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.

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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.

My Review

Hannah’s a prickly individual. Having stormed out of a TV interview her agent Bastian tells her that he needs her second crime novel NOW. She owes him for the advance. He then suggests that she goes to Sicily where she can stay in a luxurious villa – albeit in the middle of nowhere – and write in peace and quiet. A retreat of sorts.

But things don’t quite work out that way. Having got completely lost walking home from the nearby village where she met a nice couple who gave her their contact details, she has no option but to ring them and ask for help. They take her back to theirs for the night as she’s quite drunk and exhausted, when tragedy strikes.

Hannah is now a witness to the murder of someone she barely knows, and is soon embroiled in yet another mystery. At least it’s inspiration for book two, though that makes the police suspicious.

I really enjoyed Under The Blazing Sun – it’s great fun – personally for me even more so than book one. The last few chapters are fast and furious.

If I had one word of advice for Hannah (other than ‘chill’), it would be to cut back on the wine. First night in a villa that she barely knows how to find in daylight, let alone in the pitch dark, and off she goes on foot, gets plastered, and then spectacularly lost. She could have driven her hired Fiat Panda (I’ve owned two of those), had one small glass of wine, and not been a witness/suspect in a murder. Well done Hannah! Roll on book three!

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of Denmark’s most acclaimed scriptwriters (including the international hits Rita and Follow the Money) and is known as an advocate for better representation for sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. She recently made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater) and her debut literary thriller, Thirty Days of Darkness, first in an addictive new series, won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year and was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key Award. She lives in Denmark with her young family.

About Orenda Books

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.