I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for superb and compelling thriller Night Shadows (Forbidden Iceland 3) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir. Thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this excellent book.
About the book:
The small community of Akranes is devastated when a young man dies in a mysterious house fire, and when Detective Elma and her colleagues from West Iceland CID discover the fire was arson, they become embroiled in an increasingly perplexing case involving multiple suspects. What’s more, the dead man’s final online search raises fears that they could be investigating not one murder, but two.
A few months before the fire, a young Dutch woman takes a job as an au pair in Iceland, desperate to make a new life for herself after the death of her father. But the seemingly perfect family who employs her turns out to have problems of its own and she soon discovers she is running out of people to turn to.
As the police begin to home in on the truth, Elma, already struggling to come to terms with a life-changing event, finds herself in mortal danger as it becomes clear that someone has secrets they’ll do anything to hide…
About the author:
Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in Globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland and deciding to write a novel – something she had wanted to do since she won a short-story competition at the age of fifteen. After nine months combining her writing with work as a stewardess and caring for her children, Eva finished The Creak on the Stairs. It was published in 2018, and became a bestseller in Iceland. It also went on to win the Blackbird Award, a prize set up by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jónasson to encourage new Icelandic crime writers.
It was published in English by Orenda Books in 2020.
The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Iceland series) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit in July 2022.
Eva lives in Reykjavík with her husband and three children and is currently working on the third book in the Forbidden Iceland series.
Follow her on @evaaegisdottir
Night Shadows is translated by Victoria Cribb.
My Review:
Night Shadows is the third book in Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s Forbidden Iceland series. Icelandic Noir at its very best, it’s a beautifully written and atmospheric thriller that takes this series to a whole new level. Police officer Elma and her colleagues are back in a complex, well plotted thriller that is a slow burn of a read, drawing on the chilling landscape of its small town Icelandic setting to keep the reader engaged throughout. And although Night Shadows can easily be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the first two books in the series first as they add even more depth to what is already a superb and highly entertaining read.
This time Elma and her colleagues are investigating the death of a young man in a house fire. Discovering the fire was no accident, the team soon become immersed in a case with multiple suspects and a victim whose final online search leads the team to believe they are investigating not just one murder, but two. As the intrigue and suspense mounts, a link to a missing Dutch woman is discovered that changes everything…
Settled back into her home town of Akranes, we see a softer side to Chief Investigating Officer Elma in this book, with her relationship with colleague Sævar taking a much more central role. As the case becomes increasingly complex and the list of suspects grows longer we see Elma, already struggling to come to terms with a life changing event, soon finding herself in serious danger as it becomes clear that someone has secrets that they’ll do anything to keep hidden. As more discoveries are made and the tension rises, the investigation team find themselves increasingly under pressure as they get closer to finding out the truth.
Stunningly translated by Victoria Cribb, Night Shadows is a compelling Icelandic Noir thriller that is filled to the brim with intrigue and suspense. With a fascinating cast of characters and an intricately plotted and addictive storyline that will keep you guessing throughout, this is a dark, emotional and disturbing read that I enjoyed immensely. Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s writing just keeps on getting better and better as she deftly brings the threads of the story together. With twists, turns, shocks and surprises to keep you reading long into the night, Night Shadows is yet another superb psychological thriller that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
The third book in the Forbidden Iceland series, Night Shadows is a gripping, dark and atmospheric read that increases the tension slowly, as the story moves forward towards a final, thrilling conclusion. Building on what has gone before, this is a series that is going from strength to strength and I can’t wait to see where Eva Björg Ægisdóttir will take Elma and her team next.
A fantastic addition to the series, Night Shadows is Icelandic Noir at its very best!
Highly recommended.
Night Shadows by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir is available to purchase now:
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
LikeLiked by 1 person