Review: Council (Helga Finnsdottir #2) by Snorri Kristjansson

I requested this book because I loved the first one in this Viking murder mystery series and was really looking forward to reading more about Helga. I wasn't disappointed!

Council is set about five years on from the first book, Kin. Helga has settled in Uppsala, near the court of King Erik. She is well regarded as a healer and is now in her first serious relationship. The King has summoned all who owe him fealty to a council and, with rumours of an imminent attack, tempers are fraying, even before the discovery of a body. Can Helga solve the murder before anyone else is killed? And can King Erik get everyone to work together to prevent a war?

I love the character of Helga and it is so refreshing to read a murder mystery set amongst the Vikings! I'm fascinated by history and I enjoyed the appearances of real-life vikings Harald Bluetooth and Styrbjorn the Strong! My favourite part of the story was when Helga joins a party of spies heading to Harald Bluetooth's court. Although I thought I'd worked out one of the twists I was completely wrong. The ending was extremely nail-biting and I also liked that there was a hint of the next adventure to come.

The pace is slow to start with, which didn't bother me, but I can appreciate some readers might not like this. There were also a lot of characters, which could be confusing at times. But I'm sure anyone who enjoys stories about vikings, or historical mysteries that are just a little bit different, would love reading Council.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book, which will be published on 16th May 2019.

Thank you to Snorri Kristjansson and Jo Fletcher Books (Quercus) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Kin (Helga Finnsdottir #1) by Snorri Kristjansson

Review: Kin (Helga Finnsdottir #1) by Snorri Kristjansson

I was attracted to this book because of the cover and the wonderful tagline: 'Lies. Manipulation. Murder. There's nothing quite like family.' How could I resist that?

Helga Finnsdottir lives with her adoptive parents, Viking warlord Unnthor Reginsson and his wife Hildigunnar, in a remote valley. It is rumoured Unnthor possesses a great treasure chest of gold, obtained during his previous career of raiding and pillaging, but Unnthor is admitting nothing. Unfortunately Unnthor's three sons and his daughter have come to visit for the summer, and they all have an eye on a share of the gold. When tensions spiral out of control, and someone is found murdered, it is up to Helga to find the culprit before an innocent life is taken.

Kin is basically a Viking murder mystery, although with the power struggles between the family members, and the manipulations of Hildigunnar, it did sometimes remind me of The Godfather. There are a lot of characters: Unnthor's three sons and his daughter, plus their wives and husband. The story does takes its time to explain who everyone is and set up possible motives for murder - which doesn't take place until about 40% into the story. This might be a minus for some readers, but I enjoyed the setting up of time and place, and all the details of Viking life. The dialogue is a bit 21st century, but that didn't bother me either. 

I loved the characters, especially Helga and her adoptive parents (when I wasn't thinking about The Godfather, the mum and dad out of Brave kept popping into my head), but I did get confused between the various wives of Helga's adoptive brothers. The murder victim wasn't who I was expecting it to be and I didn't guess the identity of the murderer either. As I read a lot of crime novels, this is always a plus for me!

I thought Kin was brilliant! I really enjoyed reading something so different, and I'm definitely going to look out for the next book in the series.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book, which will be published on 8th March 2018.

Thank you to Snorri Kristjansson, Quercus and NetGalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.