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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
*Received on NetGalley*
The ending just didn't do it for me. Super lackluster and devoid of any real thrill.
The ending just didn't do it for me. Super lackluster and devoid of any real thrill.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Set in Rekyjavík, Sonja finds herself in a desperate situation after her divorce from Adam. Losing custody of her son Tómas, Sonja is desperate to get herself back on her feet and get Tómas back for good but the more she tries the deeper she finds herself trapped in the dark depths of drug smuggling and danger.
Sonja really has quite a complicated life. She’s smuggling drugs into the country but it’s not through choice and I really couldn’t help feeling sorry for her. Tómas, her son means the world to her and she will do anything to get him back and make a better life for the pair of them. Sonja is also in a relationship with Agla, a high level bank executive who is under prosecution after the Icelandic financial crash and she also has connections with Sonja’s ex Adam. If all that isn’t enough to complicate things for Sonja throw in Bragi, a customs officer. Close to retirement, Bragi sets his sights on Sonja. He’s convinced she’s up to no good and makes a point of focussing a lot of attention on Sonja as she leaves and re-enters the country.
Snare really is quite a tense read, it’s fast-paced and had me totally hooked from page one. The airport scenes were especially tense, I could feel Sonja’s fear as if it were my own and I found myself holding my breath, waiting in fear until Sonja was safe. It’s filled with some excellent characters too, some likeable and some quite terrifying.
Snare is a story you can’t help ending up totally absorbed in. It’s almost like I was caught in a snare, I just couldn’t put it down. I will admit the ending had me quite frustrated because it left me wanting more but I’ve read somewhere that this is the first in a series so I’m now a happy bunny and very excited to be hopefully reading more soon.
Quentin Bates really has done a fantastic job of translating Snare, at no point did it feel like I was reading a translation at all.
So I think it is safe to say that yes, I will be recommending Snare. It’s unique, chilling, tense and full of suspense. A real page turner.
Sonja really has quite a complicated life. She’s smuggling drugs into the country but it’s not through choice and I really couldn’t help feeling sorry for her. Tómas, her son means the world to her and she will do anything to get him back and make a better life for the pair of them. Sonja is also in a relationship with Agla, a high level bank executive who is under prosecution after the Icelandic financial crash and she also has connections with Sonja’s ex Adam. If all that isn’t enough to complicate things for Sonja throw in Bragi, a customs officer. Close to retirement, Bragi sets his sights on Sonja. He’s convinced she’s up to no good and makes a point of focussing a lot of attention on Sonja as she leaves and re-enters the country.
Snare really is quite a tense read, it’s fast-paced and had me totally hooked from page one. The airport scenes were especially tense, I could feel Sonja’s fear as if it were my own and I found myself holding my breath, waiting in fear until Sonja was safe. It’s filled with some excellent characters too, some likeable and some quite terrifying.
Snare is a story you can’t help ending up totally absorbed in. It’s almost like I was caught in a snare, I just couldn’t put it down. I will admit the ending had me quite frustrated because it left me wanting more but I’ve read somewhere that this is the first in a series so I’m now a happy bunny and very excited to be hopefully reading more soon.
Quentin Bates really has done a fantastic job of translating Snare, at no point did it feel like I was reading a translation at all.
So I think it is safe to say that yes, I will be recommending Snare. It’s unique, chilling, tense and full of suspense. A real page turner.
3.5 *s. After a messy divorce, Sonia is trying to regain custody of her son. She resorts to smuggling drugs to save for a better future for him. This main thread is one of several in this fast-paced novel. I found the ending a bit lackluster but otherwise a solid read.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review was originally posted on my blog: https://rathertoofondofbooks.com/
I’m going to be completely honest here and say that I wanted to read Snare from the moment I first saw the cover! This cover is one of the most original and memorable book covers that I’ve seen in a long while and I love how it so perfectly encapsulates what the book is about. I then read the synopsis a little later on and I knew I had to get my hands on this book!
Snare gets off to such an intense start when we follow Sonja as she works out which passenger she can use to help cover her tracks as she attempts to smuggle cocaine through the airport. This grabbed me and from then on I honestly could not put this book down as I simply had to know what was going to happen.
Sonja is a single mother who in trying to do what is best for her son has found herself ensnared in a drug running organisation and she can’t find a way out of it. As the novel goes on you begin to get more of a sense of the trap that has ensnared Sonja and you realise that all is not black and white, this novel has definitely has shades of grey where you find yourself wanting Sonja to be okay whilst at the same time being horrified at what she’s doing. As with the cover, people can seem that they are innocent but look a little deeper and they could be committing serious criminal acts.
Snare is told from multiple perspectives – Sonja; her lover Alga; and Bragi, who works in security at the airport. The chapters are very short and this really heightens the intensity of the novel as it reaches a point where I could barely breathe for the tension, it really is palpable and radiates from the page, and I just had to know what was coming next!
I loved the way that we initially see Sonja as a composed, almost calculating, woman as she goes through the airport but then we see the chapters where she’s at home with her son or dealing with her neighbour and that’s when I began to understand her character more. The layers are built up as the book goes along and it makes for such a fascinating and unputdownable thriller. I was a step ahead of Sonja in seeing the way the net would begin to tighten but that just heightened the tension for me as I was hoping that I was wrong.
Everyone in this book has their reasons for doing what they do – some it’s because they’re trapped, some because they’re selfish and monstrous, and others because ultimately the ends justify the means. I had real sympathy for Sonja as the book went on, and I also could understand why Bragi does as he did. It made the book really interesting to see how the dots begin to join up and to learn who was trapped and who was pulling the strings.
