The stunning follow-up to The Legacy, which was the start of a thrilling new series that Booklist (starred) recommends for fans of Tana French. Vaka sits, regretting her choice of coat, on the cold steps of her new school. Her fathers appears to have forgotten to pick her up, her mother has forgotten to give her this week's pocket money, and the school is already locked for the day. Grownups, she decides, are useless. With no way to call home, she resigns herself to waiting on the steps until her fathers remembers her. When a girl approaches, Vaka recog'nizes her immediately from class, and from her unusual apperance: two of her fingers are missing. The girl lives at the back of the school, on the other side of a high fence, and Vaka asks to call her father from the girl's house. That afternoon is the last time anyone sees Vaka.Detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja are called in. Soon, they find themselves at the...

    A banker hanged from Gallows Rock . . . An unknown child discovered in his flat . . . Iceland's Queen of Crime is back with a chillingly dark murder mystery. 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. As detective Huldar hunts the killer, and child psychologist Freyja looks for the boy's parents, the mystery unfolds - a story of violence, entitlement, and revenge.  

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  AMONG THE MOURNERS AT A FUNERAL, ONE OF IS THEM IS A KILLER... A group of young professionals travel to the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland to attend an old friend's wake. Their reunion soon turns into a living nightmare, as the memories of a party they attended at university, and desperately tried to forget, come rushing back. When two bodies are found on a rocky beach close to the refurbished lighthouse keeper's house that the group had stayed in, medical examiner Iðunn is sent to provide the local police assistance. For Iðunn, who grew up on the island, this takes her back to the heart of her complex family and the ghosts of her own past she would prefer to keep at bay. But as the deadly secrets soon become insurmountable, can any of them escape unscathed? A chilling, isolated thriller form the legendary Icelandic crime writer and international bestseller, perfect for fans of C. J. Tudor and Ragnar Jónasson.

A creepy, compelling thriller, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is the fifth Thóra Gudmundsdóttir novel from Yrsa, ‘Iceland’s answer to Stieg Larsson’ ( Daily Telegraph ). Berglind hurried to her son and pulled him forcefully from the window. She held him close and tried at the same time to wipe the windowpane. But the haze couldn’t be wiped away. It was on the outside of the glass. Pési looked up at her. ‘Magga’s outside. She can’t get in. She wants to look after me.’ He pointed at the window and frowned. ‘She’s a little bit angry.’ A young man with Down’s Syndrome has been convicted of burning down his care home and killing five people, but a fellow inmate at his secure psychiatric unit has hired Thóra to prove Jakob is innocent. If he didn’t do it, who did? And how is the multiple murder connected to the death of Magga, killed in a hit and run on her way to babysit?

"Top notch crime fiction."—Boston Globe American readers first met Icelandic lawyer and investigator Thóra Gudmundsdóttir in Last Rituals. In My Soul to Take, internationally acclaimed author Yrsa Sigurdardóttir plunges her intrepid heroine into even graver peril, in a riveting thriller set against the harsh landscape of Smila's Sense of Snow territory. A darkly witty and continually surprising suspense tale that places Yrsa Sigurdardóttir firmly in the ranks of Sue Grafton, Tess Gerritsen, Faye Kellerman and other top mystery writers, My Soul to Take is ingenious Scandinavian noir on a par with the works of Henning Mankell and Arnaldur Indridason. Stieg Larsson (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) fans should also take note.

Aldis hates her job working in a juvenile detention center in rural Iceland. The boys are difficult, the owners are unpleasant, and there are mysterious noises at night. And then two of the boys go astray . . .Decades later, single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the center. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister?Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a huge European bestseller both with her crime and horror novels. You might want to sleep with the light on after reading The Undesired. . .

From the celebrated poet behind bone, a lyrical memoir—part prose, part verse—about coming-of-age, uncovering the cruelty and the beauty of the wider world, and redemption through self-discovery and the bonds of family "My little brother and I saw a unicorn in the garden in the late nineties. I'm telling you. Neither one of us made it up; it was as real as anything else." So begins The Terrible, Yrsa Daley-Ward's brave, raw, completely lyrical memoir that captures the surreal magic and incredible discomfort of adolescence, burgeoning sexuality, rootlessness, and connection. Through emotional snapshots that span from her adolescence through her early twenties, each brought to life in Yrsa's gorgeous signature style of open white spaces and stirring, singular lines, The Terrible evokes the pain and thrill of girlhood, as well as what it means to discover the fear and power that come with...

