Iceland mysteries are where it’s at

The joys of having a 30-day trial to the Bookseller means that I can actually read their articles and deal reports in full, not just excerpts! So that’s how I can relate this recent item of bandwagon-hopping:

Suzie Doore at Hodder has signed up Icelandic crime writer Yrsa Sigurdardottir.

Doore concluded the two-book deal with Sigurdardottir’s publisher Verold just as the author’s compatriot Arnaldur Indridason was winning the Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold Dagger Award.

Verold describes Last Rituals as Dan Brown meets Minette Walters. Doore’s description is more fanciful: “Hannibal Lecter meets the Blair Witch, with Bjork playing in the background”. The publication date, depending on the speed of the translation, is unconfirmed.

So first, who is Yrsa Siguardardottir? She was born in 1963 and was educated and trained as an engineer (and is still very much in the profession, too.) In the late 1990s she began writing children’s books, with several under her belt before she turned to the crime fiction field. Theres more but sadly, my Icelandic just isn’t what it once was…

Siguardardottir is currently in New Delhi, but when reached for comment, she was quite pleased about the impending publication of this book in English.