2024 the best in hell review

Price: $7.99
(as of Nov 30, 2024 10:25:09 UTC - Details)

ÁrÓra returns to Iceland when her estranged sister goes missing, and her search leads to places she could never have imagined. A chilling, tense thriller – FIRST in an addictive, nerve-shattering new series – from one of Iceland's bestselling authors...

'Icelandic crime writing at its finest ... immersive and unnerving' Shari Lapena

'Best-selling Icelandic crime-writer Sigurdardottir has built a formidable reputation with just four novels, but here she introduces a new protagonist who is set to cement her legacy' Daily Mail

'Another bleak, unpredictable classic' Metro

**Winner: Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year**

––––––––––––––

Icelandic sisters ÁrÓra and Ísafold live in different countries and aren't on speaking terms, but when their mother loses contact with Ísafold, ÁrÓra reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her sister. But she soon realizes that her sister isn't avoiding her ... she has disappeared, without trace.

As she confronts Ísafold's abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend BjÖrn, and begins to probe her sister's reclusive neighbours – who have their own reasons for staying out of sight – ÁrÓra is led into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation.

Baffled by the conflicting details of her sister's life, and blinded by the shiveringly bright midnight sun of the Icelandic summer, ÁrÓra enlists the help of police officer DanÍel, as she tries to track her sister's movements, and begins to tail BjÖrn – but she isn't the only one watching...

Slick, tense, atmospheric and superbly plotted, Cold as Hell marks the start of a riveting, addictive new series from one of Iceland's bestselling crime writers.

–––––––––––––––––

'Lilja Sigurdardottir doesn't write cookie-cutter crime novels. She is aware that "the fundamentals of existence are totally incomprehensible and chaotic": anything can and does happen ... Isn't that what all crime writers should aim for?' The Times

'The blinding midnight sun in Iceland's summer is beautifully evoked as Arora establishes herself as a heroine to move the heart' Daily Mail

'Lilja is a standout voice in Icelandic Noir, and this book does not disappoint ... Cold as Hell is her best yet' James Oswald

'Atmospheric' Crime Monthly

'Intricate, enthralling and very moving – a wonderful crime novel' William Ryan

'Three things we love about Cold as Hell: Iceland's unrelenting midnight sun; the gritty Nordic murder mystery; the peculiar and bewitching characters' Apple Books

'Lilja SigurðardÓttir just gets better and better ... Árora is a wonderful character: unique, passionate, unpredictable and very real' Michael Ridpath