A creepy, compelling thriller, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is the fifth Thóra Gudmundsdóttir novel from Yrsa, 'Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson' (Daily Telegraph). Berglind hurried to her son and pulled him forcefully from the window. She held him close and tried at the same time to wipe the windowpane. But the haze couldn't be wiped away. It was on the outside of the glass. P?si looked up at her. 'Magga's outside. She can't get in. She wants to look after me.' He pointed at the window and frowned. 'She's a little bit angry.' A young man with Down's Syndrome has been convicted of burning down his care home and killing five people, but a fellow inmate at his secure psychiatric unit has hired Thora to prove Jakob is innocent. If he didn't do it, who did? And how is the multiple murder connected to the death of Magga, killed in a hit and run on her way to babysit?ReviewIceland's answer to Stieg Larsson -- Daily Telegraph on ASHES TO DUST 'Put simply, it's terrifying. And brilliant.' -- Stylist on THE DAY IS DARK Publishers and blurb writers are competing to hail the new monarch of Nordic crime fiction ... I would be tempted to offer a name not from the obvious crime soil of Sweden or Norway, but from bleak and moody Iceland ... -- Marcel Berlins, The Times Stands comparison with the finest contemporary crime writing anywhere in the world -- TLS on ASHES TO DUST 'Superbly atmospheric' -- Heat on THE DAY IS DARK 'The twists and turns are as chilling as the weather ... [a] pageturner' -- Bella on THE DAY IS DARK About the AuthorYrsa Sigurdardottir works as a civil engineer and lives in Reykjavik. She wrote prize-winning children's novels before writing LAST RITUALS, her first adult novel.

SUMMARY: Long-buried secrets go hand in hand with modern-day murder in this second thriller featuring attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir from Iceland's queen of crime fiction When the body of a young woman--badly beaten and with pins inserted into her feet--is found at a New Age health resort in a renovated farmhouse, lawyer and single mother of two Thora Gudmundsdottir is called upon to represent the chief suspect, the resort's owner. But upon her arrival she encounters more than a fresh corpse--local legend has it that the resort, located in the mystical region of Snaefellsnes on Iceland's west coast, is haunted. At first Thora dismisses the claims as nothing more than myth and superstition, but even she can't explain the bizarre occurrences she witnesses in her search for answers. As Thora digs deeper into the farm's past, she discovers long-buried information on the property's disturbing history, and her once-solid view of reality begins to waver. Are the hauntings real, or just a case of folklore gone wild? And, more important, does the farm's eerie past have something to do with the murder? When another body is discovered--looking very much like the first--Thora is forced to put aside her doubts and confront the horrors of the present before a twisted killer strikes again. With its confident plotting, chilling atmosphere, and smart, compelling heroine, "My Soul to Take" confirms Yrsa Sigurdardottir as a new maven of mysteries.

A grisly murder is committed at a health resort situated in a recently renovated farmhouse, which turns out to be notorious for being haunted. Attorney Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is called upon by the owner of the resort—the prime suspect in the case—to represent him. Her investigations uncover some very disturbing occurrences at the farm decades earlier—things that have never before seen the light of day. My Soul to Take is a chilling, dark and witty crime novel, and a welcome return for Thóra, the heroine of the highly-acclaimed Last Rituals .

"yrsa daley-ward's bone is a symphony of breaking and mending. . . . she lays her hands on the pulse of the thing. . . . an expert storyteller. of the rarest. and purest kind." —nayyirah waheed, author of salt.From the celebrated poet Yrsa Daley-Ward, a poignant collection of poems about the heart, life, and the inner self. Bone. Visceral. Close to. Stark. The poems in Yrsa Daley-Ward's collection bone are exactly that: reflections on a particular life honed to their essence—so clear and pared-down, they become universal. From navigating the oft competing worlds of religion and desire, to balancing society's expectations with the raw experience of being a woman in the world; from detailing the experiences of growing up as a first generation black British woman, to working through situations of dependence and abuse; from finding solace in the echoing caverns of depression and loss, to exploring the...

