#BookReview of #DeadSweet by Katrín Júlíusdóttir 

‘When a celebrated government official is found dead after his surprise birthday party, a young police officer uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives. Icelandic politician Katrín Júlíusdóttir’s award-winning debut’

**Winner of the Blackbird Award for Best Icelandic Crime Debut**

[ About Dead Sweet ]

A murder is just the beginning…

When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.

As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…

Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.

[ My Review ]

Dead Sweet by Katrín Júlíusdóttir published with Orenda Books on December 7th and is described as the ‘first in a breath-taking series…‘ Translated by Quentin Bates, Dead Sweet is a dark Icelandic tale introducing Sigurdís, an ambitious young police officer with a disconcerting past.

When the body of Óttar Karlsson, a local business man, is discovered on a beach, it is clear that foul play is involved. The police force are under budgetary pressures but Karlsson’s murder has taken precedence, whatever the cost, as he was also a well-known and successful government official. His murder sends shockwaves throughout parliament, and beyond. Initially the investigation points to a possible business connection. Karlsson would have had many enemies, as his decisions were not always agreeable to everyone, but murder?

Sigurdís is very much aware that she is a junior officer in this case. She has to prove her worth following a disciplinary action that resulted in a few weeks suspension from work. Her superior, Garðar, is limiting her involvement in the case and she is frustrated. He knows her personal history and is mindful of her mental health, but she doesn’t want to be bubble wrapped and her exasperation drives her forward. With little evidence to go on, the team is flummoxed, until Sigurdís discovers a hidden safe in Karlsson’s home, with unexpected information relating to more sinister activities. Who was Óttar Karlsson and what secrets was he hiding? Did anyone know the real Óttar Karlsson?

Sigurdís opened this Pandora’s Box and now wishes to see where the trail leads, so she takes an unauthorised trip to the US, where she makes a shocking discovery. Sigurdís grew up in a household of fear and trauma. Now she must yet again face her past, while at the same time rooting out a killer. With strength and courage, she persists with her search, but there is an underlying shadow threatening to weigh her down at every turn.

I did find the dialogue a little stilted in places and didn’t warm to any particular character but I’m sure, as the series develops and more insights are revealed, these bumps will iron themselves out. Sigurdís is a feisty young woman, dependable and determined, but her troubled past is a crutch that impacts her every decision. She is establishing herself as a trustworthy and courageous police officer but she is quite radical in some of her decisions, which ruffles the feathers of her superiors.

There are multiple layers to this tale with some very disturbing reveals, but Katrín Júlíusdóttir handles the emotional impact very sensitively and tactfully. Sigurdís is a strong female lead with a distressing personal history conquering her fears to do something good with her life. She’s an interesting and energetic protagonist. Dead Sweet is a strong launch pad for this new Icelandic series with a believable backstory and developing characters. A solid debut!

[ Bio – Katrín Júlíusdóttir ]

Katrín Júlíusdóttir received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication.

Katrín has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took nighttime shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. She was raised in Kópavogur, about 15 minutes’ drive from downtown Reykjavík.

She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.

X ~ @katrinjul

[ Bio of Translator – Quentin Bates ]

Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language, a new profession as a seaman and a family, before decamping en masse for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, netmaker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism, largely by accident.

He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice) which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series.