I’m so excited to find out what this is the first book in a trilogy as while Snare has an ending of sorts which satisfied me, it also leaves plenty to have you desperately wanting to read the next book as soon as it’s available!
Snare is such a sophisticated, high stakes thriller with real heart; it’s dark, gripping and incredibly intense! It’s a refreshing and different crime thriller and certainly one you won’t want to miss, it had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down – I highly recommend it!
I’m going to be completely honest here and say that I wanted to read Snare from the moment I first saw the cover! This cover is one of the most original and memorable book covers that I’ve seen in a long while and I love how it so perfectly encapsulates what the book is about. I then read the synopsis a little later on and I knew I had to get my hands on this book!
Snare gets off to such an intense start when we follow Sonja as she works out which passenger she can use to help cover her tracks as she attempts to smuggle cocaine through the airport. This grabbed me and from then on I honestly could not put this book down as I simply had to know what was going to happen.
Sonja is a single mother who in trying to do what is best for her son has found herself ensnared in a drug running organisation and she can’t find a way out of it. As the novel goes on you begin to get more of a sense of the trap that has ensnared Sonja and you realise that all is not black and white, this novel has definitely has shades of grey where you find yourself wanting Sonja to be okay whilst at the same time being horrified at what she’s doing. As with the cover, people can seem that they are innocent but look a little deeper and they could be committing serious criminal acts.
Snare is told from multiple perspectives – Sonja; her lover Alga; and Bragi, who works in security at the airport. The chapters are very short and this really heightens the intensity of the novel as it reaches a point where I could barely breathe for the tension, it really is palpable and radiates from the page, and I just had to know what was coming next!
I loved the way that we initially see Sonja as a composed, almost calculating, woman as she goes through the airport but then we see the chapters where she’s at home with her son or dealing with her neighbour and that’s when I began to understand her character more. The layers are built up as the book goes along and it makes for such a fascinating and unputdownable thriller. I was a step ahead of Sonja in seeing the way the net would begin to tighten but that just heightened the tension for me as I was hoping that I was wrong.
Everyone in this book has their reasons for doing what they do – some it’s because they’re trapped, some because they’re selfish and monstrous, and others because ultimately the ends justify the means. I had real sympathy for Sonja as the book went on, and I also could understand why Bragi does as he did. It made the book really interesting to see how the dots begin to join up and to learn who was trapped and who was pulling the strings.
I’m so excited to find out what this is the first book in a trilogy as while Snare has an ending of sorts which satisfied me, it also leaves plenty to have you desperately wanting to read the next book as soon as it’s available!
Snare is such a sophisticated, high stakes thriller with real heart; it’s dark, gripping and incredibly intense! It’s a refreshing and different crime thriller and certainly one you won’t want to miss, it had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down – I highly recommend it!
Her er min anmeldelse av boken Fanget: https://mineboker.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/fanget-av-lilja-sigurdardottir/
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Engaging and gripping tale with flawed characters who still manage to engage your sympathies - can't ask for much from crime fiction.
Snare: a terrific read
This is the first book that I have read by Lilia Sigurdardóttir and thought that it was terrific. Set in Iceland in the aftermath of the financial crisis and with the air still full of ash it is winter.
Sonja is divorced from Adam and only has access to her son Thomas every other weekend. The divorce was financially crippling and she got in with some very bad people in order to pay off her debts. She is drug smuggling and trying to break free only seems to get her in deeper with the Snare. But her travelling has caught the eye of customs officer Bragi he has a gut feeling about Sonja and he’s watching her.
Agla is a senior bank executive being investigated by the police for her part in the Iceland financial crash. She is Sonja’s lover.
There is no police investigation into Sonja’s activities we are being told the story from her point of view although we also hear from Agla and Bragi- it is a lesser used perspective of the genre and this allows the reader to relate in a sympathetic way with Sonja as we get to know her story.
Well written, it is translated by Quentin Bates, it keeps you hooked with the short chapters ensuring that it moves along at a good pace. There is plenty of tension - from the smuggling aspect - in this nicely constructed plot but you also get the storyline of how Sonja finds herself in this position, her relationship with Thomas, Agla and Adam and her desire to be free of the Snare. Will she ever be free? You’ll need to read this terrific book to find out.
This is the first book that I have read by Lilia Sigurdardóttir and thought that it was terrific. Set in Iceland in the aftermath of the financial crisis and with the air still full of ash it is winter.
Sonja is divorced from Adam and only has access to her son Thomas every other weekend. The divorce was financially crippling and she got in with some very bad people in order to pay off her debts. She is drug smuggling and trying to break free only seems to get her in deeper with the Snare. But her travelling has caught the eye of customs officer Bragi he has a gut feeling about Sonja and he’s watching her.
Agla is a senior bank executive being investigated by the police for her part in the Iceland financial crash. She is Sonja’s lover.
There is no police investigation into Sonja’s activities we are being told the story from her point of view although we also hear from Agla and Bragi- it is a lesser used perspective of the genre and this allows the reader to relate in a sympathetic way with Sonja as we get to know her story.
Well written, it is translated by Quentin Bates, it keeps you hooked with the short chapters ensuring that it moves along at a good pace. There is plenty of tension - from the smuggling aspect - in this nicely constructed plot but you also get the storyline of how Sonja finds herself in this position, her relationship with Thomas, Agla and Adam and her desire to be free of the Snare. Will she ever be free? You’ll need to read this terrific book to find out.