Red As Blood by Lilja Sigurdottir
When entrepreneur Flosi arrives home for dinner one night, he discovers that his house has been ransacked, and his wife Gudrun missing. A letter on the kitchen table confirms that she has been kidnapped. If Flosi doesn’t agree to pay an enormous ransom, Gudrun will be killed.
Forbidden from contracting the police, he gets in touch with Áróra, who specialises in finding hidden assets, and she, alongside her detective friend Daniel, try to get to the bottom of the case without anyone catching on.
Meanwhile, Áróra and Daniel continue the puzzling, devastating search for Áróra’s sister Ísafold, who disappeared without trace. As fog descends, in a cold and rainy Icelandic autumn, the investigation becomes increasingly dangerous, and confusing.
Chilling, twisty and unbearably tense, Red as Blood is the second instalment in the riveting, addictive An Áróra Investigation series, and everything is at stake...
About the author
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 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.
Review
‘Red as Blood’ is Icelandic crime fiction at its finest. It pulls the reader in from the start and didn’t let up the tension until the final scene! It's characters intrigue you, the plotting is taut and superb and the pace is spot on! I devoured it over two days and that was me taking my time, i.e. How dare work get in the way of my reading schedule.
‘Red as Blood’ is the second book in this brilliant series from my favourite author coming out of Iceland at the moment! I loved ‘Cold as Hell’ but this one is the best out of the two of them. Although, this book can certainly be read as a stand-alone I would recommend reading ‘Cold as Hell’ it will allow you to understand Arora’s motivations, character and the background to her sister’s disappearance. Plus, I can see this series will go from strength to strength so who wouldn’t want to get into from the start!
I have three loves in this book - Arora of course, but also Helena and Lady Gugulu who I wouldn't be surprised if she was related to Madame Rose from James Oswald’s brilliant series! Oh, imagine a cross-over with those two characters... Arora is so interesting and allows the author to put a spin on the crime fiction genre by including financial crime into the mix. Since I previously worked in banks I find it fascinating to see how her mind works and the investigations behind it. She isn't afraid to break a few rules to get what she wants and needs but ultimately she is doing it on balance to get justice. Her love for her sister and her sister’s disappearance is what has pulled her back to Iceland but it's also clear that she is a product of Iceland and slowly realising this fact. It's all the small details like her being able to detect that distinct smell of houses there, buying a flat etc! Helena is a sparky one - determined to be the best at her job, is comfortable with her sexuality and I loved that Lilja wasn't afraid of addressing this and her ‘hookups’! Lady Gugulu I just wanted to give a big hug to this time round but she also fascinates me with her confidence, vulnerability and her love for the myths of Iceland with the patch in the garden. I would love to learn more about all three women!
I don’t know if this is a reflection of Lilja’s other writing occupation of a screen writer or just her amazing writing but I can visualise each and every scene - fyi production companies out there need to snap up this series! The brilliant translation was completed by Quentin Bates and as usual with his work, it was spot on! Lilja’s writing is quick and to the point, there is not one wasted word which means in combination with the short chapters and the multiple points of view the pace is relentless and you never really are left time to question what is going on. I mean that in a good way - it means the reader is always on tenterhooks, wondering what is happening, are the main players lying and when reveal after reveal occurs you just want to race to the ending to know what the resolution is! Well, at least I did. Guessed the wrong person for part of it though.
I highly recommend this series and I can't wait for book three! Also, for another book launch in Glasgow so we can talk about Lilja’s chickens 💜
