Jon Fosse is a Norwegian author, translator, poet and playwright. His work spans over seventy novels, poems, children’s books, essays, and theatre plays which have been translated into over fifty languages The most performed Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen Jon Fosse is currently – with productions presented on over a thousand stages worldwide – one of the most performed contemporary playwrights globally. When he was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature last year ‘for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable’, joyfulness erupted in Norway with widespread Fosse-feber or Fosse’s fever as the author and his works became celebrated absolutely everywhere. Everyone was, and still is, talking about the award. In 1928 Sigrid Undset received Nobel Prize so it has been a long time until now and Norwegians were overjoyed. Waiting lists appeared in many libraries, the publishers rushed to issue new editions of Fosse’s work and generally there’s a great buzz. And a special recognition of Nynorsk, and here’s some information: ‘Bokmål and Nynorsk are two different standards of writing in Norwegian. The Norwegian language comes from Old Norse, a language used in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. Over time Germanic influences, including language, spread to Northern Europe. When Norway entered a union with Denmark, Danish started to prevail in Norwegian society, being a language of the elite, the law and the church. The union with Denmark ended in 1814 and there was a rise of patriotic movements, as well as  search for ‘own’ Norwegian language form started. A man called Ivar Aasen travelled around the country in the 1800s and compared different dialects. He created a form of Norwegian later called Landsmål, based on the dialects. This form became Nynorsk.’

Jon Fosse delivered his thoughtful inspiring Nobel Prize lecture in literature on 7^th December 2023 at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. The whole text can be found online Jon Fosse – Nobel Prize lecture in English, Swedish and Norwegian, translated beautifully into English by May Brit Akerholt. On the World Book Day and Copyright Day I really felt like quoting some paragraphs from his speech to remember the words and to reflect.

A Silent Language

When I was at junior high school, it happened without warning. The teacher asked me to read aloud. And out of nowhere, I was overcome by a sudden fear that overpowered me. It was like I disappeared into the fear and it was all I was. I stood up and ran out of the classroom. I noticed the big eyes of the students as well as the teacher following me out of the class room.
This fear of reading aloud followed me. As time went by, I found the courage to ask the teachers to be excused from reading out loud, as I was so afraid of it, some believed me and stopped asking me, some thought that in one way or another, I was pulling their leg.
I learnt something important about people from this experience. I learnt many other things […] In a way it was as if the fear took my language from me, and that I had to take it back, so to speak. And if I were to do that, it couldn’t be on other people’s terms, but on my own. I started to write my own texts, short poems, short stories. And I discovered that doing so, gave me a sense of safety, gave me the opposite of fear. In a way I found a place inside myself that was just mine, and from that place I could write what was just mine.

Now, about fifty years later, I still sit and write – and I still write from this secret place inside me, a place I quite honestly don’t know much more about other than that it exists. The Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge has written a poem where he compares the act of writing to being a child, building leaf huts in the forest, crawling into them, lighting candles, sitting and feeling safe in dark autumn evenings. I think this is a good image of how I, too, experience the act of writing.

Through the fear of reading aloud I entered the loneliness that is more or less the life of a writing person – and I’ve stayed there ever since. I’ve written a great deal of both prose and drama. And of course, what characterises drama is that it is written speech, where the dialogue, the conversation, or often the attempt to speak, and what there may be of monologue, is always an imagined universe, is a part of something that doesn’t inform, but that has its own being, that exists. […] One thing is certain, I have never written to express myself, as they say, but rather to get away from myself.

And the act of writing is to me to listen: when I write I never prepare, I don’t plan anything, I proceed by listening. So if I should use a metaphor for the action of writing, it has to be that of listening. Thus, it almost goes without saying, that writing is reminiscent of music. And at a certain time, in my teens, I went more or less directly from only being engaged with music, to writing. I actually completely stopped both playing music myself and listening to music, and started to write, and in my writing, I tried to create something of what I experienced when I played. That’s what I did then – and what I still do. Something else, perhaps a bit strange, is when I write, at a certain point I always get a feeling that the text has already been written, is out there somewhere, not inside me, and that I just need to write it down before the text disappears.

