I've had a passing interest in Iceland since Sigur Rós, and I think it was between that and seeing that the main character is a lesbian that I decided to go with this one. That and a weird kind of nostalgia for the volcanic eruptions that set off my asthma from several thousand km away, back in 2010 (when the book is set). It was at the Book Festival in Edinburgh that I bought it - a shame I didn't have more time to mooch around and see some authors live, but time was shorter than I expected while I was back this summer. Anyway, the story satisfied, getting chillier and chillier metaphorically and literally (I see what you did there, Lilja, setting your book in the winter), and the twists near the end weren't completely unprecedented, but still shocked me. Basically what I want out of a Scandi-thriller - not that I've read that many before. Good job. ( )

Ihre Liebe wird ihr zum Verhängnis. Als ihr Mann Adam sie mit Agla zusammen erwischt, ist es ganz aus zwischen ihm und Sonja. Die Ehe war da schon längst gescheitert, aber für ihren Sohn Tómas war sie geblieben. Ein neues Leben ohne ihren Mann und sein Einkommen aufzubauen, ist nicht einfach und bald schon gerät Sonja in arge Schwierigkeiten, aus denen ein Freund ihr anbietet zu helfen. Nur einen Botendienst soll sie erledigen, doch der hat es in sich. Sie soll Kokain nach Island schmuggeln. Unerwarteterweise ist Sonja gut darin, völlig unauffällig bewegt sie sich als Businessfrau auf den Flughäfen und akribisch bereitet sie den Transport vor. Doch genau das wird ihr zum Verhängnis: ihr attraktives unscheinbares Auftreten fällt Bragi Smith auf. Der Zollbeamte hat viele Jahre Erfahrung und erkennt die Schmuggler. Es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis ihm Sonja ins Netz geht.

„Das Netz“ ist Band 1 der Reykjavík Noir Trilogie von Lilja Sigurðardóttir. Mit Sonja Gunnarsdóttir hat die isländische Autorin eine ungewöhnliche Protagonistin geschaffen. Eine Mutter, die nach der Trennung in eine schwierige Lage gerät, die von mächtigen Männern gnadenlos ausgenutzt wird, sich aber dann zunehmend ihrer Stärken bewusst wird und diese für sich einzusetzen weiß. Sie kennt ihre Gegner nicht wirklich, zu unbedarft ist sie noch, doch als sie erkennt, in welchem Netz sie gefangen ist, weckt dies ihre Kämpfernatur.

Die Spannung des Krimis wird gleich durch zwei parallel verlaufende Bedrohungen aufrechterhalten: zum einen ist Sonja den Drogenbossen wehrlos ausgeliefert; sie lebt zwar noch in der Illusion, sich irgendwann freikaufen zu können, dass dies aber eher einem Wunschdenken geschuldet ist, kann man sich als Leser ausrechnen. Auf der anderen Seite ist ihr der Zollbeamte Bragi auf die Spur gekommen, der sie gleichermaßen zu Fall bringen kann und die Aussicht, das Sorgerecht für ihren Sohn zu erhalten damit bedroht. Emotional sitzt sie ebenfalls zwischen den Stühlen. Der nicht enden wollende Kampf mit ihrem Ex-Mann ist genauso zermürbend wie die Beziehung zu Agla, die sich nicht wirklich zu der Beziehung mit einer Frau bekennen kann und will.

Bei all den Sorgen fehlt Sonja der Kopf, um die Ermittlungen, die gegen die Bankmitarbeiterin Agla eingeleitet wurden, ernsthaft zu verfolgen. Diese hat offenbar nicht unwesentlich daran Anteil, dass der kleine Inselstaat in eine finanzielle Katastrophe geraten ist, doch nun soll sie für ihre Spekulationen und Geldwäsche bezahlen.

Man muss den Krimi sicher als Teil einer Serie sehen, denn so ganz glücklich lässt er mich nicht zurück. Viele Fragen bleiben offen und der Cliffhanger zum Ende ist ohnehin etwas, das ich nicht wirklich schätze. Die kurzen Kapitel tragen zu dem schnellen Erzähltempo bei, im Laufe der Handlung nimmt diese auch deutlich an Spannung und Komplexität zu, bevor gleich mehrere Enthüllungen so manches in einem völlig anderen, aber nicht minder interessanten Licht erscheinen lassen. Die Autorin hat eine komplexe Geschichte erschaffen, die von der außergewöhnlichen Protagonistin lebt und mit einigen Überraschungen aufwartet. ( )

Best for:
Those who enjoy crime novels of the Icelandic variety. Those who appreciate when the main character is both a) not a man and b) not straight.

In a nutshell:
Sonja is divorced and lost custody of her son. To get by, she smuggles cocaine. (That’s right, the cocaine smuggling came after losing her son.) She has a relationship with Agla, who is being pursued for her role in the Iceland financial collapse. Sonja wants out, and she wants to regain custody of her son.

