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Gallows Rock

On sale

23rd July 2020

Price: £16.99

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Selected: Hardcover / ISBN-13: 9781473693395

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‘Iceland’s outstanding crime novelist’ Daily Express

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.

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 bestHeat

NetGalley Reader Reviews

‘Just as compelling as the previous books in the series. All of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s books are extremely well written and a joy to read. There is plenty of suspense and twists in this story (. . .) I read this book in one sitting, I was unable to put it down. Highly recommended’

‘There is such a skill to the author’s writing, the way in which she creates tension and atmosphere and uses setting to bring and edge to the story, that it is difficult to put down. And she brings such a range of emotions out in me as a reader that I feel slightly battered myself when I finish reading . . . Truly powerful storytelling and characters I have come to love’

‘I was hooked from the very first page and enthralled and completely drawn in throughout the book. (. . .) This is a story which builds and weaves perfectly. It’s so twisty’

‘Twists galore and a surprising ending, this is a book you’ll want to devour in one sitting’

Reviews

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Praise for Yrsa Sigurdardottir's Freyja and Huldar series
Karin Slaughter
Yrsa is a magnificent writer.
Stuart MacBride, author of the Logan McRae series
One of the best books I've read for a long time: dark, creepy, and gripping from beginning to end.
Simon Kernick
THE RECKONING is another chilling, atmospheric tale from the undisputed Queen of Icelandic Noir. I loved it.
Daily Express
Iceland's outstanding crime novelist
Arne Dahl
Yrsa Sigurdardóttir has with her large-scale and genuinely intelligent stories attempted to find the core of Iceland's distinctive society, and thus pushed the Icelandic crime novel tradition many steps forward.
Eric Axl Sund
A dark story by a brilliant author. A densely plotted, multifaceted and compelling book. Exceeds most novels in the thriller genre.
Mari Hannah, author of the DCI Kate Daniels series
If you like your crime fiction dark and engaging, look no further. THE LEGACY is as brutal as it gets. A cracking start to a new series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
Evening Standard
There's no waffle in The Reckoning: it is brutal, baroque and ends with a brilliant last-minute twist.
Cosmopolitan Magazine
It's addictive, bleak, and will give you thrills and chills in equal measures.
Guardian
Yrsa remains the queen of Icelandic thriller writers.
Liz Nugent, author of <i>Skin Deep</i>
Yrsa Sigurdardottir gets better and better with each book. The relationships and the humour lighten the darkest plot.
William Ryan, author of <i>A House of Ghosts</i>
Freyja and Huldar are one of the most intriguing crime detecting partnerships around and THE ABSOLUTION is a gripping, fascinating insight into the dark side of social media and children at risk. THE ABSOLUTION confirms Yrsa as a master storyteller with a satisfyingly slanted view of the world she recreates.
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Praise for Gallows Rock
Financial Times
Nail-biting... Iceland's long dark nights are at their most minatory in Sigurðardóttir's atmospheric thrillers
The Sunday Times
Sigurdardottir is as confident a writer as ever
Peterborough Telegraph
The multi-award winning Icelandic writer has a growing UK fan base. The fourth thriller featuring child psychologist Freyja and detective Hulder, is as chilling as Scandi noir should be
Literary Review
Sigurðardóttir hooks her readers very quickly... Eventually, justice is done and the loose ends are satisfactorily tied up
The Sunday Times Crime Club
Pacey dealing out of the plot twists amid uniquely Icelandic characters and circumstances
Daily Record
You'll devour it with fascination and you'll be head over heels with Sigurðardóttir's writing
Heat
Packs an all too timely punch - 5 Stars
Choice Magazine
Well-paced police procedural with a twist you may not see coming