My first books were quite poorly reviewed, but I decided not to listen to the critics, I should just trust myself, yes, stick to my writing. And if I hadn’t done that, yes, then I would have stopped writing after my debut novel, Raudt, svart (Red, Black) came out forty years ago. Later I received mostly good reviews, and I even started to receive prizes – and then I thought that it was important to continue with the same logic, if I didn’t listen to the bad reviews, I also wouldn’t let success influence me, I would hold fast to my writing, hold on to, hang on to what I had created. When it was announced that I had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, I received a lot of emails and congratulations, and of course I was very pleased, most of the greetings were simple and cheerful, but some people wrote that they were screaming with joy, others that they were moved to tears. That truly touched me.

On the spur of a moment Guro answers a newspaper ad by André, owner of a vineyard near Nice, a man who lives in Bergen, just like her. She leaves her job in Bergen and travels to a small mountain village Callian in Provence to become a companion for his mother Marie who had moved from Norway decades ago. This impulsive decision defies partly her doctor’s advice. Compulsion makes her escape the apparently ordinary life while ‘the fear of change and of approaching catastrophes’ remains constantly in her head. Seventy-five-year-old down-to-earth and easy-going Marie seems to be the first person who really sees and hears Guro, and truly understands the futile battle between enjoying the beauty of life and simultaneously punishing herself for doing so. Marie introduces Guro to her friends and to a different way of thinking, of being gentle to oneself. The illogical yet real perception by Guro is indeed difficult, her situation turns quite dramatic and we hope that time and empathy will soothe the hurting soul and body.

I am yet to read Agnes Lovise Matre’s krim books that made her a respected, popular and well-liked author in the Norwegian crime fiction sphere but I was lucky to get a copy of Every Shade of Me / Stryk meg over håret, her debut from 2012. It has recently been translated into English by May-Brit Akerholt. Following publication of this literary story in the mood of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, though much darker, Matre has published four crime fiction novels and two psychological thrillers; some were translated into German.

After a career as a freelance journalist Matre now works part time as a teacher in Haugesund in western Norway and of course continues to write. In 2020 she was awarded the Norwegian Silver Dagger Award (Sølvkniven) for her crime fiction novel Ice Cold / Iskald. Her popular Dark Fjord series is set in the spectacular Hardanger, also known as The Garden of Norway. Imagine stunning landscapes with the dark, elongated fjord, blossoming fruit trees and snow on the high mountaintops during the summer and fog, rain and huge amounts of snow during the winter. In these locations Matre uses the crime genre as a framework to talk about themes like shame, feelings of guilt, suppression and secrets; themes that were considered to be forbidden and should have never been mentioned, especially in the harsh living conditions and tough environment when survival was often the most important goal.

Having read about Matre’s style and the issues she is interested in, I was not surprised that Every Shade of Me was in a way an early introduction to the future crime novels. The author creates a living breathing location as a solid background for the main character Guro who seeks solace in lovely French landscape, among beautiful scenery, surrounded by fragrant plants and amazingly good healthy food. The solid nature of yes! nature helps her to deal with her illness. This process isn’t easy but necessary. She has to get a grip on her eating disorder, start believing in herself and maybe even allow herself to fall in love with someone – maybe Dominic who runs a farm near Marie’s property – without the crippling need to control everything that’s uncontrollable: ‘She was anxious. Scared of dying, scared of recovering,’

There is enough tension and distrust to push Guro (and the readers) over the edge. We know enough about eating disorders to realise that some deep pain must have been a reason. Dealing with past traumas and finding a right path to recovery prove to be a daunting task for her. However, peeling away layers of secrets and going back to childhood to analyse how events over the years have shaped her emotional reactions as an adult. Matre’s portrayal of a person struggling with bulimia is powerful and touching, and ultimately very positive.

