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 of 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, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda and to Anne Cater for the chance to join the blog tour.

Sonja is a single mum struggling to keep her head above water and hoping to secure full custody of her young son. When we first meet Sonja she is trying to smuggle a kilo of cocaine through the airport. Her strategy is cleverly played out but we share her tension at the prospect of discovery (and the obvious consequences). It made for a compelling introduction to Lilja Sigurardottir’s Snare and for the next few hours that I read this book I never felt that the tension was ebbing.

Sonja has fallen into a difficult position – she does not want to smuggle the narcotics but finds she has no option. She proves her adeptness at outfoxing the customs officials and this only means that the expectation she will continue to do so increases.  The suppliers want her to increase the size of her next delivery and a new strategy will be required – this increases the risk of discovery and also the consequence of failure.

When we see Sonja at home she is in a complicated relationship with Alga.  Sonja and Alga are lovers but Alga refuses to accept that she may be a lesbian and is clearly not comfortable with being in a relationship with another woman. Adding to Alga’s internal dilemma is the fact she was once a senior figure in Icelandic Banking Circles. Prosecutors are looking to find where they can lay the blame of the recent Financial Crash and Alga is in their sights – she has to face the investigators and provide her side of events but is determined that none of the blame shall be laid at her feet.

It is always a delight when I can start a new book with no idea where the story may take me. Snare was pure reading pleasure.

Translation duties fall to Quentin Bates and once again he has done a phenomenal job. The story flows so smoothly and I tore through Snare loving every twist and turn of the plot.

Snare had a real cat and mouse feel – Sonja trying to outsmart the customs officials and smuggle drugs through the airport at Reykjavik. Alga is under investigation and she too is trying to keep one step ahead of the prosecutors who want to find those to blame for the financial crisis which Iceland experienced.  Tension is tangible and it makes for a brilliantly engaging story.

Lots of love for this book – it looks like another winner from Orenda Books.

Snare is published by Orenda Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snare-Reykjavik-Noir-Lilja-Sigurdard%C3%B3ttir-ebook/dp/B06ZYLBJFN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508875450&sr=8-1&keywords=snare