From the author of ‘Silenced’ winner of the 2020 Drop of Blood Award for the best Icelandic crime novel of the year comes ‘Shrouded’

 

‘The darker the secret, the harder to bury it. Compelling reading!’

Lilja Sigurðardóttir

Book blurb

A retired, reclusive woman is found on a bitter winter morning, clubbed to death in Reykjavik’s old graveyard. Detectives Guðgeir and Elsa Guðrún face one of their toughest cases yet, as they try to piece together the details of Arnhildur’s austere life in her Red House in the oldest part of the city.

Why was this solitary, private woman attending séances, and why was she determined to keep her severe financial difficulties so secret? Could the truth be buried deep in her past and a long history of family enmity, or could there be something more? Now a stranger keeps a watchful eye on the graveyard and Arnhildur’s house.

With the detectives running out of leads, could the Medium, blessed and cursed with uncanny abilities, shed any light on Arnhildur’s lonely death?

My thoughts

I will be reading Shrouded and sharing my thoughts soon. In the meantime, I am thrilled to be posting an extract from Shrouded the latest book in the Ice and Crime series from Sólveig Pálsdóttir, translated by Quentin Bates and courtesy of Corylus Books.

I have previously read: Silenced

Extract

The night had been a hard one. Valthór slept in snatches, and his dreams were bad ones. In between dozing off, he lay awake, anxious and with a terrible gnawing feeling in his chest. Arnhildur was close by. He could feel her presence. She had an errand with him that he wasn’t sure he wanted to acknowledge. It was before six in the morning that he gave up trying to sleep and got up. He dressed and gulped a cup of coffee before pulling on a warm coat and a hat. Ready for the cold outside, he pushed through the snow of the icy winter morning. There wasn’t a soul to be seen in the sleeping street. He marched with determination down through the Thingholt district and with ever greater certainty along Skothúsvegur and over the bridge crossing the lake. His pace slowed as the concrete wall of the graveyard appeared in the darkness. His heart beat irregularly and he could feel an emotional weight as he knew he was walking in Arnhildur’s tracks. His awareness became even stronger as he turned onto Suðurgata, along the perimeter of the graveyard.

He glanced at intervals over the concrete wall at the gravestones, large and small, but looked mostly down at his own feet. He could feel Arnhildur accompanying him. There was no doubt in his mind and he could feel her presence with every fibre of his being. He could sense her at his side, occupying the same space as him. Here was the place where the streetlight was broken and there was no house on the opposite side. His breathing became strained and he felt the hands around his heart squeeze tighter. He walked faster, hoping to take himself as fast as possible past this terrible place. In his hurry, he caught his toe against a crack in the pavement and he almost tumbled forwards. It wasn’t until he had made his way onto Hofsvallagata that he could relax a little, but he continued down into the old western part of the city. Every step he took became more of an effort and as he stood in front of the red house he felt a surge of sorrow and horror sweep through his body and soul. He trembled as he stared at the darkened window with its gilded Christmas star. Its light had been switched off.

My thoughts

Oooh! That’s a bit creepy, brrrr, sends a shiver down your spine don’t you think? I can’t wait to read the rest of Shrouded by Sólveig Pálsdóttir it sounds amazing!

BlogTour

I’m delighted to be on the BlogTour for Shrouded by Sólveig Pálsdóttir with thanks to Ewa from Corylus Books Ltd for the invitation.

Why not take a thrilling trip around these amazing blogs on the Shrouded blog tour before heading down to the buy links to get your own copy of this book?

Information

Published: Corylus Books Ltd | 20th July 2024 | 978-1-7392989-6-8

Buy: E-book Shrouded (£3.29 pre-order) | Paperback Shrouded | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Author

Sólveig Pálsdóttir trained as an actor and has a background in the theatre, television and radio. In a second career she studied for degrees in literature and education, and has taught literature and linguistics, drama and public speaking, and has produced both radio programmes and managed cultural events.

Her first novel appeared in Iceland in 2012 and went straight to the country’s bestseller list. Her memoir Klettaborgin was a 2020 hit in Iceland. 

Sólveig Pálsdóttir has written seven novels featuring Reykjavík detectives Guðgeir Fransson and Elsa Guðrún in the series called Ice and Crime. Silenced received the 2020 Drop of Blood award for the best Icelandic novel of the year and was Iceland’s nomination for the 2021 Glass key award for the best Nordic crime novel of the year. Shrouded is the series’ fourth book to appear in English. Sólveig lives in Reykjavík.

@solveigpals |on Facebook

Books

All her novels have been shortlisted for the Icelandic Crime Fiction Awards and have been praised for their narrative, attention to detail and sympathetic characters.

Her first novel ‘Leikarinn’ (The Actor) was published in 2012 to rave reviews and weeks at the top of best-sellers lists. It is now being developed as a motion picture.

The second novel, ‘Hinir réttlátu’ (The Righteous Ones), was published the following year and also became a best-seller. Both novels have been published in Germany by Aufbau as Eiskaltes Gift and Tote Wale.

Her third novel, ‘Flekklaus’ (Pure), was published in March 2015.

Her fourth book, ‘Refurinn’ (The Fox), published in 2017 was the first of the ‘Ice and Crime’ series and also made its way to Iceland’s best-seller list.

Her fifth book ‘Fjötrar’ (Silenced – ‘Ice and Crime’ #2) was published in 2019 and was the winner of the 2020 Drop of Blood Award for the best Icelandic crime novel of the year and was Iceland’s nomination for the Glass Key Award for the best Nordic crime novel of 2021.

Her sixth book Harm (‘Ice and Crime #3) was published in 2022.

2012 The Actor

2013 The Righteous Ones

2015 Immaculate/Pure

2017 The Fox 2019 | 2021 Shackles/Silenced | 2022 Harm

2020 Klettaborgin (memoir)

From Corylus Books Ltd.: ‘Ice and Crime’ series

The Fox | Silenced | Harm | Shrouded