Book Review: Snare

SNARE | Lilja Sigurdardottir
04.01.2018 | Orenda Books
Rating: 5/5 stars

Sonja has just been through a messy divorce. She has lost custody of her son and is struggling to make ends meet in her new life. In a time of desperation Sonja was contacted by a lawyer who said he would help her with the divorce, but unbeknownst to Sonja the offer had steep consequences. She now finds herself working as a cocaine smuggler for the same man. Sonja has a plan to get out of the smuggling world, but she needs a little more time. Unfortunately for her, she’s being watched closely by a customs officer named Bragi.

She would have given anything to have not had to experience life in the snare, but the strange thing was that it had given her strength. She had discovered, having been compelled to do so, that there was more to her than she ever suspected. Now she knew that she could look after herself.

One of the few bright spots in Sonja’s life aside from the time she gets to spend with her son is the connection and relationship she has built witn Agla. Keeping in the theme of Sonja’s complicated life, Agla is a former high-level bank executive who worked closely with Sonja’s ex-husband. The prosecution team against Agla for crimes linking her to the Icelandic financial crash are closing in. As the snare tightens around Sonja and those around her, how will she survive? Will she finally be free or is her fate much more complicated than she thinks?

There was no way out. She was still caught in the snare, and the vicious beast had her in its bloody jaws, ready to rip away the most important part of her.

SNARE is a completely different arena of crime fiction than I’m typically found reading. There was no detective leading a case or an unreliable narrator stringing me along. Sigurdardottir’s SNARE is a unique and often overlooked aspect of crime fiction, which gives the reader the inside take on the criminal world through a woman who has inadvertently gotten herself involved in the cocaine business. Not only are we treated to the story being told from Sonja’s point of view, but we also get to hear from Bragi, the customs officer hot on Sonja’s trail, and Agla, the woman in a relationship with Sonja who has a much deeper connection than you initially realize. I loved each of these different points of view, as they all added a different side to the story being told, while also allowing me to connect with each individual and find a passion for wanting to know their individual stories as well as their connections to Sonja. The short chapters, alternating narrators, and captivating writing all combine to make SNARE a book you don’t want to put down. I never once found myself bored or distracted, but instead I was glued to my seat, frantically flipping pages to get to the truth. Sigurdardottir has a masterful way of writing that draws the reader in and holds them tight until the very last page.