog is joyful, and just warms the heart so much.

Parker incorporates the isolation of the Norfolk Broads so well, there's a real sense of atmosphere and place that adds so much depth to the novel. 

Bring on book two!  Highly recommended by me. 




Rob Parker is the author of Far From The Tree, the #1 bestselling thriller for Audible
Original and the first instalment in the Thirty Miles trilogy, as well as eight novels for independent publishers. 

He is the host of both Crime Central Manchester, a monthly showcase of emerging crime writing talent and blockbuster bestsellers, and the Blood Brothers podcast. 

Rob lives in Warrington with his wife, three children and their dogs, and was inspired to write The Troubled Deep by years of holidays in the Norfolk Broads - during which he has never, he is pleased to say, found a dead body.







The Peacock and the Sparrow by I S Berry BLOG TOUR #ThePeacockandtheSparrow @isberryauthor @noexitpress @RandomTTours #BookExtract

 


The thrilling debut from author and former CIA officer I.S. Berry, following an American spy’s last dangerous mission.

Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain for his final tour, he’s anxious to dispense with his mission ― uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency. But then he meets Almaisa, an enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask.

When his trusted informant becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict, his romance and loyalties upended. In an instant, he’s caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. He sets out to learn the truth behind the Arab Spring, win Almaisa’s love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain’s secrets end and America’s begin.

Now optioned for film by Scott Delman of Shadowfox productions (Producer of HBO Max hit series Station Eleven).




The Peacock and the Sparrow by I S Berry was published on 24 October 2024 by No Exit Press. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today. 



Extract from The Peacock and the Sparrow by I S Berry 

I hated the smell of Rashid’s cigarettes. He always lit up in my car, a beat- up Mitsubishi Lancer with just enough space to breathe. I hated the smell of his cigarettes, but I always took one when he offered. It was the ability to please that you learned as a spy: smoking a cigarette, offering compliments you didn’t mean, falling down drunk from having accepted too many vodkas. 

His cigarettes were Canary Kingdom, a cheap Middle East brand that claimed to import its tobacco from Virginia. Virginia: That’s where CIA Headquarters is, I would inform Rashid casually. Link his source of plea- sure to his source of risk, another trick of the manipulation trade. I’d offered to get him real American cigarettes with my ration cards on the naval base, but he’d refused, said he liked his native carcinogens. Anyway, he in- sisted on green apple, a flavor I’d never find in any of Uncle Sam’s packs. It was my misfortune that cigarettes were Rashid’s only vice; he was too pious to drink and I was never able to expense alcohol during our meetings. 

Green apple had begun to mix with the odor from a nearby dumpster and our stationary car smelled like a rotting orchard. “We will not negotiate until they release Junaid,” Rashid was saying, shaking his head and looking out the window. The slums stared back at us, brown and uneven and stunted, as though they’d grown tired over the years, further from notions of a legitimate city. Late afternoon sun turned the car windows, caked with dust, to tarnished copper. I’d convinced myself that the car didn’t need a washing, that the dirt helped hide my informants. 

Rashid’s eyes narrowed, his black pupils reflecting the dying rays of sun like rusty steel blades. He was getting self-righteous and indignant as he always did when talking about Junaid, the dissident poet who’d been rot- ting in a Bahrain jail since the early days of the uprising. 

“Someday the king will answer to Allah for what he has done!” Spittle flew through Rashid’s crooked brown teeth. His youngish skin was dark and pockmarked, his curly hair greasy, undoubtedly styled with the cheap gel sold at every corner cold store. He looked leaner than usual—maybe the lingering effects of fasting for Ramadan—the concavity of his chest visible beneath his thin shirt. I never allowed him to wear his preferred white thobe when he met me—too conspicuous. 

“If not to Allah, at least Al-Hakim will answer to the international com- munity.” I smiled. 

Rashid’s face turned conciliatory. “I forget you Americans do not believe in Allah. Yes, even the international community has condemned the meritless detention of Junaid.” His English was perfect, the product of four years at Oxford—or was it Cambridge? I could never remember. 

