THE CREAK ON THE STAIRS
by Eva Bjorg AEgisdottir
Translated by Victoria Cribb
PUBLICATION DATE: 28 MAY 2020 | PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £8.99 | ORENDA BOOKS
About the Book
The first in the electrifying new Forbidden Iceland series, The Creak on the Stairs is an exquisitely written, claustrophobic and chillingly atmospheric debut thriller by one of Iceland’s most exciting new talents
When the body of a woman is discovered at a lighthouse in the Icelandic town of Akranes, it soon becomes clear that she’s no stranger to the area.
Chief Investigating Officer Elma, who has returned to Akranes following a failed relationship, and her colleagues Sævar and Hörður, commence an uneasy investigation, which uncovers a shocking secret in the dead woman’s past that continues to reverberate in the present day…
But as Elma and her team make a series of discoveries, they bring to light a host of long-hidden crimes that shake the entire community. Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge
increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it ’s too late.
Swathi’s Thoughts
A Creak On The Stairs is a brand new detective series featuring Elma and set in the Icelandic town of Arkanes. It’s chilling and atmospheric as you’d have guessed and the author makes sure to use the best of it. I have had my eyes on this thriller for a while before being invited on the blog tour and found myself being catapulted right from chapter 1.
Elma comes home to Arkanes after working for Reykjavik CID. Even though she was born in Arkanes, it’s been long since she’d been home. Her job had driven her to the city and now she is here mourning a death. While she’s been introduced to the sleepy town’s small police station, a body gets washed down on the shore and soon its suspected of a murder.
Who is this woman? Is she a local? Why has she come to the old lighthouse out of all the places? And who wanted to kill her so violently? The local police chief wants the case to be open and shut but Elma has her own suspicions and has to follow her instincts. Even if it means touching some of the community’s big names.
An atmospheric thriller that takes you to the chilly town of Arkanes, the people and culture and a 20 year old secret that comes crashing down after all the years. This is a brilliant police procedural that reveals the way Iceland works and depends on the big town for forensics, Pathology and every other resource needed to solve a murder investigation. I loved the way the book ends, making the reader wonder about what would come next from the little town’s long buried secrets. It seems like everyone in the community has something to hide and Elma is determined to settle in. I like the way Elma works and intrigued to read more stories featuring her.
Many thanks to Anne for having me on the tour. All opinions are solely mine.
Meet the Author
THE NUMBER ONE ICELANDIC BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BLACKBIRD AWARD FOR NEW ICELANDIC CRIME WRITERS
Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study my 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 book went on to win the Blackbird Award and became an Icelandic bestseller. Eva now lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík, staying at home with her youngest until she begins Kindergarten.
About the Publisher
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted
for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson,
Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
www.orendabooks.co.uk
@OrendaBooks
