Eva Björg Ægisdóttir The Last Tenant

When the remains of a young woman and a baby are uncovered on a derelict farm, Detective Elma is drawn into a disturbing investigation, as a young mother settling in Akranes realises danger may be closer than she ever expected… The multi-award-winning, international bestselling Forbidden Iceland series continues… ‘Ingenious, packed with twists and turns … superb!’ Kate Rhodes ‘A complex tale … but also highlights the ultimate unknowability of folk. One thing is for sure, though: reading The Last Tenant will give you the heebie-jeebies’ Mark Sanderson, The Times ‘Missing family members, people living with past trauma, and the insidious damage caused by secrets abound in this atmospheric and powerful novel’ Laura Wilson, Guardian ‘Haunting and captivating … a reminder that buried secrets never stay buried’ Rod Reynolds ––––––––– Trust can be deadly… When the skeletons of a young woman and a baby are uncovered on a long-abandoned farm in Hvalfjörður, it is clear they were buried years apart. West Iceland CID begins to investigate the disturbing discovery, aware that someone has gone to great lengths to keep the past hidden. In Akranes, Karitas, a young single mother seeking a new start, settles in with her four-year-old son and rents a basement flat from an eccentric landlord. A cautious sense of happiness returns when she meets the boy next door. But when news breaks that a local girl has been murdered, Karitas must decide who she can trust, knowing that one wrong choice could place her and her child in danger. Detective Elma is drawn into the case, forced to navigate long-hidden family secrets to understand a killer’s motive, while trying to hold together her increasingly troubled relationship with Sævar. Dark, atmospheric and rich with psychological suspense, The Last Tenant confirms Eva Björg Ægisdóttir as one of Iceland’s finest crime writers, as a meticulous investigation and a series of unsettling discoveries draw a close-knit community towards a reckoning no one can escape… ––––––––––––– PRAISE FOR EVA BJÖRG ÆGISDÓTTIR ‘A detective as complicated as Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole … virtuoso suspense writing' AJ Finn ‘Chilling and addictive, with a completely unexpected twist … I loved it’ Shari Lapena 'Psychological depth and physical shocks recall the work of the great Ruth Rendell' The Times 'A chilling, atmospheric mystery with a devilishly unguessable solution' Louise Candlish ‘Fans of Nordic Noir will love this’ Ann Cleeves 'A masterclass of psychological suspense' Daily Express ‘I was utterly gripped … a must-read’ Claire Douglas ‘Riveting, exciting, entertaining and packed with intrigue’ Liz Nugent ‘Eva Björg Ægisdóttir just gets better and better' Sarah Pearse ‘Chilling, unrelenting noir’ Foreword Reviews `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´ Sunday Times ‘A tense, twisty page-turner that you’ll have serious trouble putting down’ Catherine Ryan Howard ‘Your new Nordic Noir obsession’ Vogue ‘It kept me guessing till the last shocking twist’ Heidi Amsinck ‘So atmospheric’ Heat ‘Eerie and chilling. I loved every word!’ Lesley Kara ‘One of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time’ AA Chaudhuri ‘Elma is a memorably complex character’ Financial Times ‘An exciting and harrowing tale’ Ragnar Jónasson