“And Junaid is not the only unjust detention,” he continued. “Four doc- tors imprisoned last week for treating protesters. Simply providing medical care. Following Hippocrates—” 
“Yeah, I heard about it.”

“Your country’s arms embargo is the only thing that keeps us alive.” 

“Glad to hear it.”

Rashid took a drag, blew a cloud of smoke into my face. “Anyway . . . 
you understand our position.”

I opened the window a crack, threw out my cigarette, returned the pen 
flashlight to my mouth. “So what about Fourteen February? What’s your plan? Continue the war?” 

“Yes.” Rashid tapped my notebook with his knobby finger. “Write that down. Inshallah, we will continue the struggle.” 



I. S. Berry spent six years as an operations officer for the CIA and has lived and worked
in Europe and the Middle East, including two years in Bahrain during the Arab Spring. 

She has a degree in Law from the University of Virginia, and is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, International Association of Crime Writers, and the Association of Former Intelligence Workers. 

The Peacock and The Sparrow was her debut novel, published in 2023. 

Berry currently lives in Virginia with her husband and son.






Friday 1 November 2024

Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey #OurLondonLives #ChristineDwyerHickey @AtlanticBooks #BookReview

 


1979. In the vast and often unforgiving city of London, two Irish outsiders seeking refuge find one another: Milly, a teenage runaway, and Pip, a young boxer full of anger and potential who is beginning to drink it all away.

Over the decades their lives follow different paths, interweaving from time to time, often in one another's sight, always on one another's mind, yet rarely together.

Forty years on, Milly is clinging onto the only home she's ever really known while Pip, haunted by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, traipses the streets of London and wrestles with the life of the recovering alcoholic. And between them, perhaps uncrossable, lies the unspoken span of their lives.

Dark and brave, this epic novel offers a rich and moving portrait of an ever-changing city, and a profound inquiry into character, loneliness and the nature of love.



Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey was published in hardback on 5 September 2024 by Atlantic Books. The paperback will be published in June 2025. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

This is a large book at over 500 pages in the hardback edition, I flew through it. I began reading whilst on a flight to Portugal and finished it the day that I arrived.  There's something very special about the writing, it creeps up and drags the reader in. It is enticing and colourful and the characters are brilliantly created. 

This is a love story that spans decades, but it is not a romance. It can be beautiful, and brutal. Heartfelt and heartbreaking. This is about real love, about real people, there are no hearts and flowers, it's passionate and intimate. 

Our lead characters are Milly and Pip, both young, both Irish and both living in London. Milly has recently fled her home in Ireland and has taken a job as a barmaid in a back street pub. The landlady, Mrs Oak is a good, kind woman and whilst Milly has traumas and troubles to deal with, she feels safe in the pub. Pip has lived in London since his family moved over from Ireland when he was a boy. His older brother is a an up and coming musician and Pip himself is a promising young boxer. He is also a drinker, often a solitary drinker. He is a beautiful man, and as Milly serves him and watches him, she becomes more attracted to him. 

It is inevitable that these two young people will eventually get together, but it's not a relationship that will last as they hoped. It is a fleeting experience, but is also the beginning of a friendship that will last for forty years, with many hurdles along the way.  Both Milly and Pip will meet and marry other people, but both of them will hold in their hearts, those early days in the pub. 

The author touches on just what it was like to be Irish in the 70s and 80s in London. How difficult it could be to be trusted, to get a job, to prove that you were not about to throw a bomb through a window. 

Dwyer Hickey has created a story that is filled with hope, yet that hope is so often dashed. As Pip veers off into alcoholism and danger, Milly continues her life with his shadow always behind her. 

The city of London itself is as much a character as the humans. Events including terror attacks, the death of famous gangsters and the devastation that is the Grenfell Tower fire are incorporated into the story, making it feel so real. As London changes and develops over the years, with the demolishing of old building, and the regeneration of areas, the reader travels the streets alongside Pip and Milly. Watching them change, just like the city. 

This is a truly beautiful novel, written with compassion, featuring two very flawed people who each have to find their own way in life, as difficult as that can be for both of them. It can be dark, but it is always perfectly pitched. A wonderful read, highly recommended. 


