Trap — Lilja Sigurdardottir

High-stakes jeopardy presides when young mother is forced into smuggling cocaine, in a dark and original, nail-bitingly fast-paced thriller from one of the queens of Icelandic Noir…

‘Tough, uncompromising and unsettling' Val McDermid

‘Tense and pacey, this intriguing mix of white-collar and white-powder crime could certainly be enjoyed as a standalone, but I would suggest reading its excellent predecessor, Snare, first' Laura Wilson, Guardian

Happily settled in Florida, Sonja believes she's finally escaped the trap set by unscrupulous drug lords. But when her son Tomas is taken, she's back to square one … and Iceland.

Her lover, Agla, is awaiting sentencing for financial misconduct after the banking crash, and Sonja refuses to see her. And that's not all … Agla owes money to some extremely powerful men, and they'll stop at nothing to get it back.

With her former nemesis, customs officer Bragi, on her side, Sonja puts her own plan into motion, to bring down the drug barons and her scheming ex-husband, and get Tomas back safely. But things aren't as straightforward as they seem, and Sonja finds herself caught in the centre of a trap that will put all of their lives at risk…

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, Trap is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

‘A tense thriller with a highly unusual plot and interesting characters' Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘With characters you can't help sympathising with against your better judgement, Sigurdardottir takes the reader on a breathtaking ride … Stylish, taut and compelling' Jon Coates, Daily Express

‘PacEy and tense, Trap is full of delicious carnage that could translate well to the screen' New Zealand Listener

‘This is a searing portrait of the less salubrious parts of the Icelandic psyche as well as a riveting thriller' Sunday Express

‘Tense, edgy and delivering more than a few unexpected twists and turns' The Times Crime Club

'Sharp shocks of chapters hit with increasing energy ... a towering powerhouse of read and I gobbled it up in one intense sitting' Liz Robinson, LoveReading

‘The intricate plot is breathtakingly original, with many twists and turns you never see coming. Thriller of the year' New York Journal of Books

‘Sigurdardottir provides a skillful combination of Nordic noir, hardboiled financial thriller and high-octane narco drama, filled with sympathetic characters that you can't help identifying with even as they break the law' Crime Fiction Lover

‘The action is fast, helped by the short chapters switching us from one set of characters to another, the villains ruthless, and the undercover world of Iceland vividly evoked. A treat for fans' Promoting Crime

‘Smart, ambitious and hugely satisfying' Eva Dolan

‘An enthralling tale of love and crime' Michael Ridpath

‘Zips along with tension building and building' James Oswald

'An emotional suspense rollercoaster on a par with The Firm' Alexandra Sokoloff
 
‘Compelling … this is prime binge-reading' Booklist
 
‘The suspenseful Trap takes full advantage of its fresh setting and is a worthy addition to the icy-cold crime genre popularized by Scandinavian noir novels' Foreword Reviews