Furia is no barrel of laughs in terms of highly topical themes and serious social issues. It ‘exploded’ on Viaplay in 2021 to huge critical acclaim, brilliant reception from reviewers and enthusiasm of the viewers. However, this political thriller created by the International Emmy-winner writer, director and producer Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen, is a pure TV masterpiece, a fantastic, relevant and exciting TV series, an incredible cinematic adventure with sharp plot, excellent acting, strong characters, tensions and many questions. Plus the most spectacular locations adding to the mood. Although a fictional story, this is a drama about the times we live in, and the reality of forces and threats that people are faced with in Norway and other European countries these days. They also apply to the future of Europe and democracy which is not a given, as we realise more and more.

The first season’s premise was linked to two terrorist attacks by a far-right extremist on 22^nd July 2011 in Norway, showing the forces driving / pushing radicalisation. Furia examines how terror as a means of action has become stronger after these events and its escalation including the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the election of Trump in the US and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Season 2 takes the narration, the plot and the main characters to Hungary and Poland, dealing with the increased hatred of the Pride movement; hatred which is used to polarise, radicalise and create fear.

As part of Skjebnetid for Europa / Destiny time for Europe events this spring at the University of Oslo, a second episode of the new season was shown to the audience on 9^th April which is a darkly significant date as eighty-four years earlier in 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Norway. The official release of Furia 2 will be on 19^th April on Amazon Prime. Ahead of this special evening last week the first episode was sent to those who would attend. This helped to put things in context and be pulled into dramatic story. A panel discussion ‘Can authoritarian forces take over Europe?’ followed the screening in a beautiful space of University’s Aula, famous for its murals by Edvard Munch, and cultural heritage: knowledge, truth and science. Here Louis Armstrong sang. Here also Martin Luther King received his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Here people speak freely and admire timeless art.

The discussion, led by the NRK journalist Hege Moe Eriksen , focussed on populism, right-wing extremism and authoritarian forces in today’s Europe: ‘How can we counteract the darkest forces at a time when there is a battle for truth, history and power? What could happen if authoritarian leaders take power in central European countries? Are Europe and democracy equipped to stand up to such threats?’ Apart from Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen whois also a creator of the podcast for NRK and who has been commenting on the US politics, three leading researchers took part in it: Jette Christensen, former member of the Norwegian parliament and political scientist, author and analyst in the Alting; John Erik Fossum, Professor at ARENA Centre for European Research at the University of Oslo, and Anders Ravik Jupskås, researcher on right-wing extremism, populism and political parties at Centre for Extremism Research (C-REX).

I am wondering if it is even possible to separate the current reality and political climate from the fiction in Furia. The boundaries seem more fragile and the ‘fear and familiarity’ narrative takes over rationality which then leads to another question how people perceive the world they live in. I cannot wait to watch the whole season, especially as much of the production took place in Poland and so many of Polish professionals have been involved in creating another thrilling journey for his political thriller. Bartosz Chajdecki’s music makes you feel drama and fury in your bones. I’m sure it will be another unforgettable experience. And I’m convinced the entire crew working on Furia had the most amazing time.

Furia 2 trailer – English It’s been two years since Ellen and Asgeir stopped the terror attack in Berlin. Ellen is back home caring for her elderly father, while Asgeir and his daughter live in Lofoten, in hiding from the relentless and lethal Ziminov. When a brutal murder leads Ellen and Asgeir to Hungary, they discover that this is part of something much bigger; a plot to tear down the European democracy. With the lives of their loved ones hanging in the balance, Ellen and her uncompromising partner Asgeir are forced into a race against time to foil a new terrorist plot that takes them from the Arctic to Budapest and into the heart of Warsaw. Created by Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen (Mammon); directed by Magnus Martens (Banshee) Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen and Michał Rogalski (Summer Solstice) with Pål Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki, Exit, In Order of Disappearance, War Sailor), Ine Marie Wilmann (Troll, Sonja: The White Swan), Borys Szyc (Oscar-nominated Cold War) leading the outstanding cast.

