Dodici anni dopo l'omicidio di una bambina nel parco giochi di una scuola media di Reykjavík, viene dissotterrata una capsula del tempo, una scatola che contiene lettere scritte dieci anni prima da un gruppo di alunni, ai quali era stato chiesto di immaginare come sarebbe stata l'Islanda nel 2016. Ma tra i messaggi ce n'è uno anonimo che riporta le iniziali di sei persone, sei future vittime di omicidio. Il caso viene assegnato al detective Huldar, che assieme alla collega psicologa Freyja cerca di ricostruire il profilo dell'autore di quelle minacce. Proprio quando l'inchiesta sembra confermare che l'elenco è solo frutto della fervida e innocua immaginazione di un ragazzo, la polizia trova due mani mozzate senza che ci sia la traccia del corpo a cui appartengono. Le indagini conducono all'identificazione della vittima, ma non prima che altre persone, le cui iniziali coincidono con quelle del misterioso messaggio, vengano assassinate. A questo punto, per il detective Huldar e la collega il tempo diventa un fattore determinante: ogni giorno che passa una nuova vittima potrebbe venire associata alle sue iniziali... Con Il tempo della vendetta la regina indiscussa del thriller islandese, Yrsa Sigurardóttir, ci regala un nuovo raggelante caso per l'impareggiabile coppia di investigatori sempre ai ferri corti tra di loro.
Il villaggio di Hesteyri nei mesi invernali è disabitato e quasi irraggiungibile. L’unico contatto con il resto dell’Islanda è un traghetto perennemente in balia del vento e del mare. In questo luogo desolato, tre giovani provenienti dalla capitale hanno deciso di ristrutturare una casa per trasformarla in un albergo. Ansiosi di mettere a frutto il loro investimento, si sono arrischiati a viaggiare fino a Hesteyri nel periodo più freddo per mettere mano ai lavori. Il piccolo gruppo presto si rende conto che non solo la ristrutturazione è molto più difficile del previsto, ma anche che sul villaggio deserto aleggia un’atmosfera sinistra. I telefoni cellulari si scaricano senza motivo e una presenza indistinta sembra seguirli, lasciando tracce che suggeriscono un messaggio indecifrabile. Impossibilitati a comunicare con l’esterno, i tre possono solo aspettare che il traghetto torni a prenderli nella data stabilita, mentre la tensione tra loro continua a crescere. Negli stessi giorni Freyr, uno psichiatra, sta aiutando la polizia nell’indagine su un caso di vandalismo in una scuola. La vita dell’uomo è cambiata da quando suo figlio Benni è misteriosamente scomparso tre anni prima; una tragedia che lo ha gettato nello sconforto e ha distrutto il suo matrimonio. Nel corso dell’indagine Freyr risale a un altro atto vandalico compiuto nella medesima scuola cinquant’anni prima, lo stesso periodo in cui un giovane allievo è svanito senza lasciare tracce: un caso fin troppo simile a quello di Benni e che sembra affondare le sue radici nel remoto villaggio di Hesteyri… Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, la regina del thriller islandese, intesse due vicende parallele per creare un mondo inquietante che mina le certezze del lettore; dove ogni personaggio nasconde un segreto, dove la paura è in agguato nelle strade deserte e nel rumore delle onde.
"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"--Provided by publisher
An abandoned yacht, a young family missing - chilling crime from the queen of
Nordic Noir. WINNER OF THE 2015 PETRONA AWARD The most chilling novel yet from
Yrsa Sigurdardottir, an international bestseller at the height of her powers.
'Mummy dead.' The child's pure treble was uncomfortably clear. It was the last
thing Brynjar - and doubtless the others - wanted to hear at that moment.
'Daddy dead.' It got worse. 'Adda dead. Bygga dead.' The child sighed and
clutched her grandmother's leg. 'All dead.' A luxury yacht arrives in
Reykjavik harbour with nobody on board. What has happened to the crew, and to
the family who were on board when it left Lisbon? Thora Gudmundsdottir is
hired by the young father's parents to investigate, and is soon drawn deeper
into the mystery. What should she make of the rumours saying that the vessel
was cursed, especially given that when she boards the yacht she thinks she
sees one of the missing twins? Where is Karitas, the glamorous young wife of
the yacht's former owner? And whose is the body that has washed up further
along the shore? The most chilling novel yet from Yrsa Sigurdardottír, an
international bestseller at the height of her powers. 'Mummy dead.' The
child's pure treble was uncomfortably clear. It was the last thing Brynjar -
and doubtless the others - wanted to hear at that moment. 'Daddy dead.' It got
worse. 'Adda dead. Bygga dead.' The child sighed and clutched her
grandmother's leg. 'All dead.' A luxury yacht arrives in Reykjavik harbour
with nobody on board. What has happened to the crew, and to the family who
were on board when it left Lisbon? Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is hired by the young
father's parents to investigate, and is soon drawn deeper into the mystery.
