Reviews

Snare by Lilja Sigurðardóttir

mpr2000's review

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4.0

Snare means a trick or situation that deceives you or involves you in some problem you do not know about.
Snare means that Sonja risks her life and freedom every time she travels abroad, what would happen to her son if they search her luggage? Arla is not having a good moment either in her life, the police are investigating some big transactions she made, what is she hiding? We can not forget Bragi, the Customs officer in the airport, he always see a pretty woman travelling that catches his sight, it's because she is pretty or because she is hiding something?
In the beginning I was not quite sure of what to expect of this book, because I couldn't think I could understand the Sonja motives to smuggle drugs into a country, but Sonja didn't do it for money or pleasure, she has a motive, a very strong motive to risk her life every week, month... While you are reading you fill the tension inside you, because you feel that at any moment they will catch her, maybe not next time but soon, then what would happen?
This is a slow burning mystery, since the first page you know the end will not be good, will be explosive, it will not let you sleep till you arrive at the inevitable ending... be prepared.
What would you sacrifice for your loved ones?

njw13's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

amread's review

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

finlaaaay's review against another edition

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4.0

I've had a passing interest in Iceland since Sigur Rós, and I think it was between that and seeing that the main character is a lesbian that I decided to go with this one. That and a weird kind of nostalgia for the volcanic eruptions that set off my asthma from several thousand km away, back in 2010 (when the book is set). It was at the Book Festival in Edinburgh that I bought it - a shame I didn't have more time to mooch around and see some authors live, but time was shorter than I expected while I was back this summer. Anyway, the story satisfied, getting chillier and chillier metaphorically and literally (I see what you did there, Lilja, setting your book in the winter), and the twists near the end weren't completely unprecedented, but still shocked me. Basically what I want out of a Scandi-thriller - not that I've read that many before. Good job.

miniando's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

sheeprustler's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kateiwi's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

tossied's review

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

katrina_ingram's review against another edition

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3.5

This was my first Nordic noir and I didn’t really know what to expect. It started out very much like true crime books I’ve read based on drug smugglers but got a lot darker than I expected. There were some harrowing scenes detailed in this book that made me pull weird faces i’m sure. The story isnt linear, with most of it focussed on the present but with reference to the past, and each chapter changing pov. The jumping around made it difficult to follow and I think it could have been signposted better. The narration was great but I think listening to the audio added to my confusion. There were also elements of the story itself I found confusing or didn’t like, and I disliked most of the characters. But it was an intriguing story that felt real, it built tension well and there were some surprise twists 

annabarbarabittner's review against another edition

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3.0

Po trylogii Lilji Sigurðardóttir nie spodziewałam się cudów i słusznie, bo nie są to wyżyny kunsztu kryminalnego, co dotkliwie pokazał mi tom trzeci, który z braku dostępu do audiobooka, przeczytałam. Już nie raz się przekonałam, że to co bezrefleksyjnie wchłaniam podczas słuchania, nie zawsze jest strawne, gdy się tę książkę czyta. Zacznę może jednak od pozytywów.
Akcja tego cyklu ma miejsce tuż po krachu finansowym, podczas którego bardzo ucierpiała Islandia. Okazało się, że dynamiczny rozwój banków był tylko wielką bańką pełną spekulacji. Teraz tzw banksterzy podlegają prawu i ich kombinacje i machlojki są stopniowo rozpracowywane przez specjalną policyjną komórkę. Jedną z banksterek jest Agla - nieprzytomnie bogata, niezwykle elegancka, lwica jeśli chodzi o finanse i zupełnie nieśmiała w kwestii związku. Agla prowadzi bowiem niecałkiem oficjalny związek z Sonją - ładną, zgrabną matką kilkuletniego chłopca. To ich tête-à-tête doprowadziło do rozpadu małżeństwa Sonji. Adam, jej ex, to sprytny zawodnik, również bankster. Tak ustawił całą sprawę, że dziecko mieszka u niego, a spragniona kontaktów z synem matka musi o nie walczyć. To właśnie ta sytuacja wplątała je w szemrane interesy i teraz pracuje jako kurierka narkotyków. Niewykształcona i w zasadzie niezbyt rozgarnięta Sonja dobrze odnalazła się w tej czynności i może poszczycić się najlepszą skutecznością wśród islandzkich kurierów. W pierwszym tomie dowiadujemy się więc, jak doszło do tego, że Sonja działa w świecie narkotyków oraz kto stoi za wielkim handlem. Autorka wprowadzi też postać Bragiego - celnika, który zbliża się do emerytury i bardzo potrzebuje pieniędzy. Miałam zacząć od pozytywów, więc podkreślę na plus wprowadzenie wątku lesbijskiego, a także dość szczegółowe (aczkolwiek mogą ono być nużące) wyjaśnienie tła islandzkiego krachu finansowego.

Ciąg dalszy: https://przeczytalamksiazke.blogspot.com/2021/12/puapka-siec-klatka-lilja-sigurardottir.html