The Bad Weather Friend, set in Orange Country, California, is as far from removed from Nordic Noir atmosphere as possible, even though I found this sentence that quite rightly stopped me in my tracks: ‘The driver’s door opened, like a Norse god being born out of rock, Spike emerged from the Explorer.’ But who is the towering Spike, and why does he even drive a flash Ford car in the wide American streets in the warm October dark night? Why is he frightening and sweet in equal measures? He does have a presence of a powerful yet forgiving god after all.

Well, nobody had any idea of what this manifestation would entail, especially a super nice twenty-three-year-old man called Benjamin Catspaw whose sunny disposition and positive attitude to anything that world throws at him made him a truly unique individual. That was until something odd begins to unravel. One day he loses his job as a licensed real-estate agent, his promising career and glowing reputation, and his fiancé Jill Swift swiftly finishes their relationship. Even his favourite chair is destroyed while his ultra-modern spotless white decor house shows subtle signs of agitation. He is not paranoid but severely tested and begins to feel convinced that someone is really out to get him. To calm his nerves and trying to understand why bad things are in his path, Benny turns to cleaning. And more cleaning. Help and answers don’t come from his friends and acquittances. Then he receives a huge crate which apparently holds rare books from Talmadge Clerkenwell, an eccentric uncle he had never heard of. The accompanying video message says: All will be well in time. Alas, reading matter does not materialise. Instead a seven-foot-tall self-described ‘bad weather friend’ Spike appears and declares himself for ever in service to his new master. Menacing presence and terrifying intimidation techniques are his trademarks, as well as ‘shock and awe’. He is a craggle, ‘your bodyguard, lifeguard, paladin, defender.’

Dean Koontz’s latest novel is a mad enjoyable ride into bizarre and unknown, a gloriously weird mixture of hardcore thriller and fantastical adventure with touches of Harry Potter for grownups. Three Musketeers come to mind, too, as three main characters face the ruthlessness of the world which wants to destroy nice Benny. Well, Spike deals with the enemies of various calibre, while Benny deals with his memories of his peculiar childhood and teenage years to say the least, and many strange events that had shaped him. The fascinated silver-quick and lovely Harper, a waitress and a trainee Private Investigator, soaks in the mood of his-speed story and begins to fall for the human and for the craggle.

What starts with the trio visiting Benny’s ex-boss Hanson ‘Handy’ Duroc to get answers and then crashing a party at the slimy attorney’s reminded me so much about another revenge-seeking story, though motives are different. In my favourite movie, a black comedy In Order of Disappearance set in the snowy Norwegian cold whiteness, a father looks for those responsible for his son’s death, and eliminates the baddies one by one. Spike does a similar job.  

‘You remind me of John Wayne.’

‘That’s a high compliment, ma’am.’

‘Do you date?’ she asked.

‘Indeed. I date back eighteen hundred and fifty years.’

Harper frowned. ’What’s that mean?’

‘It means I’m eighteen hundred and fifty years old.’

‘Huh. You sure don’t look it.’

‘A craggle is what he always was. We always are how we came into the world. The year I came into the world was a bad year for nice people. They needed us.’

I enjoyed the in-jokes and the flowery language: ‘The situation in his kitchen was like one of those cockroach-pleasing disasters.’ Although the suspense and thriller elements are present throughout, I found it funny and touching, more like a tale about friendship, with the main theme of being kind and decent in the current times. I don’t know if The Bad Weather Friend is an antidote to the unrest in different parts of the globe as the year 2024 begins to roll. However, it will give you some surreal breathing space from the reality of upsetting news, and some laughs. And the hope that good must prevail. Just like in Koontz’s earlier novel After Death.

