The Blurb
A murder is just the beginning…
When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.
My Review
A new series, a new character what more would you want to brighten the dark days of winter.
Juliusdottir’s debut novel perfectly matched the darkness we find ourselves retreating into, Sigurdis her rookie police officer the bright light we needed to guide us through.
She was everything you wanted, brave, perhaps foolhardy, a troublesome background that makes for great characters, but also a vulnerability that endeared the reader to her.
Gadar, head of CID, had taken her under his wing after an unfortunate incident and the murder of a famous political figure, Ottar gave Sigurdis the perfect opportunity to prove her position within the team.
As the detectives concentrated on Ottar’s dodgy financial affairs, Juliusdottir sent Sigurdis in another direction, gave her the ability to think outside the box. Maybe the truth to Ottar’s murder lay in his personal life, his relationship with his girlfriend Erla, his mother, his sister.
The more Sigurdis dug, the more she discovered, a trip to America, a conversation with a supposed girlfriend revealed a trail of abuse, of a life lived beneath the shadows. Was Ottar really the man he projected, the intelligent, bright shining light of Icelandic politics?
Sigurdis’s discoveries appeared to mirror her own life, the possible return of a violent abusive father, the need to protect her younger brother, Einar. The struggle to balance the two only highlighted her vulnerabilities, but also her strength and fortitude, a real person, dealing with the realities of real life. You instantly felt a connection, a need to see her succeed, to prove to her colleagues and seniors that she had the attributes to make a great detective.
As potential perpetrators were wafted in front of us, the big reveal was not an action packed occasion but a subtle, almost gentle conversation between two people, tinged with emotion, with sadness. It somehow made the impact more powerful, two people scarred, hurt by the brutal abusive acts of others.
It may have been wonderful for Sigurdis to bath in her success but I didn’t feel that this was what Juliusdottir was conveying. Instead I felt it was the close of a chapter, of a laying to rest of her early childhood, of the abuse she witnessed and the belief in her inner strength and ability to understand those who shared similar experiences.
It laid the foundations for a new detective, one who had empathy, intelligence and an uncanny knack for doing what others least expected.
Bring on the next novel!!
I would like to thank Orenda Books for a copy of Dead Sweet to read and review and to Random Things Tours for inviting My Bookish Blogspot to participate in the blogtour.
About the author
Katrín received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication. Katrín has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took nighttime shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. She was raised in Kópavogur, about 15 minutes’ drive from downtown Reykjavík. She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.
Dead Sweet can be purchased in hardback or eBook at:
https://orendabooks.co.uk/product/dead-sweet
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