Worth quoting:
“It was as if the apartments that were empty for too long acquired a deep sadness.”

Why I chose it:
I wanted some fiction, this was the start of a trilogy, and the author was listed in an article that included Ragnar Jonasson, who wrote the Dark Iceland series I enjoyed.

Review:
I new from the second chapter that I was definitely into this book, because chapter two was from a different character’s perspective. While the book doesn’t skip about in time, it does skip from character to character, which I love. I like seeing many of the pieces, though not all of them. It makes any eventual twists less shocking and more ‘oh yeah, that makes sense.’

The chapters in this book are short - some only three or four paragraphs - and the book reads quickly. The characters are at times a bit flat, but it’s a series so I’m hoping for a bit more in books two and three. I appreciate that the main love interest for Sonja is a woman, and that the woman she is interested in struggles with having feelings for another woman.

As for the crime aspect - it’s not so much a mystery (which is what I was initially hoping for) as a thriller. Unlike the Dark Iceland series, we’re no wondering who the murderer is. Instead, we’re with the criminal — Sonja — wondering how she ‘s going to get out of the mess she’s in. It also means people with different perspectives might find themselves rooting for different characters. Do you hope Sonja gets away with it, because you can see she’s a good parent for her child, and she just wants to get out of the whole system? Do you hope that the customs agent stops her because who knows who is getting rich off the drugs she is bringing in? Are you just generally annoyed that drugs are illegal, creating this weird smuggling system?

I read this book in 24 hours, starting it before bed on a weekend and finishing it after work the next day. I already have the second book and will be starting it after work today.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it (I don’t tend to re-read fiction) ( )

Sonja has just been through a messy divorce. She has lost custody of her son and is struggling to make ends meet in her new life. In a time of desperation Sonja was contacted by a lawyer who said he would help her with the divorce, but unbeknownst to Sonja the offer had steep consequences. She now finds herself working as a cocaine smuggler for the same man. Sonja has a plan to get out of the smuggling world, but she needs a little more time. Unfortunately for her, she’s being watched closely by a customs officer named Bragi.

One of the few bright spots in Sonja’s life aside from the time she gets to spend with her son is the connection and relationship she has built witn Agla. Keeping in the theme of Sonja’s complicated life, Agla is a former high-level bank executive who worked closely with Sonja’s ex-husband. The prosecution team against Agla for crimes linking her to the Icelandic financial crash are closing in. As the snare tightens around Sonja and those around her, how will she survive? Will she finally be free or is her fate much more complicated than she thinks?

SNARE is a completely different arena of crime fiction than I’m typically found reading. There was no detective leading a case or an unreliable narrator stringing me along. Sigurdardottir’s SNARE is a unique and often overlooked aspect of crime fiction, which gives the reader the inside take on the criminal world through a woman who has inadvertently gotten herself involved in the cocaine business. Not only are we treated to the story being told from Sonja’s point of view, but we also get to hear from Bragi, the customs officer hot on Sonja’s trail, and Agla, the woman in a relationship with Sonja who has a much deeper connection than you initially realize. I loved each of these different points of view, as they all added a different side to the story being told, while also allowing me to connect with each individual and find a passion for wanting to know their individual stories as well as their connections to Sonja. The short chapters, alternating narrators, and captivating writing all combine to make SNARE a book you don’t want to put down. I never once found myself bored or distracted, but instead I was glued to my seat, frantically flipping pages to get to the truth. Sigurdardottir has a masterful way of writing that draws the reader in and holds them tight until the very last page. ( )

Snare – An Extraordinary Thriller from an Icelandic Author

Orenda Books are on a roll, they keep finding the best of Icelandic Noir, having Quentin Bates translate, and giving the English reader a new author. Lilja Sigurðardottir is already a successful playwright and author, and she has written a brand-new series and Snare is the first in the series of Reykjavik noir series.

Sonja has recently gone through a terrible divorce from her Adam, and she did not get a very good deal from her lawyer. Her son Tomas lives with her ex-husband and only allows him to stay over at Sonja’s rarely and then he complains.

With the whole world seemingly against her and the need to earn some cash she has been snared as a drugs mule. Running drugs from Denmark and the UK at regular intervals, and at the same time safely putting some money in a safety deposit box and she also has some product saved too.

When she tells her contact she wants out she is beaten up and is in agony, and it does not help that a customs officer, Bragi, is on her trail and has worked out her routine. The more that she wants to get out the more she has been snared and there is no escape. Her love life is in tatters and her lover Agla is in the midst of a trial for share manipulation and the relationship is going down rapidly.

Snare is a taut, reassuringly excellent thriller in the best traditions of Icelandic Noir, that once you start you will not be able to put down. There are some great characters, and you will fall for Sonja and have some sympathy for the position she is in. The tension builds throughout the book and gives you a tense ending.

This really is an extraordinary thriller. ( )