Dean Koontz‘s latest thriller The Bad Weather Friend – Bookshop.org / The Bad Weather Friend – amazon.co.uk is published by Thomas & Mercer on 1st February 2024. Thank you to Antara Patel of FMcM Associates for the invitation to join the blog tour.

If you have met Óskar Guðmundsson at a book festival, maybe at Granite Noir, CrimeFest or Newcastle Noir in the UK, or on his home turf in Reykjavík at Iceland Noir, you would know that he is a charming friendly sweetness-and-light type of man, allowing darkness to enter his books. Easy to talk with and definitely artistic, crating beautiful images of some familiar and surprising themes. You can follow him on Instagram Tinnamyndir and read more here (Google translate might help) from which I used the photo below.

Music is also important for Óskar who says: ’I listen a lot to music while I write, and choose what to listen to depending on what kind of chapters or scenes I’m writing. For the more laid-back chapters I go for softer music such as Shade Shade or GDRN and for the action chapters I need something with a harder beat, and listen a lot to Kaleo’

In November 2021 The Dancer was published in Iceland. It tells of a young man Tony, always been on the losing side in life. He was brought up by his troubled, alcoholic mother who had a past of her own as a talented ballerina, until a life-changing accident brought her dreams to a sudden end. As her own ambitions for fame and success were crushed, she used cruel and brutal methods to project them onto her young son – with devastating consequences. There is also a case handed to veteran detective Valdimar, supported by Ylfa taking her tentative first steps as a police officer with the city’s CID while coping with her own family difficulties. The duo search for a vicious killer after a discovery made on Reykjavík’s Öskjuhlíð hillside revealed that the body found has been there for a long time.

‘The way the idea for The Dancer came to me was quite special, and let’s say that it pushed its way into my head. We had been spending time in the countryside and I was driving back to the city in the evening, with the family asleep in the car. I switched on the radio and there was a Rolling Stones song playing, and all of a sudden I had an image of a young man ballet dancing to the song. Forty-five kilometres later, I parked the car outside our house and I had practically the whole story in my mind so the first thing I did was to jot down its outline. It was almost unbelievable that nearly the whole time I was working on it, I knew where the story was going. I’ve often thought how great it would be – and how convenient – if every idea could come floating through the air without having to be persuaded.

With this idea I knew right away that it would not take place in the present day. I was delighted because I had thought over whether it would be interesting to write a story set before the age of computers. It’s challenging but also satisfying to get to grips with a story that doesn’t have any of those gadgets. Another reason for setting the story at that time, 1983, is that this was precisely when I was a teenager and knew the centre of Reykjavík very well. It was fantastic to be able to travel back in time, revisiting all those places and the shops that aren’t there any longer. All the research work was great fun, as it meant checking on the clothes fashions of the time, what kitchen appliances were in use, and so on. At that time microwaves were the latest thing, and I enjoyed allowing this technology to irritate my detective, Valdimar, although his wife loved it.’

The Dancer was an immediate bestseller, released during Jólabókaflóð or book flood simultaneously as an eBook, audiobook and paperback. It was accompanied by an original song in which Óskar’s words have been put to music featuring some of Iceland’s leading musicians Daniel Agust, Bomarz, Doctor Victor: Dansarinn. Now this first instalment of a new series will be available in English from 5^th January 2024, published by Corylus Books. Óskar Guðmundsson is delighted: ‘I have a great relationship with my translator Quentin Bates, and we are good friends. I’m fortunate he’s so good at what he does, and our conversations aren’t that often about how to translate this or that. When we need to discuss anything to do with a translation, it’s normally about passages that need some attention, or to do with people’s names and that kind of detail. It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to relax, knowing that the book is in good hands.’

