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Boys Who Hurt

The chilling, intriguing, MASTERFUL new Forbidden Iceland mystery

Translated by Victoria Cribb
Published by Orenda Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Fresh from maternity leave, Detective Elma investigates complex case of a man murdered in a holiday cottage, while Sævar discovers something in a discarded box that could help crack the case. The multi-award-winning, NUMBER ONE bestselling Forbidden Iceland series continues…

She uses complex plots to explore how monsters are made and demonstrate that “evil can lurk behind the most attractive of smiles”. Her many characters are people not puppets and she delights in pulling the rug from under their –and our – feet. If you have never read Aegisdottir, now is the time to start’ Mark Sanderson, The Times

‘Meticulously plotted, this beautifully written novel has it all: a shocking murder, small-town secrets, a cast of suspicious characters and a compelling female detective … Eva Björg Aegisdóttir at her best’ Lesley Kara

‘Emotive, atmospheric and chillingly suspenseful … one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time’ AA Chaudhuri

‘A detective as complicated as Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole. This is virtuoso suspense writing' AJ Finn

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Fresh from maternity leave, Detective Elma finds herself confronted with a complex case, when a man is found murdered in a holiday cottage in the depths of the Icelandic countryside – the victim of a frenzied knife attack, with a shocking message scrawled on the wall above him.

At home with their baby daughter, Sævar is finding it hard to let go of work, until the chance discovery in a discarded box provides him with a distraction. Could the diary of a young boy, detailing the events of a long-ago summer have a bearing on Elma’s case?

Once again, the team at West Iceland CID have to contend with local secrets in the small town of Akranes, where someone has a vested interest in preventing the truth from coming to light. And Sævar has secrets of his own that threaten to destroy his and Elma’s newfound happiness.

Tense, twisty and shocking, Boys Who Hurt is the next, addictive instalment in the award-winning Forbidden Iceland series, as dark events from the past endanger everything…

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‘Your new Nordic Noir obsession’ Vogue

‘So chilling’ Crime Monthly

PRAISE FOR THE FORBIDDEN ICELAND SERIES

‘Chilling and addictive, with a completely unexpected twist’ Shari Lapena

‘Riveting, exciting, entertaining and packed with intrigue’ Liz Nugent

‘Fans of Nordic Noir will love this’ Ann Cleeves

‘A tense, twisty page-turner that you’ll have serious trouble putting down’ Catherine Ryan Howard

‘One of the rising stars of Nordic Noir’ Victoria Selman

‘Eerie and chilling’ Lesley Kara

‘A creepily compelling Icelandic mystery’ Heidi Amsinck

‘Elma is a memorably complex character’ Financial Times

‘An exciting and harrowing tale’ Ragnar Jónasson

‘Fantastic’ Sunday Times

‘So atmospheric’ Heat

About The Author

Photograph © Orenda Books

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study her MSc in Globalisation when she was 25. After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. The book went on to win the CWA Debut Dagger, the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers' Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland. The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Iceland series) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit in July 2022. Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík.

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More books from this author: Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

More books in this series: Forbidden Iceland