Christine Dwyer Hickey is one of Ireland’s best-known writers. Often regarded as a ‘Dublin writer,’ her work is set in various locations including London, Italy, New York, Cape Cod and India.

She has published several novels, a short story collection and a full-length play. The Cold Eye of Heaven won the Irish Novel of the Year 2012 and was nominated for the International IMPAC award. Tatty was nominated for The Orange Prize and was listed as one of the 50 Irish Novels of the Decade. Last Train from Liguria was nominated for the Prix L’Européen de Littérature. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and magazines world­wide and have won several awards, most recently the Irish Short Story Award at the Irish Book Awards 2017. Her first play Snow Angels premiered at the Project Arts Centre to wide critical acclaim. Her work has been translated into many European languages and is also available in Arabic.

Her latest novel The Narrow Road set in 1950 Cape Cod and deals with the marriage of Edward and Jo Hopper was published in March 2019 by Atlantic Books (UK)





Thursday 31 October 2024

The Woman Who Went Over Niagra Falls in a Barrel by Caroline Cauchi @Caroline_S @0neMoreChapter_ #BookReview

 


School teacher. Widow. Legend.

It’s 1901 and the mists of change are swirling. Queen Victoria’s reign is about to come to an end, and an obscure widow in Buffalo, New York, is about to attempt the impossible.

Meet the courageous Mrs Annie Edson Taylor. The bravest woman you’ve never heard of and the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel ―over a decade before any man dared to do the same.

Enter a world of lost fortunes and friendship, as Annie, grieving the past and determined to change the lives of the women around her, attempts to alter the course of history.

With a single jump, that is.




The Woman Who Went Over Niagra Falls in a Barrel by Caroline Cauchi was published on 10 October 2024 by One More Chapter. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I have read everything that this author has written, in her various writing names; Caroline Smailes, Caroline Wallace and most recently as Caroline Cauchi. Her ability to weave a story is incredible, and no matter which name she is using, her books always delight me. 

The Woman Who Went Over Niagra Falls in a Barrel is inspired by the true story of sixty-three year old Annie Edson Taylor, who in 1901, really did climb into a home-made barrel and go over the top of Niagra Falls. Annie was the first person to survive this feat. Many people had attempted it in the past, but Annie was the first to succeed. In this extraordinary story, Cauchi has taken a real life character and fictionalised some of her story. The actual event is true, but the accompanying tale of Annie and her relationships has been created beautifully by the author. 

Annie is a complex character. She has been grieving for most of her adult life, her son died before he reached his first birthday, and her husband died a couple of years later. Annie was just twenty years old at the time. She's spent her life doing various different jobs, living in assorted places and the reader discovers her living in a boarding house in Buffalo, New York. This is a house for women who are in desperate need, they may be escaping bad relationships,  most of them have no money, but the door is always open and Annie and the boarding house owner, Mrs Lapointe will take these women in and give them a home for as long as they need. Money is tight, food is often scarce, but this is a place of refuge and every woman who enters the house helps out with the running of the place. 

Cauchi creates such wonderful themes of female friendship in this novel. She also looks closely at how woman of a certain age become almost invisible as they grow older. Annie is sixty-three, and determined to carry out her plan to go over the Falls, however, she knows that her age, along with her gender will go against her, so takes twenty years off, and presents herself as a widow in her forties.

The amount of research that has gone into this book is amazing, the reader is introduced to a host of colourful characters who will help Annie to achieve her goal. From the dubious manager, to the fabulous barrel builders, we are treated to such an array of people. Some we will love, and trust, whilst there are other who we should be suspicious of. 

At its heart, this is a story of strong women defeating the odds to become even stronger. Annie's motives for carrying out the barrel ride are complex and mixed. Not only does she want to prove that an older woman can do exactly what she wants to, she also wants to heal herself, to get rid of the overwhelming sadness and sorrow that have taken over her life, to do something exciting and new. To discover the real Annie. 

