A former Customs and Police Officer, Andrew Hill’s first book in a crime series set in the New Forest, where he lived for 30 years, will be published in Spring 2022. An avid reader across the crime genre and regular at crime writing festivals, he now lives in West Sussex and works in property.
Originally published in Icelandic in 2019, this is the English translation by the writer, Quentin Bates.
A call from her mother alerts Arora to her older sister, Isafold, having disappeared. The sister’s relationship had always been strained and they had become further estranged over time. Partly due to Arora’s work, but also because of Isafold’s relationship with Bjorn. A known drug dealer, with a propensity to domestic violence.
Arora’s work, as a financial investigator for hire, involves tracking down money that individuals don’t want to be discovered by disgruntled partners, their companies, or the authorities and we get an early glimpse at how good and ruthless she is in undertaking this.
Though their early life had been in Iceland, the sisters had moved to the North East of England and that netherworld of being a stranger in a strange land. Arora adapted far better and now considers herself more English than Icelandic. Returning to her birthplace will bring back many memories and not a little danger.
We are introduced to a complex and well fleshed out cast of characters. Hakon, the handsome owner of the Reykjavik hotel where Arora’s staying. Some of the occupiers of the apartment block that Isafold lived in, like Grimur, the local busybody with an unnatural fear of germs. Olga, an older woman who is hiding Omar, an illegal immigrant. Then there’s Ebbi, Bjorn’s brother, Bjorn himself. Agla, a woman with a reputation for being connected to ‘dirty money’ and Daniel, an Icelandic cop who had been married to Arora’s aunt at one time. As Arora begins her surveillance on Bjorn, there is a sense of ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes’, or ‘who watches the watcher’.
The short, punchy chapters move the story quickly, as the author introduces pace and interest into the tale by using the various viewpoints of those involved. This gives the reader multiple strands to take on board, but it’s handled with care and aplomb by the author and creates an intricate, interweaving narrative that will have you turning the pages to find out how the filaments fit together,
I was a big fan of Lilja’s ‘Snare’, which was longlisted for the Crime Writer Association’s International Dagger. This first book in a new series and introducing us to Arora left me keen to find out where the author takes her next. Fans of Icelandic crime novels will certainly get want to get their hands on this without delay.
