Gatid Gallows Rock

Freyja & Huldar #4

A young and wealthy investor is found hanging by the neck at an old execution site in the Gálgahraun lava field. When his body is cut down it becomes apparent that this is no suicide. A four-inch nail is impaled in his chest, and all that is left of whatever message was fastened to his body prior to the hanging is a snippet of paper.

Huldar, still ranked as detective working under the supervision of department head Erla, is sent to the dead man’s apartment, only to find Freyja inside the apartment. With her is an employee from the city’s child protective agency and a young boy of four who cannot explain why he is there. When no connection is found between the boy and the murdered man, nor any trace of the child’s parents, Freyja and Huldar must combine forces to get to the bottom of what transpired, hopefully in time to find the boy’s parents alive. This becomes especially urgent when the boy reveals his mother is about to give birth.

Gallows Rock is the fourth installment in Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s series about the psychologist Freyja and the police officer Huldar.

Reviews

“Sigurdardottir is as confident a writer as ever.”

Sunday Times, UK
“Nail-biting. /…/ Frequently echoes the gruesomeness of Stephen King. /…/ Iceland’s long dark nights are at their most minatory in Sigurðardóttir’s atmospheric thrillers.”

Financial Times, UK
“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. ”

Peterborough Telegraph, UK
“Yrsa Sigurdardottir hooks her readers very quickly. /…/ Eventually, justice is done and the loose ends are satisfactorily tied up.”

Literary Review, UK
“Iceland's outstanding crime novelist”

Daily Express, UK
“Pacey dealing out of the plot twists amid uniquely Icelandic characters and circumstances.”

Sunday Times Crime Club, UK
“Believe all the hype – this is crime at its best.”

Heat, UK
“I could barely lift my eyes from the pages of Gallows Rock. Yrsa’s writing is addictive. It’s pacey, believable and crafted so strategically that nothing is given away. /…/ There are layers upon layers to this one, and when certain things come together to spell out the full story, it’s a literary assault on the senses that is so welcome. /…/ Will I be bingeing on more of Yrsa’s writing? Definitely. /…/ You’ll devour it with fascination and you’ll be head over heels with Sigurðardóttir’s writing. ”

Daily Record, UK
“[An] Icelandic quality crime novel.”

★★★★★

Fædrelandsvennen, Norway
“[Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s writing] is solid from start to finish in Gallows Rock, thereby earning her the epithet of queen of crime.”

★★★★★

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway
“In [Gallows Rock] Sigurdardóttir shows her excellence.”

★★★★

Adresseavisen, Norway
“With Gallows Rock Yrsa Sigurdardóttir cements her position as one of the Nordic region’s foremost crime writers.”

★★★★★

Tvedestrandsposten, Norway
“Gallows Rock is a well-written and well thought-through crime novel, but at the same time a playful criticism on how important issues are dealt with nowadays.”

Morgunbladid, Iceland
“The affectionate portrait of everyday human problems combined with gripping mystery make Gallows Rock a particularly successful thriller. /…/ an exciting, skillfully plotted and written crime novel that touches on burning contemporary issues.”

Frettabladid, Iceland