Welcome to my stop on this Blog Tour for SNARE – the lastest novel from the rather excellent
I would like to say that I am blown away to be invited onto this blog tour! Particular thanks to Anne Cater, Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books and of course the fantastic Lilja Sigurdardottir who gifted me an early copy of SNARE. I am forever grateful and promise that the review below is 100% honest and of my own views.
To kick off, we have the “blurb” for the book;
After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland, and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world.
As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer, whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies. Things become even more complicated when Sonia embarks on a relationship with a woman, Agla. Once a high-level bank executive, Agla is currently being prosecuted in the aftermath the Icelandic financial crash.
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, Snare is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller.
So, you want to know what I think?
How much could I relate to Sonia when trying to practice airport etiquette in trying to look as ‘normal’ as possible. At which point you then look MAJORLY suspicious, so try to hide it further?! There is just something about being in an airport which gives me the jeebies. I can only *just* start to imagine how Sonia must have felt with a ‘special’ item on her person!
Having that tension already set made SNARE more of a page turner than I already though it would be! A perfect tale of cat and mouse between Sonia and Bragi; the customs offer determined to bring Sonia to justice. This was a fast paced read and easily a story you can read in one sitting, but being fast paced did not take away from the plot and the characters development throughout.
SNARE is a pefect example of how Lilja and Nordic writers just get it. They know how to construct a gripping story, how to set the scene and keep the readers hooked from the first page. They know how to make the reader feel nervous, on edge and uncomfortable – all whilst telling some of the best stories.
I am certainly looking forward to reading the next instalment in this series and seeing where Sonia’s story takes us next!
About Lilja Sigurdardottir;
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.
You can buy SNARE from the following booksellers (but obvs you can get it at other awesome booksellers too!);
Amazon (UK) | Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
-S.
Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this Blog Tour. See below for further details and be sure to follow all of the action across Twitter!
The P.Turners Book Blog 