So…the second in the Arora series, the first of which you really enjoyed. How did the second measure up to the first?
I absolutely loved the first – such great characters! And a fantastic storyline, which kept me guessing! I’m happy to report we’ve got more of the same – in terms of quality, that is – but a very different storyline. Flossi arrives home from work one day to find his house in disarray, his wife Gudrun gone, and a ransom note demanding two million Euros.
Now, as Arora’s speciality is finding missing valuables – usually hidden financial assets, such as in a divorce case or as the result of white collar crime – she is requested by Flossi’s accountant in Edinburgh (where she lived, before her sister went missing, and she came to search for her – a search she’s still conducting) to visit his client and attempt to help.
So what can Arora do? This isn’t really her field of expertise, after all…
Exactly – so she calls on Daniel, a police friend (with whom she has something of a romantic spark!) and requests that he meets her, in plain clothes, as though he’s merely a friend offering Flossi moral support, to see what help he can offer.
And there’s lots more happening in the book…
Well, naturally there’s the fact that her sister Isafold is still missing. There’s also Flossi’s complex family situation, with ex-wife Karen, daughter Sara Soi – and of course the missing Gudrun. I was kept guessing, imagining every possible suspect and circumstance!
And some of the characters from Cold As Hell make a reappearance?
They do – and what fabulous characters they were, and were, as I mentioned earlier, one of my favourite things about Cold As Hell – there’s Michael, Arora’s friend, as well as Daniel’s neighbour Lady Gugulu. They flesh the story out and create a real existence for Arora in Iceland, and as a crime novel too it works wonderfully – it’s really fast moving from the off, and there are various tendrils of criminal activity going on throughout the book to keep this reader glued. I loved the way my sympathies and suspicions were being torn every which way, and I really loved revisiting those wonderful characters Lilja created. Arora, Michael and Daniel – although particularly Arora – are all superbly three-dimensional characters.
Oh, and I must mention Quentin Bates’ superb translation, which, as ever, made for a seamless read – thank you as ever, Quentin. And now I’m on tenterhooks waiting book three in the series!
It’s one of those books you can’t wait to get to the end of to see what the conclusion is, then you’re absolutely gutted it’s finished. I’m sure all bookworms will know exactly what I mean by that!
An absolutely wonderful book, yet again, from a country that really punches above it’s weight when it comes to electrifying reads – with Lilja being one of the foremost talents!
With thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the blog tour invitation, and Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books for the ARC. This has not affected my opinion, and this is an honest review.
Author Lilja Sigurdardottir
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BLURB: Áróra becomes involved in the search for an Icelandic woman who disappeared from her home while making dinner, as she continues to hunt for her missing sister. The second breathtaking instalment in the chilling, addictive An Áróra Investigation series…
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 contacting 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…
crimeworm 