Óskar Guðmundsson keeps writing and creating: ‘The next story in the trilogy has been published in Iceland and it’s called The Puppet Master. In The Dancer we got to know that Ylfa was struggling with family problems, and in The Puppet Master we get to find out more about that. She and Valdimar are given a case to investigate that involves hostel for boys in Hvalfjörður, as those connected to the place begin to disappear one by one. The investigation touches on a ten-year-old murder case that was never solved, when young siblings were found murdered and tied beneath a buoy in Reykjavík harbour. The story takes on how society dealt with youngsters who found themselves excluded from the mainstream and who were sent to these hostels, with horrific consequences. It also deals with an eternal problem here in Iceland, of the personal relationships and nepotism that have led to a great deal of corruption within government.’

Gleðileg jól!

How many people are familiar with the Norwegian town Jessheim which lies round the corner from Gardermoen airport, within easy reach to the capital, and close to the forests – if you feel like searching for dark and mysterious things… However, if you are into a dark, dramatic, murderous and criminally good experience indoors, then Jessheim was the right place to be on a cold snowy and frosty November weekend. I knew that Thomas Enger grew up here and even if he didn’t showcase the exact location in his books, the atmosphere of a small town and the nuances of relationships formed there can be sensed in some of his writing. Then there is Oslo, too. So fast forward (seriously)… and after attending many crime fiction festivals both in Norway and abroad (I had a pleasure of meeting him at Newcastle Noir, CrimeFest, Bloody Scotland and Iceland Noir) Thomas Enger began to think of creating his ‘own’ festival, or rather a re-creating the wonderful experience that writers and readers get from meeting and talking, reading and writing, sharing passion for books. Organising any event takes time, energy and resources, and tons of passion. Thirteen years after his debut and having travelled the world with his books, and I hope I got the number right, the author felt he had an understanding of what readers want from such events when they meet their heroes. The idea of Thomas Engers Krim Festival was born long ago and embraced by the local community, with generous support and enthusiasm. Miriam V Owen of Nordic Noir Buzz recently wrote about the origins of Thomas Enger’s Krim Festival. Two packed evenings of conversations and a full day of events took lots of planning; invitations to authors to join the festival were sent and everyone who was able to appear on these days said yes. Yes to Jessheim!

The program (16^th – 18^th November 2023) was packed with respected names and loved authors, most of them recognised by the English readers also, even if we might still wait for the English translations of their books. The lineup on Thursdays and Friday included stars of the Nordic Noir firmament: Kjell Ola Dahl, Sigbjørn Mostue, Helene Flood,  Silje Ulstein, Ørjan N. Karlsson, Ingar Johnsrud, Jørgen Jæger, Chris Tvedt, Jørn Lier Horst, Tove Alsterdal, Jan-Erik Fjell, Derek B Miller (honorary Nordic author), Antti Tuomainen, Sofie Sarenbrant and Gunnar Staalesen.

I didn’t go to dinner at the old stylish Herredshuset where magnificent Rein Alexander provided entertainment. I am sure it was a fabulous event judging by the mood present all Saturday in the cosy room of Kulturbanken Kreti & Pleti, smelling of freshly made waffles which seemed to lull us into a false or imagined sense of security while the red and blue lights amplified the unsettling nature of some themes. The top Nordic Noir authors from Norway and Sweden talked about issues and situations they are inspired by, the writing process, the issues and problems they want to expose, the challenges, the pure joy of creating a good engaging novel. It was fantastic to listen to these deep interesting conversations, followed by short sharp interviews conducted by Tom Egeland. It was serious and honest, and inspiring and so tempting to spend even more money at the pop-up bookshop. Because why not? So to summarise Thomas Engers Krim Festival – what a success to put Jessheim on the map of literary events and making people want more books and more close encounters with brilliant authors who create them. So huge thanks to Thomas Enger who made his idea a reality. Same place next year then?

Here are some photos from the day. I am happy to have been there, especially as my language skills are getting better and I could talk to Norwegians who are also incredibly good in English. I even understood Swedish! Thank you Norse gods for translations while I’m getting closer to read more Norwegian Noir books in original.

