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Best Mistake Ever by Christy McKellen

  This is a new to me author but I am delighted to feature on the celebrations for the latest novel by Christy McKellen , Best Mistake Ever . It was published by Boldwood on 16th January. Some mistakes are worth making Beatrice Donovan would do anything for her identical twin sister. Including stepping into her hotel management job temporarily and pretending to be her - she’s desperate. What could go wrong? A lot apparently! Because her sister Delilah has hugely understated her role – the hotel is at risk of closure and she’s promised she can turn it around. Now Bea has to find a way to fly under the radar, get the job done before anyone notices their switch up. Sounds easy, all Bea has to do is avoid her temporary new boss Jonah. However, that’s a lot harder than she thought. Not only does he have impossibly high standards, he’s also out of this world gorgeous, an ex-rockstar with a chip on his shoulder and he's watching her like a hawk! So Bea uses her charm to keep him fo...
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Night Shadows by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir Translated by Vixtoria Cribb #Review #Giveaway #ForbidenIceland

 

I am thrilled to be taking part in the Orenda Books celebrations for the wonderful Icelandic writer, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir. I thoroughly enjoyed her debut, The Creak on the Stairs, and you can read my review here. I also loved the second in her Forbidden Iceland series, Girls Who Lie, and my review is here. Night Shadows will be published on July 21st.

 I also have a great giveaway with the chance to win a paperback copy. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post. 

 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…

My Thoughts

 Deception seems to me to be a word which sums up this novel. On the surface, life seems pretty humdrum in this remote Icelandic place but you soon realise that under the surface, there are secrets and hidden motives. In some ways, it is the everyday nature of people's lives which makes their actions seem all the more chilling. Some act with calculation, whereas others are reacting to situations as they evolve.

    This is the third in the Forbidden Iceland series which features Detective Elma and you get to find out more about her life and relationships. She is an impulsive character who ferrets out the truth to the mystery, at the same time, coming to terms with huge changes in her life. I enjoy the author's writing style as she slowly uncovers the clues, partly through flashbacks. Victoria Cribb's translation also deserves special mention as you quickly forget that you are reading in translation. 

In short: domestic noir at its best

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. Eva lives in Reykjavík with her husband and three children and is currently working on the third book in the Forbidden Iceland series.

You can follow Eva here:  Twitter

Book link: Amazon UK
 
 Thanks to Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, and Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out these brilliant bloggers!
 

 Giveaway (UK only)



To win a print copy of Night Shadows, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

  Closing date is July 24th 2022 and there is one winner.
*Terms and Conditions –UK only.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
 
 
 

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