‘Betrayal’ by Lilja Sigurđardóttir and translated by Quentin Bates is an Icelandic thriller with plenty of layers to work through as you read this novel and it begins to unfurl said layer.

It tells us the story of a woman, Úrsula, who has spent a lot of years as an aid worker in the parts of the world that are generally war-torn. She is struggling to get back into the normal way of life on her return to Iceland, due to her PTSD from the horrific things she witnessed while doing her job as an aid worker. She has support from her family but feels disjointed and without purpose.
Úrsula suddenly receives a phone call from the Prime Minister no less, offering her a one-year temporary appointment in a combined role of the Ministries of Justice and Transport. Although Úrsula does wonder how she is up for the position when she isn’t a party member, she is invigorated with this job. She feels alive for the first time since getting home. Maybe with her husband behind her, she may make some real changes.

Her first day brings a case that in her promise to find justice for the mother of a rape victim is going to lead her into a place she will struggle to get out from. She finds herself being stalked by a homeless man and the only direction in which she will discover the answers she needs are in her past. Digging up things that have been buried for years.

This is a tale that exposes the cutthroat world of politics and shows just how much corruption is acceptable in this dirty, desperate place. This is a fictional tale but I felt an authenticity about it that you can only find when you have done excellent research, or been in that world. It shows sometimes a woman is better for the job than the men as well. I have read a few Icelandic authors this year, through Orenda Books and have been blown away by the quality of these books, Betrayal is no exception!

Thank you to Orenda Books for the copy of Betrayal for me to write this review and thanks to Anne Cater for my invite on the blog tour.