Praise for Lilja SigurðardÓttir

'Smart writing with a strongly beating heart' Big Issue

'Tough, uncompromising and unsettling' Val McDermid

'Tense and pacey' Guardian

'Deftly plotted' Financial Times

'An emotional suspense rollercoaster on a

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09418BM7Q
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orenda Books (August 28, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 28, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3416 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages
Reviewer: CrimeFictionCritic
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A smart, creative series start
Review: After a rift, Icelandic sisters Áróra and Ísafold Jónsdóttir are estranged. But when Ísafold goes dark, at her worried mother’s insistence, Áróra reluctantly travels from her home in Scotland to Iceland to find out what has become of her older sister.After a brief prologue sets the stage, we meet the protagonist, Áróra Jónsdóttir, a twenty-eight-year-old freelance financial investigator. Áróra’s mother, Violet, rings and tells her that Ísafold hasn’t posted anything on Facebook for two weeks, and Violet has been unable to reach her by phone. Certain that something is seriously amiss and frantic, Áróra’s mother urges her to go to Iceland to see if everything is all right.Although their relationship has been rocky since childhood, it isn’t the first time that Áróra has ridden to her older sister’s rescue. Ísafold’s partner, Björn, is abusive and battered her frequently. Several times in the past, after Björn had beaten her, Ísafold had called her sister for help. Each time, Áróra hurried to Iceland to rescue her. But, each time, Ísafold returned to Björn. Finally, fed up with the drama, Áróra refused to go to Ísafold’s aid the last time she called after Björn assaulted her, which resulted in the estrangement.Áróra arrives in Reykjavik but soon discovers that her sister has not severed contact with her family but has disappeared without a trace. Áróra searches for concealed money for a fee, not people, and quickly feels out of her depth. After calling her mother from Iceland, Violet connects Áróra with a Reykjavik police detective, Daníel Hansson, who happens to be a former uncle by marriage. After hearing about the abusive relationship, Daníel is immediately concerned that something terrible may have befallen Ísafold. Although he is on leave, Daníel quickly starts investigating Ísafold’s disappearance informally. From there, the story unfolds from multiple points of view, all offering very different voices, personalities, and perspectives.I really loved the way Sigurðardóttir develops the novel’s characters. She puts us into the heads of all the major players, giving them layer upon layer of life. We’ve all heard the discussions about creating unlikeable characters and whether that makes them hard to engage with or relate to. But, Sigurðardóttir certainly doesn’t shy away from giving her fascinating creations some major flaws. Even with Áróra, she offers us a strong but flawed female protagonist who is sometimes unlikeable.The disappearance of Ísafold Jónsdóttir is at the crux of this novel. That is what unites our disparate narrators. The backstories of the lead characters are what is all-important and converge in the satisfying and unambiguous denouement. But Sigurðardóttir cleverly uses two major subplots that are almost as fascinating as the main plot. In a fashion I found similar to the novel Gone Girl, she uses the multi-viewpoints and chronologically complex narrative to create suspense by purposely misleading the reader. Since this popular device does not fool me as easily as it once did, I immediately assumed I was getting played. Still, I enjoyed the twists and revelations that followed. Cold as Hell is crime thriller storytelling at its finest.Author and translator Quentin Bates, who translated Cold as Hell from Icelandic to English, turned in a virtuoso performance even by his high standards. The book is easy to read and smoothly put together. I read it in one sitting because I didn’t want to put it down after the opening chapters.My verdict? Buy it! Whether you’re a fan of Nordic noir as I’ve been ever since reading my first Joe Nesbø Harry Hole novel, or just someone who loves a dark, suspenseful crime thriller with a bleak setting, Cold as Hell belongs on your must-read list. In a similar fashion to Ragnar Jónasson, another of my favorite Icelandic crime writers, Lilja Sigurðardóttir, makes you feel as though you’re in Iceland while reading the story. I can’t wait for the next book in the Áróra Investigation series.Cold as Hell by Lilja Sigurðardóttir, translated by Quentin Bates, is published in English markets by Orenda Books and available in electronic version from August 28, 2021 and in print from October 28, 2021. I purchased the copy of the book used for this review representing my honest, unbiased opinions.

Reviewer: Sharon Wilfong
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good story. Unlikeable protagonist.
Review: The plot line was well constructed. The events slowly parsed out facts and the conclusion naturally unfolded. Arora's relationship with her sister and mother was interesting because it rang so true.My only complaint was how cold and unlikeable Arora was.Anyone who could casually sleep with someone she didn't even know, then turn around and financially destroy him for personal gain is something of a reptile.I'd like to read more mysteries by this author, but not if Arora is in them.

