White As Snow by Lilja Sigurðardóttir
On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women – one of them barely alive.
As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel's former wife, and the connections don’t stop there...
Daníel and Áróra’s cases pit them both against ruthless criminals with horrifying agendas, while Áróra persists with her search for her missing sister, Ísafold, whose devastating disappearance continues to haunt her.
As the temperature drops and the 24-hour darkness and freezing snow hamper their efforts, their investigations become increasingly dangerous ... for everyone.
About the author
Bestselling crime-writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written ten crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide and been long- and shortlisted for multiple awards. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Cold as Hell, the first book in the An Áróra Investigation series, was published in the UK in 2021 and reprinted twice, and was followed by Red as Blood, a number-one digital bestseller. Lilja lives outside of Reykjavík with her partner and a brood of chickens.
Review
‘White as Snow’ is a a pacy thriller that is thick with tension, very topical and downright compelling! This is the third book in the Arora series and I found it to be the best one yet. This can definitely be read as a stand-alone novel but you are missing out on an award winning series from one of the best writers coming out of Iceland at the moment! She may even be my favourite so I might be biased. But seriously, this is a spectacular series that you don’t want to miss out on!
When an abandoned shipping container is found with five bodies, one barely alive, Daniel and Arora are pulled into a dark and upsetting investigation. Icelandic Police Detective Daniel was one of the first on the scene and is really struggling with the depravity of this case. Arora is looking into the background of a suspicious Russian man who is refusing to sign a pre-nuptial agreement before getting married - to Daniel’s ex-wife! Both cases are pulling Arora and Daniel into dangerous waters and it soon becomes clear that their cases might be linked!
I absolutely adore this series and Lilja has managed to create an outing that is packed full of tension, and kept my attention from the first to the last past! The standard of writing is superb and once again Quentin Bates has done an excellent translation from Icelandic into English. The plot of this book is very topical and it really does pack a punch whilst reading it. Various scenes will linger in my memory and the rawness of the character's anger radiated off the page! Human trafficking should make us angry and this is reflected in Daniel’s anger and inability to process what he has seen. This felt very authentic and really highlighted how much trauma it can give people who have to deal with the victims. The background into how our ‘fifth’ victim came to be in this situation was dealt with such empathy that I was crying at times. This book has affected me profoundly and moved me greatly.
I also cared a lot for Daniel’s ex-wife, Elin, and her situation. It tapped into the imbalance of power in relationships, gaslighting and mental abuse. Another character I love is Lady, who lives in Daniel’s garage - she brightens up the page whenever she sashays onto it! I would love to see more of her! She really did bring the light into this very dark book.
Let me know if you pick this one up!
