Cold as Hell: The breakout bestseller, first in the addictive An Áróra Investigation series
About this ebook
'Icelandic crime writing at its finest ... immersive and unnerving' Shari Lapena
'Best-selling Icelandic crime-writer Sigurðardóttir 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**
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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 realises 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.
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'Lilja Sigurðardóttir 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
'Lilja is a standout voice in Icelandic Noir, and this book does not disappoint ... Cold as Hell is her best yet' James Oswald
'Domestic abuse, high-finance hanky-panky, and illegal immigration all figure in this arresting series launch ... sure to please Scandi noir fans' Publishers Weekly
'So 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 ... Áróra 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' Alexandra Sokoloff
'Tense, edgy and delivering more than a few unexpected twists and turns' Sunday Times
'The intricate plot is breathtakingly original, with many twists and turns you never see coming. Thriller of the year' New York Journal of Books
'Taut, gritty and thoroughly absorbing' Booklist
'A stunning addition to the icy-cold crime genre' Foreword Reviews
For fans of Katrine Engberg, Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir, Arne Dahl and Sarah Vaughan
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series and Lilja’s English debut shortlisting for the CWA International Dagger and hitting bestseller lists worldwide. Trap soon followed suit, with the third in the trilogy Cage winning the Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year, and was a Guardian Book of the Year. Lilja’s standalone Betrayal, was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja is also an award-winning screenwriter in her native Iceland. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.
Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language a new profession as a seaman and a family, before decamping en masse for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, netmaker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism, largely by accident. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland ( Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series. Visit him on Twitter @graskeggur or on his website graskeggur.com
