Best for:
Those who like to follow through with a series.

In a nutshell:
With a time jump six years, we learn that some characters from the last two books have been punished, while others have become bolder. We also meet a couple new folks.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I bought the trilogy all at once, and for the most part I’m happy I did.

Review:
This was one of those books where, with about 40 pages to go, I thought ‘wait, how will they be able to wrap all of this up?’ And Sigurðardóttir’s does, mostly, and in a somewhat unexpected way.

The previous two books focused on Sonja, but Sonja doesn’t even appear in this one until about halfway through. Instead, Sonja’s former girlfriend / partial cause of the Icelandic financial crash Agla is the focus. We meet her again in jail, having been abandoned by Sonja years earlier. We also meet a young boy who seems dedicated to blowing something up.

The time leap was a good call, I’d say, though I’m vaguely annoyed at not quite understanding how Sonja got from where she was at the end of the last book. She’s almost an afterthought for most of this. I also had trouble following the aluminum plot here - I get why it was needed but part of me felt like I was watching a hacker film - like, maybe what I’m seeing is based in reality, but it felt a bit off.

Overall I’m glad I read the books. Not exactly what I was looking for, but definitely kept me wondering until the end.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it ( )

Cage – The end of a trilogy

Cage is the final instalment of Lilja Siguardardottir’s Icelandic noir series, which has been highly addictive. There are shocks, revelations and surprises throughout, with an almost satisfactory ending. Cage is everything you want from a thriller, and it is delivered in spade loads.

Agla is finally serving her sentence for her financial misdeeds, when she made lots of money while breaking the Icelandic economy. When she received a visitor in prison, she is offered an opportunity to strike back at some of those who put her behind bars.

Agla whilst now with a purpose she still has lost her lover Sonja and is feeling lonely and unloved. Little did she realise a new love interest would happen in prison with possibly the least likely person she would have ever thought. While protecting her new love, she learns something deeply shocking about Sonja, whom she will have to make a deal with.

The lives of Ingimar, Agla and Sonya will collide and only one will walk out as the winner and take everything they can. One will be broken. The other will have regrets and move on. This really is a clash of the titans and winner takes all.

This Icelandic thriller crackles and pops throughout, with a sense of fear in the pit of your stomach, with the rising emotional tension and violence. The reader is kept on edge through out and it is with regret that you reach the end. The emotional rollercoaster of emotions and then sadness that this is the last in the series.

Once again Orenda books has found an excellent thriller and released it on the English-speaking world. Translated by Quentin Bates, who manages to keep all the drama and atmosphere from the original.

An excellent book, one worth reading now. ( )