The Girl Who Died
The chilling Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year 2021
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3.0 • 3 Ratings
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- €5.99
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- €5.99
Publisher Description
THE NAIL-BITING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Is this the best crime writer in the world today?' The Times
'A world-class crime writer . . . One of the most astonishing plots of modern crime fiction' Sunday Times
'It is nothing less than a landmark in modern crime fiction' The Times
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'TEACHER WANTED AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD . . .'
After the loss of her father, Una sees a chance to escape Reykjavík to tutor two girls in the tiny village of Skálar - population just ten - on Iceland's storm-battered north coast.
But city life hasn't prepared her for the unforgiving weather nor inhospitable village life. Worse, the creaky old house where she lives is playing on her already fragile mind when she's convinced she hears the ghostly sound of singing.
Then, at midwinter, a young girl is found dead.
And one of the villagers must have blood on their hands . . .
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**WINNER OF THE CRIME FICTION LOVER BEST IN TRANSLATION AWARD**
'An intensely gripping mystery' The Times
'Invigorating Iceland-set slice of Nordic Noir' Daily Mail
Praise for Ragnar Jónasson
'This is Icelandic noir of the highest order, with Jónasson's atmospheric sense of place, and his heroine's unerring humanity shining from every page' Daily Mail
'Triumphant conclusion. Chilling, creepy, perceptive, almost unbearably tense' Ian Rankin
'This is such a tense, gripping read' Anthony Horowitz
'Brilliantly effective. Each book enraptures us' The Times Literary Supplement
'Superb . . . chilling . . . one of the great tragic heroines of contemporary detective fiction' Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
'A classic crime story seen through a uniquely Icelandic lens. First rate and highly recommended' Lee Child
'Chilling - a must-read' Peter James
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this unsettling standalone set in the mid-1980s from Jónasson (the Dark Iceland series), Reykjavík substitute teacher Una, who's ready for a change of scene, accepts an opportunity to teach in the remote fishing village of Skálar, which has only 10 residents, two of them girls aged seven and nine. Una moves into an attic room in the home of one of the girl's mothers, and soon finds how insular and isolated Skálar is. Meanwhile, to Una's distress, she has visions in the room of a girl singing a lullaby. A neighbor discloses that a girl named Thrá died in the house in 1927 under mysterious circumstances, and is rumored to still haunt it. A shocking death in the present and a local conspiracy connected to a missing person add to Una's fears. Jónasson makes Una's plight feel vivid and immediate, and effectively uses the isolated setting to create a claustrophobic atmosphere. While this packs less of a punch than the author's best work, it's far superior to most similarly themed thrillers.
