The chilling new speculative mystery from the author of Cold as Hell

Book blurb

A perfect system. An impossible murder.

Reykjavík, 2052. Europe is peaceful, prosperous and almost crime-free, governed by Ɐlfa, the artificial intelligence that manages infrastructure, safety and daily life. Mekkín works at the Ministry, close to the core of the system that keeps society running. She lives with her partner, Sabína, an artist.

When Sabína’s brother Birkir, a committed dissident who lives beyond the reach of Ɐlfa, is found brutally murdered, that fragile sense of order begins to fracture. Violent crime has effectively been eliminated, and Birkir’s death is not just shocking, but inexplicable. What was he involved in, and who would dare to commit murder in a world designed to prevent it?

As the investigation unfolds, Sabína is drawn ever deeper into the case. Mekkín’s position at the Ministry brings scrutiny she cannot escape, their relationship begins to fracture, and their teenage son’s recent integration into the system places him uncomfortably close to the forces now circling the family. As Sabína pieces together Birkir’s final days, the answers begin to point far closer to home than either of them ever expected, forcing her to decide what she is prepared to sacrifice to uncover the truth…

My thoughts

Well, what a fantastic read ALFA is! I was drawn in from the first chapter even though SF isn’t my preferred genre I was intrigued by the fact that it would have a murder mystery/thriller element at its heart.

The book opens with the police coming to tell Sabina of a death, a suspicious death. We are then through the next few chapters setting the scene transported to Reykjavík, Iceland and life in 2052.

Europe is governed by an AI known as ALFA and life is generally peaceful, orderly and content. Adults wear a watch, a chip inserted into their wrist, that connects them to ALFA who looks after their health and welfare. Each adult lives on universal income which is a payment made directly to them by the government, an equal amount regardless of their work status, job, age or ability. At the age of 16 a person can be confirmed and if they are they begin their adult life on half universal income, are detached from their parents/guardians, chipped, inducted and given work that is considered to be the most appropriate for them and for society as a whole.

Mekkin and Sabina live with their son Júlíus who is just about to be confirmed. Mekkin is a government minister, a member of the Seven – a founding member of the AI regime which overcame the governmental system in 2027. Sabina is an artist. The two women have been together for over two decades. They have a good life together and are a close family.

There is a storyline threaded through the book that tells of how ALFA came into existence.

It is almost half way through the book that the opening chapter becomes clear and a tragedy unfolds. Sabina has been helping her brother Birkir to find better places to sell his produce. Birkir lives outside ALFA, as some do who are not able to accept life governed by AI, and as a result has to earn his own money which Birkir does by growing and selling vegetables. He is being ripped off by Henrik who up till now has had a monopoly on buying Birkir’s produce.

When Júlíus is given the path of carpenter both mothers are surprised. He was so good with robotics that they had assumed he would be put into robotics engineering. And even though Júlìus was happy about his given path and Sabina accepted it Mekkin couldn’t believe or come to terms with ALFA’s decision and even though she was a high official, a member of the seven she does something that would have disastrous consequences.

This is a fascinating, absorbing story of a mother wanting the best for her child who makes a mistake and then another not realising how bad the consequences will be for her, her family or for the society she helped create. It is a story that takes today’s world with all its issues such as AI, greed, power, hate and so on and brings a new perspective one that makes AI not only the reality it is but allows it to build a better place for everyone. And for a time it appears to work. But when a man is murdered will ALFA succeed in finding out who committed the crime?

In this complex, beautifully crafted story the reader will learn about the fragility of humans and of trust betrayed, in so many ways, of how kindness can be misunderstood and obsession can twist a mind. How ALFA provides a different way to live but is it better? Is it really what it says it is?

As the murder is resolved and a suspect put on trial are all the facts in play? What happens when society and officials are too accepting of a system that appears to be infallible but still can’t stop cats from being hit by AV’s?

When Júlíus finds out about connections between the government and an underground group, Catastrophe, that campaigns for cats rights will he give Mekkin the information in time to help her? Or will Mekkin’s actions make him turn his back on her? And when Mekkin realises Sabina and Júlíus are in grave danger what lengths will she go to in order to save them? Will the police listen to her? Will Sabina and Júlíus ever trust her again?

There is such a lot in this story that will make you think and wonder about what is happening in the world and what the future holds. Told in a way that brings crime fiction and speculative fiction/sci-fi and fantasy (SFF) together in this unique and fascinating story.

Larissa Kyzer has given English readers the gift of translation in order to be able to read this unique story. Orenda Books continues to publish these wonderful translations and bring great stories to us.

With ALFA Lilja Sigurðardóttir brings fantastic and groundbreaking stories to readers that are truly engrossing.

Thanks and BlogTour

Huge thanks to Orenda Books for an eARC of Alfa by Lilja Sigurdardóttir for review purposes and to Anne at RandomThingsTours for the invitation to this fantastic BlogTour.

Information

Published: Orenda Books Ltd | 5 Nov 2026 | 300 pp | ISBN 9781917764513 (05/11/2026) | Original Paperback £9.99

Buy: Orenda Books | Hive UK | Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Your local library | Your local bookshop

TRANSLATOR: Larissa Kyzer is a writer and Icelandic-English literary translator. Her translation work has earned her the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s Nadia Christensen Translation Prize, the Icelandic Bookseller Association’s Incentive Award, and a Pushcart nomination. She has also received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the European Union Prize for Literature, Fulbright, the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the Icelandic Literature Center, Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature, and Finland’s Kone Foundation. Larissa is on the steering committee of the National Writers Union’s Literary Translators Division, a member of the Icelandic Writers Union, and on the board of the American Literary Translators Association. She splits her time between Brooklyn and Reykjavík.

Author

Icelandic crime writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written eleven crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide. Snare was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger, Cage won Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year and was a Guardian Book of the Year, and Betrayal was shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award and won Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by Glassriver. Cold as Hell, the first book in the An Áróra Investigation series, was published in the UK in 2021 and was followed by Red as Blood, White as Snow, Dark as Night and Black as Death. TV rights to the series have been bought by Studio Zentral in Germany. Lilja lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

You’ll find her on X@LiljaWriter, Instagram @sigurdardottirlilja, on Facebook.com/liljawriter and on her website, liljawriter.com.

Books

Steps (Spor), 2009
Forgiveness (Fyrirgefning), 2010
Snare (Gildran) 2015 (Reykjavík Noir 1)
Trap (Netið) 2016 (Reykjavík Noir 2)
Cage (Búrið) 2017 (Reykjavík Noir 3)
Betrayal (Svik) 2018 
Cold as Hell (Helköld sól) 2019
Red as Blood (Blóðrauður sjór) 2020
White as Snow (Náhvít jörð) 2021
Dark as Night (Drepsvart hraun) 2022
Black as Death (Dauðadjúp sprunga) 2023
ⱯLFA – 2025