Thóra peered at the floor, but couldn't see anything that could have frightened Markús 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 Markús… Bodies are discovered in one of the excavated houses at a volcanic tourist attraction dubbed 'The Pompeii of the North'. Markús Magnússon, who was only a teenager when the volcano erupted, falls under suspicion and hires attorney Thóra 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… The third crime novel from international bestseller Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and the third featuring her popular heroine Thora, ASHES TO DUST is tense, taut and terrifying

In der Universität von Reykjavik wird die Leiche eines jungen Deutschen gefunden. Der Geschichtsstudent war fasziniert von alten Hexenkulten, und sein Mörder hat ihm ein merkwürdiges Zeichen in die Haut geritzt. Aber die isländische Polizei glaubt an ein Drogendelikt und verhaftet einen Dealer. Die Eltern des Opfers misstrauen den Ermittlungen: Sie beauftragen die junge Anwältin Dóra Guðmundsdóttir, den Fall noch einmal aufzurollen. Und auf der Suche nach dem wahren Mörder findet Dóra über dunkle Rituale mehr heraus, als ihr lieb ist …

"Dark, deep and icy as an Icelandic fjord; this is a rich and rewarding debut novel of ancient mysteries and very modern murder." – Mark Billingham The spellbinding debut and international sensation being published in thirty countries featuring Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, a smart, sexy lawyer and investigator whose hunt for a modern murderer points to a very odd-and evil-chapter in Iceland's past. After the body of a young German student-with his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest-is discovered at a university in Reykjavík, the police waste no time in making an arrest. The victim's family isn't convinced they have the right man, however, so they ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, attorney and single mother of two, to investigate. The fee is considerable-more than enough to make things a bit easier for the struggling lawyer and her children. It's not long before Thóra and Matthew Reich, her new associate, discover something unusual about the deceased student: He had been obsessed with the country's grisly history of torture, execution, and witch hunts-a topic made all the more peculiar by the fact that unlike witch hunts in other countries, those in Iceland had targeted men… not women. As Thóra and Matthew dig deeper, they make the connection between long-bygone customs and the student's murder. But the shadow of dark traditions conceals secrets in both the past and the present, and the investigators soon realize that nothing is as it seems… and that no one can be trusted

Op het schiereiland Snaefellsness wordt dicht bij een wellnesscentrum, waar in het verleden onverklaarbare dingen zijn gebeurd, een vrouw dood op het strand aangetroffen. Ze is verkracht en er steken naalden in haar voetzolen. Is er een verband met het huiveringwekkende kindergehuil dat soms midden in de nacht opklinkt? Advocaat Thóra Gudmundsdóttir wordt erbij geroepen door de eigenaar van het wellnesscentrum — tevens hoofdverdachte in deze moordzaak — om hem te verdedigen. Thóras naspeuringen brengen enkele zeer verontrustende gebeurtenissen aan het licht die zich tientallen jaren eerder hebben afgespeeld. Is Thóra op een afschuwelijk familiegeheim gestuit?

A creepy, compelling thriller, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is the fifth Thóra Gudmundsdóttir novel from Yrsa, ‘Iceland’s answer to Stieg Larsson’ (Daily Telegraph). Berglind hurried to her son and pulled him forcefully from the window. She held him close and tried at the same time to wipe the windowpane. But the haze couldn’t be wiped away. It was on the outside of the glass. Pési looked up at her. ‘Magga’s outside. She can’t get in. She wants to look after me.’ He pointed at the window and frowned. ‘She’s a little bit angry.’ A young man with Down’s Syndrome has been convicted of burning down his care home and killing five people, but a fellow inmate at his secure psychiatric unit has hired Thóra to prove Jakob is innocent. If he didn’t do it, who did? And how is the multiple murder connected to the death of Magga, killed in a hit and run on her way to babysit?