Under The Blazing Sun (Murder By The Book: Book Two) by Jenny Lund Madsen

 

Under the Blazing Sun (Murder by the Book: Book Two) by Jenny Lund Madsen.

Translated by Paul Russell Garrett.

Published 21st May 2026 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Hannah is miserable. Her love life is in ruins, her contract demands a sequel to her bestselling crime debut―and she’s out of ideas. After a mortifying TV interview, her agent ships her off to a sun-drenched Sicilian villa with a simple order: finish the book. No distractions. No excuses.

But inspiration doesn’t strike―murder does.

When a night out ends in murder, Hannah finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation… again. The police want her out of the way, and the only person who seems to believe her is a young but charming Italian police officer. That is, until she doesn’t.

Soon Hannah is chasing suspects, fleeing crime scenes, and doing whatever it takes to avoid becoming the next victim. She came to write a crime novel. Now she’s trapped inside one.

Dark, sly and deliciously atmospheric, Under the Blazing Sun is the second novel in the award-winning series featuring accidental sleuth and disgruntled literary author Hannah, whose pursuit of plot twists keeps turning dangerously real.

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Disgruntled Danish writer, Hannah Krause-Bendix, has mixed feelings about the success of her debut crime novel, Murder Island - the book she wrote for a dare on her writing retreat in Iceland, after becoming involved in a murder investigation. It may have brought her some financial breathing space, but how she despises the genre in comparison with her worthy literary novels. 

Her agent Bastian is now pestering her for the sequel she promised him, but in the midst of her writer's block woes, and frustration that her romance with her married Icelandic lover Margrét is not going as planned, she has zero plot ideas. After walking out on a TV interview in a huff, Bastian tries a last ditch attempt to get Hannah back to work by sending her off on another writing retreat - this time to a luxury villa, owned by a mysterious friend, on the Italian island of Sicily.

Sunny Sicily is an improvement on grey Copenhagen, but rather than inspiring ideas, the only thing flowing is the wine. Hannah's trip takes a fateful turn when she meets a wealthy Swedish couple, who invite her to spend the night at their palatial home. In an alcohol-induced haze she accepts, and somehow finds herself mixed up in another murder. The only way for her to prove she is not a suspect is to investigate the crime herself, and just maybe history will repeat itself by getting her writing juices flowing too... if she can stay alive long enough. 

Reluctant crime writer, Hannah is back in a sequel which is just as rollicking good fun as her previous Nordic adventure - this time in the sunny climes of Sicily. Under pressure to produce results, and in the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to dastardly deeds (once again), Hannah has to brush off her sleuthing skills... accompanied with a glass of wine, or four.

In her typically egotistical, and completely chaotic, style, Hannah gets to work travelling over the island in her trusty yellow Fiat Panda, rubbing up the police and shady mafia-types the wrong way, and getting caught up in a love triangle with tricky consequences. Her less than professional (often inebriated) methods turn up surprising clues, leading to tense reckonings in the company of unexpected helpmates - and the plot for a brand new crime thriller (of course).

This is a thrilling crime caper, set against a fabulous backdrop, that is every bit as entertaining and atmospheric as the first Murder by the Book instalment Thirty Days of Darkness, albeit with a dramatic change in climate. The writing flows (hats off to excellent translation skills from Paul Russell Garrett), the plot thickens with well-wrought mystery, and the laughs come thick and fast, as the threads work themselves out in enjoyable whodunit style - with a side order of thought provoking themes around love, loss, and mafia corruption. It was a wonderful to see Hannah's literary nemesis Jørn Jensen returning with a bigger comic role, and there is a lovely emotional parting shot in the story that hints at intriguing developments in Hannah's love life too.

I swallowed it whole, loved every joyous moment, and cannot wait for book three!

Under the Blazing Sun is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of Denmark’s most acclaimed screenwriters, known for international hits such as Rita and Follow the Money, as well as for her advocacy for better representation of sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. She recently made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater).

 Her debut literary thriller, Thirty Days of Darkness―the first in an addictive new series―won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the Year and was shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award. She lives in Denmark with her young family.