The friendships formed within the story are heartwarming and so poignant. Annie's influence on the women make a huge difference to their entire lives, giving them hope and allowing them to see that they are worth far more than they ever realised. 

This is historical fiction at its very best. Annie is a fascinating character and has sadly been overlooked in history. Caroline Cauchi brings her to life and what a wonderful job she has done. Highly recommended. 




Dr Caroline Cauchi worked as a university lecturer for several years before turning her
hand to fiction. 

With a PhD in Creative Writing, Caroline’s current academic fields of interest are Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, the silencing of women involved in creative pursuits, and the consideration of a novelist’s ethical and moral responsibilities when fictionalising a real life. 

With a Maltese mother and a British father, she is also known as bestselling author Caroline Smailes (THE DROWNING OF ARTHUR BRAXON).

www.carolinecauchi.co.uk

X @Caroline_S

Instagram @caroline.cauchi





Wednesday 23 October 2024

Ice Town by Will Dean #IceTown @willrdean @HodderBooks @HodderFiction #TuvaMoodyson #BookReview

 


'Deaf teenager goes missing in Esseberg. Mountain rescue are launching a search party but conditions hinder their efforts. The tunnel is being kept open all night as an exception.'

When journalist Tuva Moodyson reads this news alert she knows she must join the search. If this teenager is found, she will be able to communicate with him in a way no one else can.

Esseberg lies on the other side of a mountain tunnel: there is only one way in and one way out. When the tunnel closes at night, the residents are left to fend for themselves. And as more people go missing, it becomes clear that there is a killer among them ...

ICE TOWN is an unputdownable new standalone Tuva novel, which will delight existing fans of the series and bring many new readers to it.




Ice Town by Will Dean is published on 7 November 2024 by Hodder. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Ice Town features much-loved character Tuva Moodyson, but is a standalone story and not marketed as part of the series featuring this character.  Whilst it would be great if you'd read the previous Tuva books, to get a feel of her character, it's really not essential for Ice Town. The author gives enough of Tuva's back story, without going into unnecessary detail, and new-to-Tuva readers can enjoy it just as much as those who've followed her from day one. 

Tuva is a journalist; a proper, old-fashioned reporter who writes long-form articles which are published in a newspaper and read by many. She's well aware that digital journalism is becoming more and more popular, but she's something of a stubborn woman, and will continue to write for as long as is possible. Tuva is deaf, she wears expensive, high functioning hearing aids. She doesn't hide behind her disability, it's just part of her. There's nothing that will stop her from getting to the bottom of a great story. 

Esseberg, otherwise known as Ice Town, is a small isolated community many hours away from Tuva's home in Gavrik, Sweden. When Tuva reads that a deaf teenager is missing in Esseberg, she is immediately pulled towards the story. She knows that she has to travel to help to search for Peter, she will be able to talk to him, to discover what has really happened. 

It's a long long journey, it's cold and the roads are not great. Esseberg town is accessed via a tunnel, this tunnel is closed for hours each day. Once in the town, and the tunnel is closed, there is no getting out. 

Esseberg is a strange little place. Dominated by the tunnel and a large administrative building, there's little else. A church, a school, a bar, a couple of tattoo places. There's a high-end hotel high up on the mountain, accessed by a failing ski lift. Tuva manages to bag one of only two rooms in the only B&B in town .... but there's no breakfast. Thank goodness for the Willy's supermarket, where she can stock up on sweet treats to keep her going. 

In Tuva's usual style, she doesn't hesitate to start to ask questions about missing Peter. She speaks with everyone that she can. Some of the locals are wary of her, some of them are pretty open. There are times when it could be thought that Tuva's methods are a little manipulative of people who are scared and worried about what's happening in their small town. 

With something of a slow start, Ice Town soon turns into a story that is pacy and incredibly tense in places. Dean's ability to draw the town, both the surrounding environment and the eclectic mix of residents is top class. There are characters that the reader will immediately suspect, there are also some that seem to fly under the radar, but who will become so pivotal in the story. It's astonishing. 