At a university in Reykjavík, the body of a young German student is discovered, his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest. Police waste no time in making an arrest, but the victim's family isn't convinced that the right man is in custody. They ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, an attorney and single mother of two, to investigate. It isn't long before Thóra and her associate, Matthew Reich, uncover the deceased student's obsession with Iceland's grisly history of torture, execution, and witch hunts. But there are very contemporary horrors hidden in the long, cold shadow of dark traditions. And for two suddenly endangered investigators, nothing is quite what it seems . . . and no one can be trusted.From Publishers WeeklySimilar in plot to Swedish author Helene Tursten's The Glass Devil, this first in a new series from Icelandic author Sigurdardottir offers little readers have not seen before. As with Tursten's novel, the spectre of demon-worship is at the heart of the mystery, after the strangled corpse of Harald Guntlieb is discovered with his eyes gouged out. Guntlieb, a German student, was attending graduate school in Iceland, examining the latter country's history of witch-hunting, an academic pursuit that may have taken on more personal overtones. His grieving parents, who had already suffered the loss of a child, enlist attorney and single mother Thóra Gudmundsdôttir to objectively assess the police case against a drug addict arrested for the murder. Aided by an attractive ex-German police officer, Gudmundsdôttir diligently tracks down the dead man's friends and colleagues, before arriving at the truth. The author gives less of a sense of her native land than other contemporary Scandinavian crime writers like Karin Fossum, and the identity of the killer will surprise few. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review'Dark, deep and icy as an Icelandic fjord; this is a rich and rewarding debut novel of ancient mysteries and very modern murder.' -- Mark Billingham 20071207 'Given the dark subject matter, this is a surprisingly funny book... a quirky and interesting read.' -- Guardian 20071222 'Considering its population is only around 300,000, Iceland seems to have more than its fair share of good crime writers. Yrsa Sigurdardottir keeps up the standard with LAST RITUALS, a grisly chiller set in the depths of winter... Her mystery is absorbing and, untypically, instead of the usual gloomy middle-aged man, her sleuth is a young woman... It's an accomplished debut, with credible characters and a personable heroine.' -- Sunday Telegraph 20080106 'LAST RITUALS shows that Yrsa Sigurdardottir has arrived, fully formed, it seems, as something of a unique talent in the field... What makes Sigurdardottir's crime debut such an exhilarating experience is the way in which she takes familiar ingredients. but throws off a series of innovative riffs on these concepts... [She] matches Tess Gerritsen and Kathy Reichs in the bloodchiller stakes. But like all Scandinavian writers, it's her acute sense of place that gives such character to her work, and readers may feel a keen desire to visit Reykjavik after reading LAST RITUALS.' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 20080129 'You will now have to remember two very good Icelandic crime writers. Arnaldur Indridason, who made his mark with his Inspector Erlendur a few years ago, is now joined by Yrsa Sigurdardottir... This is entertaining, well-plotted and cleverly combines the historical and macabre with Thora's life.' -- Marcel Berlins, The Times 20080120 'Fans of peculiar and grisly crime novels will find much in LAST RITUALS to titillate them.' -- Observer 20080210 'an intricately plotted tale that keeps the reader guessing whodunit, or indeed whether it was murder at all, right until the very end. Following in the footsteps of bestselling crime writer and Icelandic compatriot Arnaldur Indridason, it is clear that while Reykjavik may indeed be cool, it is also murder central as far as the imagination of some of its citizens is concerned.' -- Sunday Express 20080225 'After its grisly opening, LAST RITUALS turns out to be a surprisingly light and playful novel, with a jaunty translation by the late Bernard Scudder. Lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir is an engaging detective, and the black magic and hocus-pocus of the main plot prove to be of less interest than Thora's more earthly concerns, such as coping with her truculent teenage son and embarking on an unsuitable romance.' -- Daily Telegraph 20080120 'A debut jammed with suspense.' -- Woman and Home 20080101 'Enjoyable. a good read. the story is informative and interesting, and makes an encouraging start to a promised series.' -- Literary Review 20071201 'Suspenseful, compelling and unique.' -- Kirkus Reviews 20070801