Reviewer: TapTheLine
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Áróra Investigation #1.
Review: Lilja Sigurðardóttir became known to the global readership after the publication of her groundbreaking "Reykjavik Noir" trilogy which established her as one of the most imaginative new Icelandic crime authors. Her recent participation as a co-screenwriter in Baltasar Kormakur's television series Katla further boosted her reputation among the audiences and the critics and made her a respected member of the Nordic crime fiction's elite. Her simple, yet not simplistic, writing style renders her work easily readable while her unique use of setting and characters highlights both the unbridled Icelandic scenery as well as her capacity to draft three-dimensional personalities who think and act like real human beings.Cold as Hell is the first installment in a new series featuring Áróra Jónsdóttir as the protagonist, a private financial investigator whose main task is to track lost money and return it to the legitimate holders. Áróra is a half-English, half-Icelandic young woman living in Edinburgh and she has cut her ties with Iceland ever since she was a little girl. Her relationships with her mother, Violet, and her sister, Ísafold, are not what they were used to be. Even though Áróra is the younger sister, she always used to protect Ísafold who always had a knack for getting in trouble and now she feels overwhelmed by constantly having to lookout for her older sibling.The tense relationship between the two sisters is meticulously outlined by the author through the use of flashbacks and the description of Áróra's thoughts in the chapters in which the reader has the opportunity to follow her perspective. Apart from being a straightforward mystery, the story is also about familial loyalty and the burden of sisterhood. The aforementioned themes are successfully incorporated into the main plotline and develop naturally throughout the novel without retracting anything from the overall suspense that permeates the text. Sigurðardóttir adopts the multiple perspective narrative allowing the reader to watch the story spread out through the eyes of many different characters.It all begins when Áróra receives a telephone call by her distraught mother who informs her that Ísafold has disappeared for the last two weeks and it is impossible to reach her. Violet will beg Áróra to travel to Iceland to find out what happened to her sister and she will reluctantly accept despite her apprehensions. As she arrives to Reykjavik, Áróra will begin her own investigation, trying to contact the individuals who are more likely to know something about her sister's whereabouts. Ísafold's abusive boyfriend, Bjorn, is the first person on the list but when he claims that he hasn't seen her since they broke up a few weeks ago. Áróra's inquiry will soon reach a dead end and she will have to employ the help of her uncle Daniel, a detective on holiday, in order to find out the truth.Sigurðardóttir constantly shifts the point of view between Áróra, Daniel, and several other significant characters such as Grimur and Olga, Ísafold's neighbors who seem to know a lot more about her fate than they are letting on. As a result, the tempo in which the story unravels becomes fast, even frenetic in some parts. From the beginning of the novel, the reader senses that the author tries to mislead him by various means, only he can't imagine the full extent of the deception until the final pages. The twists and revelations will catch you by surprise and force you to return to the beginning in order to properly reconstruct the story. You shouldn't be naive and gullible when reading Cold as Hell as you are in for a lot of suprises.To conclude, I found that this novel lives up to the author's stature and constitutes a promising beginning in a new saga. The translation by Quentin Bates is impeccable as always accentuating the novel's prose. As an avid fan of Icelandic crime fiction, I would recommend this book to all readers who enjoy to devour well-rounded mysteries set in fascinating Nordic landscapes. I would keep my eyes open for the next volume in the Áróra series as Lilja Sigurðardóttir becomes better with each writing attempt. If you enjoyed the "Reykjavik Noir" trilogy, then you should definitely purchase this latest gem and let yourselves be enchanted by the pen of a renowned young crime writer.

Reviewer: Childless Animal Lady
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I couldn't stop reading!
Review: And here is yet another incredible book by this author. The characters seem real, the events are fascinating. Every word is perfect.

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good read with an unlikely ending.
Review: Numerous characters and activity. Not just a simple suspense because all the characters have their own agenda. A decent read but not great. I think the flow of the story gets jumbled but at least it is not typical.

Reviewer: Debbi Krumm-Brindle
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Twists and turns
Review: This was a great story. It was almost like two stories in one book. This was the first time reading anything by Sigurdardottittir, and I definitely will read more.

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Icelandic Noir
Review: I'm a fan of Icelandic Noir. Having visited the country, it's easy for me to put myself in the environment as I read. This is the first book I've read by this Icelandic author, and I look forward to reading more. Fast-paced and kept me guessing at least 3/4 of the way through the book. I couldn't put it down.

Reviewer: SSoiffer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Icelandic Noir
Review: Arora, a hacker more or less on the side of justice, returns to the Iceland of her youth to try to find her missing older sister. Most of the important characters are skillfully developed.it is more cerebral than action-packed, but it certainly holds your attention. I w!as pleased to see that this book is the first of a series, and I look forward to reading the rest.

Reviewer: Patangi Rangachari
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This appears to begin a new series. The earlier one featured cocaine smuggling as a key element. That was fascinating and moved at a fast clip. This one takes a different tack though one of the characters from that earlier series, Agla resurfaces. Arora promises to be an interesting character. The author shows a tendency to bringing folks whose weirdness quotient seems rather high. I doubt if this is an Icelandic trait! The story moves in fits and starts but does keep one interested.

