There is a fertile environment for writers in the Icelandic parliament. Dead Sweet, the debut novel by former Icelandic MP Katrín Júlíusdóttir, is getting an English translation. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir co-authored Reykjavik, which reached the bestseller charts earlier this year.
Ottar Karlsson, one of the most charismatic and prosperous businessmen and government officials in the country, is lying brutally slain on a deserted Icelandic beach as his 50th birthday party guests arrive, unaware of the truth.
Juxtaposed with her personal troubles, young cop Sigurdís finds herself entangled in a prominent murder case. The demands of being a frontline police officer have made her face her own troubled childhood; now, as she and her brother prepare to face that painful memory again, she is finding that the lines between her personal and professional life are beginning to blur.
It is not surprising that the mechanics of government serve as a backdrop to this exciting debut work, considering Júlíusdóttir’s political history. But politics is just the beginning of this captivating story. A web of religious groups, child abuse, and unscrupulous business dealings quickly envelops us.
Dead Sweet is complex but, at its core, it is a profoundly intimate story that emphasises the human details rather than the graphic violence. Sometimes you have to go back a few pages to make sure you’ve understood a plot detail but, overall, it is a compelling read.
Darkness though isn’t something Júlíusdóttir avoids. As the story progresses, the connections between the protagonist’s personal and professional lives become clearer, and the ending is as gloomy as an Icelandic winter night.
Sigurdís has all the makings of a beloved new Nordic detective. In Júlíusdóttir’s compelling portrayal, we find out about the young officer’s traumatic childhood, which continues to impact her career to this day. To get to the bottom of a case, we observe an investigator who isn’t afraid to go outside the norm in order to comprehend the mental and physical factors that contributed to the crime. Even in the most resilient characters, the most insignificant information can trigger long-buried emotions, and Júlíusdóttir is masterful at exploring these effects.
This meticulously crafted work keeps its secrets tight until the very end, and Quentin Bates’ engaging translation keeps the reader engrossed the whole way through. Júlíusdóttir ends the work on a cliffhanger, deftly placing the reader on the edge of their seat, eagerly anticipating the next chapter for this emerging figure in the Nordic crime-solving tradition.
Orenda Books will publish Dead Sweet by Kartín Júlíusdóttir, with a translation by Quentin Bates, on December 7, 2023.
