Betrayal

Burned out and traumatized by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Úrsula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role in which she hopes to make a difference again. But on her first day in the post, Úrsula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman, and life in high office soon becomes much more harrowing than Úrsula could ever have imagined. A homeless man is stalking her—but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And why has the death of her father in police custody so many years earlier reared its head again? As Úrsula is drawn into dirty politics, facing increasingly deadly threats, the lives of her stalker, her bodyguard, and even a witch-like cleaning lady intertwine. Small betrayals become large ones, and the stakes are raised ever higher . . . Exploring the harsh worlds of politics, police corruption, and misogyny, Betrayal is a relevant, powerful, fast-paced thriller that feels just a little bit too real.

"Tackling topical issues, the book will tell you a great deal about why the world’s in the state it is, while never neglecting its duty to entertain." —S Magazine

"Compassion beats complexity every time." —Times

"Cage is written in a clean, understated style, the author letting the reader put together the emotional beats and plot developments. Smart writing with a strongly beating heart." —Big Issue

"Deftly plotted though and with a forensic attention to the technicalities of stock exchange manipulations and drug running techniques." —Crime Time

"Tough, uncompromising and unsettling." —Val McDermid, author, A Darker Domain

"With shocks and surprises in store, and that oh so satisfying end, Cage provoked, chilled, and thrilled me." —LoveReading

"Tense, edgy and delivering more than a few unexpected twists and turns." —Sunday Times Crime Club Star Pick

Quentin Bates made his escape from suburbia at the end of the seventies as a gap year turned into a gap decade spent in the north of Iceland. He worked ashore and at sea before returning to England and, once finally ashore for good, drifted by accident into journalism. Finally the lure of fiction became too strong to resist. Sergeant Gunnhildur and the series of novels she features in have their origins in a deep affection for Iceland and its people, and an intimate knowledge of Icelandic society and its language, customs and quirks. Today he divides his time between the north of Iceland and the south of England, translating books from Icelandic in addition to working on his own fiction. Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain, and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series and Lilja’s English debut, shortlisting for the CWA International Dagger and hitting bestseller lists worldwide. Trap soon followed suit. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja has a background in education and has worked in evaluation and quality control for preschools in recent years. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.