Icelandic Thrilles

On a jagged, bleak lava field just outside Reykjavik stands the Gallows Rock. Once a place of execution, it is now a tourist attraction. Until this morning, when a man was found hanging from it. The nail embedded in his chest proves it wasn't suicide. But when the police go to his flat, a further puzzle awaits: a four-year-old boy has been left there. He doesn't seem to have any link with the victim, his parents cannot be found and his drawings show he witnessed something terrible.

The first the police know of the crime is when clips are sent from the victim's Snapchat account, showing her begging for forgiveness. The CCTV at the cinema where she was working show her being dragged into the night by a masked killer. When the body is found, it is marked with a number 2...Detective Huldar joins the murder investigation, bringing child psychologist Freyja on board to help question the murdered teenager's friends. Soon, they uncover that Stella was far from the angel people claim: a relentless bully, she made life miserable for those around her.

BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick! Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who is charged with the brutal murder of her former master. Inspired by a true story, Burial Rites is perfect for fans of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood and The...

A chilling note predicting the deaths of six people is found in a school's time capsule, 10 years after it was buried. But surely, if a 13-year-old wrote it, it can't be a real threat.... Detective Huldar suspects he's been given the investigation simply to keep him away from real police work. He turns to psychologist Freyja to help understand the child who hid the message. Soon, however, they find themselves at the heart of another shocking case.

When single mother Maríanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she's taken her own life...until her body is found in the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected 15-year-old daughter, Hekla, has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

The wealthy, powerful Snæberg clan has gathered for a family reunion at a futuristic hotel set amongst the dark lava flows of Iceland’s remote Snæfellsnes peninsula. Petra Snæberg, a successful interior designer, is anxious about the event, and her troubled teenage daughter, Lea, whose social-media presence has attracted the wrong kind of followers. As the weather deteriorates and the alcohol flows, one of the guests disappears, and it becomes clear that there is a prowler lurking in the dark. But is the real danger inside...within the family itself?

The Icelandic nation has a long and rich history of storytelling. Throughout centuries characterized by hardship, poverty, and dark winters, the Icelanders kept their spirits high and moral values intact by telling each other stories. In this collection of 15 Icelandic folk legends, we get a glimpse of the world view of the Icelanders in centuries past as they endeavored to understand and cope with the natural phenomena around them. There are stories of malicious ghosts, outlaws living in carved-out boulders, hidden people residing in grassy knolls...

Brought to you by Penguin. Set your pulse raising with the new novel from Norwegian superstar Jørn Lier Horst. A SEVERED HEAD ON A STAKE, A BODY IN THE LAKE WISTING: NOW A MAJOR BBC 4 TV SHOW WILLIAM WISTING IS IN A RACE AGAINST TIME When a severed head is found on a stake in the quiet town of...

Icelandic sisters Áróra and Ísafold live in different countries and aren‘t on speaking terms, but when their mother loses contact with Ísafold, Áróra reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her sister. But she soon realises that her sister isn’t avoiding her...she has disappeared. As she confronts Ísafold’s abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend Björn, and begins to probe her sister’s reclusive neighbours, Áróra is led into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation.

A terrifying ghost story from the Queen of Icelandic crime, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, author of the Thora Gudmundsdottir novels. 'Yrsa is one of the most exciting new voices in the crime thriller world.' - Peter James The crunching noise had resumed, now accompanied by a disgusting, indefinable smell...

An old man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. A cryptic note and a photograph of a young girl's grave are left behind. DID THE DEAD MAN’S PAST COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM? Inspector Erlendur discovers that several decades ago the victim was accused, but not convicted, of an unsolved crime. As...

Brought to you by Penguin. The chilling and heart-pounding new novel from Norwegian superstar Jørn Lier Horst. THE INSPIRATION FOR THE HIT BBC FOUR SHOW WISTING Wisting is back with his most gripping case yet. In 1999, seventeen-year-old Tone Vaterland was killed on her way home from work...

Brought to you by Penguin. What happened to Lara? Iceland, 1956. Fifteen-year-old Lára spends the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík. In early August, the girl disappears without a trace. The mystery becomes Iceland's greatest unsolved...

Brought to you by Penguin. Four friends. One night. Not everyone will come out alive . . . The gripping stand-alone mystery from 'world-class crime writer' Ragnar Jónasson In a deadly Icelandic snowstorm, four friends seek shelter in an abandoned hunting lodge. Miles from help, and knowing they...

Brought to you by Penguin. One winter evening bestselling crime author, Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing. There are no clues to her disappearance and it is up to young detective, Helgi, to crack the case before it's leaked to the press. As he interviews the people closest to her – a...

From Ragnar Jónasson, the award-winning author of the international bestselling Ari Thór series, The Girl Who Died is a standalone thriller about a young woman seeking a new start in a secluded village where a small community is desperate to protect its secrets. Teacher Wanted At the Edge of...

"Narrator Amanda Redman gives an adept performance as she takes on the various characters in this Icelandic thriller." — AudioFile Magazine The newest superstar on the Icelandic crime fiction scene has arrived with a superb followup to The Darkness. Shortlisted for the Crime Novel of the Year...

Brought to you by Penguin. The audiobook edition of The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson, read by Amanda Redman. Before Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavik Police is forced into early retirement she is told to investigate a cold case of her choice, and she knows just the one. A...

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Island by Ragnar Jónasson, read by Amanda Redman. Four friends visit the island. But only three return . . . Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is sent to the isolated island of Elliðaey to investigate and soon finds haunting similarities...

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable audio edition of The Shadow District by Arnaldur Indridason, read by Sean Barratt. OLD CRIMES, NEW CONSEQUENCES THE PAST In wartime Reykjavik, a young woman is found strangled behind the National Theatre, a rough and dangerous area of the city...