What should she make of the rumours saying that the vessel was cursed,
especially given that when she boards the yacht she thinks she sees one of the
missing twins? Where is Karítas, the glamorous young wife of the yacht's
former owner? And whose is the body that has washed up further along the
shore? Author of the bestselling Thora Gudmundsdottir crime series and several
stand-alone thrillers, Yrsa Sigurdardottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, in
1963 and works as a civil engineer. She made her crime fiction debut in 2005
with LAST RITUALS, the first instalment in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series,
and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Her work stands
'comparison with the finest contemporary crime writing anywhere in the world'
according to the Times Literary Supplement. The second instalment in the Thora
Gudmundsdottir series, MY SOUL TO TAKE, was shortlisted for the 2010 Shamus
Award. In 2011 her stand-alone horror novel I REMEMBER YOU was awarded the
Icelandic Crime Fiction Award and was nominated for The Glass Key. Her novel
THE SILENCE OF THE SEA won the Petrona Award in 2015.
If I die before I wake . . . 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 Thora Gudmundsdottir 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 Thora, the heroine of the highly-acclaimed LAST RITUALS.
The third crime novel from international bestseller Yrsa Sigurdardottir, ASHES TO DUST is tense, taut and terrifying - not to be missed for fans of Nordic Noir. Thora peered at the floor, but couldn't see anything that could have frightened Markus that much, only three mounds of dust. She moved the light of her torch over them. It took her some time to realize what she was seeing-- and then it was all she could do not to let the torch slip from her hand. 'Good God, ' she said. She ran the light over the three faces, one after another. Sunken cheeks, empty eye-sockets, gaping mouths; they reminded her of photographs of mummies she'd once seen in National Geographic. 'Who are these people?' 'I don't know, ' said Markus ...Bodies are discovered in one of the excavated houses at a volcanic tourist attraction dubbed 'The Pompeii of the North'. Markus Magnusson, who was only a teenager when the volcano erupted, falls under suspicion and hires attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir to defend him - but when his childhood sweetheart is murdered his case starts to look more difficult, and the locals seem oddly reluctant to back him up ...
It was meant to be a quiet family fishing trip, a chance for mother and daughter to talk. But it changes the course of their lives forever.They catch nothing except a broken doll that gets tangled in the net. After years in the ocean, the doll a terrifying sight and the mother's first instinct is to throw it back, but she relents when her daughter pleads to keep it. This simple act of kindness proves fatal. That evening, the mother posts a picture of the doll on social media. By the morning, she is dead and the doll has disappeared.Several years later and Detective Huldar is in his least favourite place - on a boat in rough waters, searching for possible human remains. However, identifying the skeleton they find on the seabed proves harder than initially thought, and Huldar must draw on psychologist Freyja's experience to help him. As the mystery of the unidentified body deepens, Huldar is also drawn into an investigation of a homeless drug addict's murder, and Freyja investigates a suspected case of child abuse at a foster care home.What swiftly becomes clear is that the cases are linked through a single, missing, vulnerable witness: the young girl who wanted the doll all those years ago.Taut, terrifying and impossible to put down, The Doll cements Yrsa Sigurdardottir's reputation as a master of storytelling tension and surprise.
When all contact is lost with two Icelanders working in a harsh and sparsely populated area on the northeast coast of Greenland, Thora is hired to investigate. Is there any connection with the disappearance of a woman from the site some months earlier? And why are the locals so hostile?
The new novel from the internationally bestselling, prizewinning, queen of Icelandic crime. All he wants is for them to say sorry. The police find out about the crime the way everyone does: on Snapchat. The video shows the terrified victim begging for forgiveness. When her body is found, it is marked with a number 2... Detective Huldar joins the 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 - but even so, who could have hated her enough to kill? Then another teenager goes missing, and more clips are sent. Freyja and Huldar can agree on two things at least: the truth is far from simple. And the killer is not done yet. A brilliantly suspenseful story about the dark side of social media, The Absolution will make you wonder what you should have said sorry for... Praise for Yrsa Sigurdardottir 'Iceland's outstanding crime novelist' Daily Express 'A magnificent writer' Karin Slaughter 'The undisputed queen of Icelandic Noir' Simon Kernick 'Believe all the hype - this is crime at its best.' Heat