There are plenty of deaths, plenty of suspicion. There's snow and blizzards, there's unexpected, dangerous journeys that Tuva must survive. Whilst Tuva is a strong, independent woman, she also has vulnerabilities. Events in her life have formed her character and there have been some very important relationships that Tuva often reflects on. There's sometimes a real sadness about her, it makes her so realistic and the reader cannot help but really love her and hope that her future is going to be brighter. 

Chilling, compelling, full of unexpected events that really shook me at times. This is fine crime writing with characters who fill up the pages in a setting that is beautifully portrayed. Highly recommended. 





Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. 

After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. 

He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

X @willrdean






Tuesday 22 October 2024

The Edge of Solitude by Katie Hale #TheEdgeofSolitude @halekatie @canongatebooks #BookReview


A lone ship journeys south, heading for the furthest reaches of Antarctica. It belongs to Sky, the billionaire behind a groundbreaking project to salvage the region. On board is disgraced environmental activist Ivy Cunningham, lending her expertise in the hope that it might rescue her reputation - and perhaps even mend her broken relationship with her son.

And yet, as the ship moves ever deeper into the breathtaking but eerie landscape, Ivy grows increasingly suspicious of her fellow passengers, and starts to question the project's motives.

If she could leave, she would - but she knows there's no way home.

Exhilarating, terrifying and thought-provoking at once, The Edge of Solitude is a story of climate emergency and human fallibility, of the clash of ambition and principle, and of the choices we make when we know that time is running out.



The Edge of Solitude by Katie Hale was published on 4 July 2024 by Canongate Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

This is a truly astonishing novel. Exhilarating, atmospheric and original, it is a mix of dystopia and speculative fiction and is everything that I want from a book. The author writes with a lyrical, almost poetic touch at times, yet her descriptions are often so stark, so chilling and violent. It's a novel that will stay with me for a very long time. 

It's sometime in the near future and the climate change crisis continues, almost expected by everyone in the world. The world's richest man, known only as Sky claims that he can use science to reverse the existing process, to stop the melting ice, to stop the world's temperatures rising. He and his crew are on his super yacht, bound for Antarctica. They call it Plan B.

Ivy Cunningham, a seventy-five year old climate activist is also on board. Ivy is no longer revered and admired by the world, she refers to her downfall as the 'Helsinki Affair', yet readers are not privy to the full details until much later in the novel. Ivy is a character who is extremely difficult to either like, or empathise with. Their is no doubt that over the years she has achieved great things, she won prizes, her work was acclaimed internationally, but we hear from Ivy in her own voice. We hear about her relationships, her marriage, her parenting. We realise that Ivy has always put herself first, she will imply that it was the world that she wanted to save, but it's clear that it was the fame and the admiration that spurred her on. 

Ivy and Sky have a strange relationship. Whilst she has researched him for years, and written many articles about him, and not all complimentary, they have never spent time together. Ivy is unsure why she's been asked to join the expedition and her nature leads her to more interference. She's something of a loose cannon .... and it becomes clear that she cannot trust anyone else on board. 

Hale's descriptive prose of the landscape as the yacht sails is outstanding, she has the ability to put a chill down the reader's spine with her extraordinary use of words and language. The contrast between the utter luxury of the yacht, with it's heat and fine foods, compared with the stillness and desolation of the lands that they sail alongside is beautifully done. 

This is Ivy's story, without a doubt. She honestly lays bear her life, her mistakes, her regrets, her continuing anguish about her relationship with her son and her grief for her late wife Bree. It is a study in a life lived in the spotlight. The science included in the story is fascinating and the effects of how humans have treated their planet is shocking and raw, and oh so real. 

An outstanding read. Highly recommended by me. 



Based in Cumbria, Katie Hale won a Northern Debut Award for her poetry collection,
White Ghosts (Nine Arches, 2023). 
Katie is a former MacDowell Fellow and winner of the Palette Poetry Prize, Munster Chapbook Prize and Aesthetica Creative Writing Prize. 
Her short fiction has been longlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. 
Her debut novel, My Name Is Monster, was published in 2019. 
She won a Northern Writers' Award for Fiction in 2022 to work on The Edge of Solitude.


Monday 21 October 2024

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.


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.