I heard about Lilja Sigurðardóttir’s writing long before her books became available in English, and I was intrigued by the mixture of her sophisticated yet down-to-earth attitude, curiosity about life, and gloriously stylish flowing words. Then the good rumours became reality. Each year a new exciting novel appeared in perfect smooth translation by Quentin Bates, while the publisher Orenda Books kept on feeding our addiction. I have read Reykjavik Noir Trilogy (Snare, Trap and Cage), the standalone Betrayal, and now the latest offering in the Áróra Investigation series. In Cold as Hell and Red as Blood we got to know the main people and the setting of apparently peaceful calm country, but with the dark undertones and dangerous criminals running their businesses of money laundering and brutality on the Icelandic soil with tentacles spreading to several countries. It is a fantastic feeling to know that every time I begin to read, there will be richness of themes, complex relationships and interesting well-drawn believable characters. All these essential elements bathed in the atmospheric Icelandic light that moves into the unsettling darkness in a beat of a heart.

Winter in Iceland can be beautiful, crisp and refreshing but not when mental turmoil takes precedence. White as Snow focuses on the intriguing duo of people who are equally strong and vulnerable, confident professionally and a little touch insecure emotionally. Áróra works as a tough independent financial investigator, unafraid of digging into the murky world of money crooks. However, she is sensible enough not to cross certain borders when threatened by ruthless thugs. She still struggles with the aftermath of disappearance and death of her younger sister. She is preparing herself emotionally and mentally to search for the possible resting place of missing Ísafold, with maps of the country and a drone on standby. The experience of failing to support and save her from far afar as she used to live in the UK haunts her constantly. At that point a vaguely familiar woman Elín asks her to find out more about her Russian boyfriend Sergei who puts pressure to get married quickly while keeping big angry secrets. The suspicious? man’s background leads Áróra to a shocking discovery that their paths have crossed already. Elín turns out to be Daniel’s ex wife, and very insecure about that sudden love with a younger man, which immediately bring back unsettling memories of Ísafold’s relationship with her abusive husband: ‘Ísafold had been through a never-ending carousel of denial and crisis, depending on whether Björn had beaten her or was at his most penitent, with gifts and romance.’

At the same time the police detective Daníel faces his toughest investigation yet: the incomprehensible horrors of human trafficking. He is determined to find those responsible for abandoning a shipping container on the outskirts of Reykjavik – and causing multiple deaths. The discovery of the bodies of five young women, one of them barely alive, in the metal container shook him and the whole investigative team to the core. The brutality and violence of this case take over his life in a way, with a sense that he must hunt the killer, or killers, to ensure that they are brought to justice. It’s not easy to deal with this as Daniel and his colleagues soon realise: ‘What you call insight is really working against me right now.’ Of course the professional emotions become secondary compared to what the Nigerian woman Bisi Babalola had to endure. She was lucky to survive the ordeal of being treated like goods and ‘shipped’ from France to Iceland, in yet another unfortunate case which shows how easy it is for powerless or marginalised people to be manipulated into believing that others want to help them.

The plot moves smoothly between big and small issues: writing is urgent, ingenious, relevant. Compact, yet generous story, and the precise prose make huge impact on the reader. Vivid characterisation of everyone who plays even a small part, plus intelligent and compassionate writing that keeps the tension going, are Lilja Siguardardottir’s stylistic trademarks, and I am sure that White as Snow would look brilliant on a screen. With the darkness of criminal underworld, international links, and Áróra and Daniel becoming a very close duo indeed. Their relationship is nuanced and complicated as they both want to keep things professional but are so attracted to each other on personal level. And even if this statement refers to Daniel: ‘your deep understanding – your insight and sympathy’, I would say that it could also apply to Áróra, the determined but sensitive Nordic heroine.