Black As Death (An Áróra Investigation, Book Five) by Lilja Sigurđardóttir

 

Black as Death (Arora Investigations Book Five) by Lilja Sigurdardottir.

Translated by Lorenza Garcia.

Published 23rd October 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

A final reckoning…

With the fate of her missing sister, Ísafold, finally uncovered, Áróra feels a fragile relief as the search that consumed her life draws to a close. But when Ísafold's boyfriend – the prime suspect in her disappearance – is found dead at the same site where Ísafold's body was discovered, Áróra's grip on reality starts to unravel … and the mystery remains far from solved.

To distract herself, she dives headfirst into a money-laundering case that her friend Daníel is investigating. But she soon finds that there is more than meets the eye and, once again, all leads point towards Engihjalli, the street where Ísafold lived and died, and a series of shocking secrets that could both explain and endanger everything…

Atmospheric, dark and chilling, Black as Death is the breathtaking finale to the twisty, immersive An Áróra Investigation series, as Áróra and her friends search for answers that may take them to places even darker than death…

Perfect for readers of Camilla Läckberg, Karin Slaughter, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir and Jo Nesbø.

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Arora is feeling lost since the grisly discovery of her sister's body. The search for Isafold has consumed her life for the past few years, and now her theory that Isafold was murdered by her violent boyfriend, Bjorn, has been shown to be false, she does not know how to move on. Who did murder Isafold and Bjorn, and dump their remains in a volcanic fissure - Isafold's disturbingly missing its heart?

To keep herself occupied, Arora uses her investigative skills to help her police detective boyfriend, Daniel, with a financial misconduct case he has been passed from Interpol. But she uncovers a lot more than she expected, when the threads of the case become entangled with those of Isafold and Bjorn's murder inquiry. Arora being Arora, she is determined to get to the truth about her sister's death, even if it means leaping over boundaries she knows she should not cross...

Welcome to the fifth, and final, instalment of the excellent Arora Investigations series. After the dramatic events of book four, Dark as Night, when Arora's search for her sister ended with the discovery of, not one, but two bodies (alongside a cracking storyline for delightful Lady Gúgúlú), I was chomping at the bit to get to the finale - and I have not been disappointed, my Nordic noir loving friends!

Black as Death picks up shortly after the gripping conclusion of Dark as Night, with Arora unsure about how she finds her way back to the vestiges of a normal life. Always fiercely independent, and a loveable loose canon, Arora is not one to stand aside when there are questions to be answered - and as usual, tracking them down gets her into hot water with unsavoury characters.

The story unfurls through several threads - the progress of the police investigation into Isafold and Bjorn's deaths (hello again detective Helena - this time with a new rookie sidekick, Vala); Arora's search for clues and delving into places she should not; ructions in the characters' personal lives (especially Arora and Daniel's relationship); and heart-rending flashbacks from Isafold's perspective in the weeks before she went missing... there is a reappearance of Lady Gúgúlú too, which adds welcome comic relief.

After the relentless thrills of Dark as Night, this final story is very much on the slow burn side, which is more in keeping with the series as a whole - although Sigurdardottir handles action and sinuous suspense with equal skill. The threads draw together with a feeling of unsettling fascination, and I was totally transfixed as the reveals dropped. The discomfiting atmosphere is bolstered by the solid kick of dread Isafold's narrative brings to the mix, as Sigurdardottir holds nothing back about domestic violence and the hold abusers have over their partners. Meaty themes about outsiders and discrimination echo through the story too (one of her specialities), and there is lots of gritty content about nefarious underworld types for the thrills.

I absorbed this final book in a single sitting, and am very sorry to be leaving this cast of characters behind. Absolutely first class Icelandic crime drama, beautifully translated by Lorenza Garcia!

Black as Death is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can also support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranesin 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, with the third in the trilogy Cage winning the Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year, and was a Guardian Book of the Year. Lilja's standalone Betrayal, was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel. In 2021, Cold as Hell, the first in the An Áróra Investigation series was published, with Red as Blood to follow in 2022, and Dark as Night in 2024. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California.

Lilja is also an award-winning screenwriter in her native Iceland. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.