Reviewer: Federica Pen
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: No suspense. The plot is poor. It isn't a thriller.

Reviewer: jan
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Irritating book dialogue was very disjointed seems it has been written by an amateur . Didn’t gel with any of the characters. Would not recommend this book.

Reviewer: JenMedBookLover
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: If you have come to this book expecting a fast paced, action driven story with all of the quirks that were to be found in Lilja Sigurðardóttir's Reykjavik Noir series, you may be disappointed. This is a slower paced, more contemplative novel, one in which a sense of melancholy is infused from the very beginning, but one that is no less compelling or addictive as a result. There is a kind of coldness to the opening chapter, a sense of foreboding and an understanding of what will come to pass in the ensuing pages, even if we do not know the full who are why yet. The who will be clear very quickly, discovering the how and why are really the sole purpose of Áróra's return to Iceland, even if she is not as aware as we, the readers, are of this fact.This is, in essence, the story of a missing person. Receiving a call from her mother, Áróra returns to the country of her birth, a country she can no longer identify with as home, in a bid to find her sister, Ísafold, who has seemingly vanished without a trace. At the very least she has failed to keep in contact with their mother, something which is very out of character for her. We follow Áróra as she tries to track her sister's movements, navigating her world, tracking her extended family and speaking to her neighbours in a bid to find out what has happened since their mother lost contact. Her investigations reveal some worrying truths about Ísafold's relationship, but do they bring her any closer to discovering the truth. Meanwhile, someone is working hard to keep a dark secret, one which drew me deeper into the story. And there are more reasons why Ísafold's neighbours are being so evasive, reasons which draw directly upon a very relatable and all too common issue of the modern world.What I love about Lilja Sigurðardóttir's writing is that she creates characters that I may not always like, I may not always approve of the actions, but in whom I become so invested that I am pulled deeper into the story. That is certainly the case in Cold As Hell and in Áróra we have a protagonist who is quite spiky, almost selfish in outlook at times, her reluctance in tracing her sister almost halting her investigations before they begin. But there is another side to Áróra as just as you think you have her figured out, that deeper emotional core, the one she tries to hide, is brought to the fore. Beyond it all, she is quite astute, and the kind of character that gets under your skin, leaving me admiring her strength and intelligence. She is an intriguing character, one who I could identify with in many ways, but one who felt real, three dimensional, and authentic. The people around her, the people on the periphery of her investigations all add to the story in their own ways, all unique personalities who range from the obsessional to the emotional and everything in between. There is a clear chemistry between Áróra and her 'not-quite' Uncle, Daníel, one that never quite peaks for a variety of reasons. It's something I'll be interested to see if the author explores further in future books.Exploring the refugee situation, coercive control, fraud and the themes of family, love and, ultimately, revenge, this book brought forth a range of emotions and kept me immersed in its pages from start to finish. For fans of the author's other books you may recognise the odd character or two, and whilst only one the edges of this particular story I have a feeling they could well make a return. It brings a nice sense of familiarity to the book, a sense of the interconnected nature of both the characters in this story and the country as a whole. Iceland may be a small island, and the communities that Ísafold engaged with may well have been limited in size and number, but the author has an ability to bring them to life, to make you feel every twist and turn of the volcanic and city landscapes, all of which adds to the sense of desolation that flows throughout the story. It is very effective and for every moment of light within the story, you have an equal moment of darkness and brooding where the stark truth of this sad tale come to mind. A nod to translator Quentin Bates who has enabled that image of the landscape to flow perfectly in English, giving even the least geographically aware reader a real sense of setting.Whilst there is a kind of sad inevitability about this story, there was, for me at least, a kind of excitement about what is yet to come. In just one book Áróra has proven her ability to upset the status quo, to challenge corruption, at least if there is something in it for her, and to make a real impression on those around her. This has been another beautifully crafted mystery, powered by authentic characters, well balanced emotional drive and intrigue, atmospheric setting and top notch storytelling. Roll on book two.

Reviewer: Julie Tait
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A great read! Nordic Noir at its best.. I will definitely be looking to the next book in this series.