Gallows Rock

A banker hanged from Gallows Rock... An unknown child discovered in his flat... Iceland's Queen of Crime is back with a chillingly dark murder mystery.

'Iceland's outstanding crime novelist' Daily Express

On a jagged, bleak lava field just outside Reykjavik stands the Gallows Rock. Once a place of execution, it is now a tourist attraction. Until this morning, when a man was found hanging from it...

The nail embedded in his chest proves it wasn't suicide. But when the police go to his flat, a further puzzle awaits: a four-year-old boy has been left there. He doesn't seem to have any link with the victim, his parents cannot be found, and his drawings show he witnessed something terrible.

As detective Huldar hunts the killer, and child psychologist Freyja looks for the boy's parents, the mystery unfolds: a story of violence, entitlement, and revenge.

Praise for Yrsa Sigurdardottir

'Iceland's outstanding crime novelist' Daily Express

'A magnificent writer' Karin Slaughter

'The undisputed queen of Icelandic Noir' Simon Kernick

'Believe all the hype - this is crime at its best' Heat

NetGalley Reader Reviews

'Just as compelling as the previous books in the series. All of Yrsa Sigurdardottir's books are extremely well written and a joy to read. There is plenty of suspense and twists in this story (. . .) I read this book in one sitting, I was unable to put it down. Highly recommended'

'There is such a skill to the author's writing, the way in which she creates tension and atmosphere and uses setting to bring and edge to the story, that it is difficult to put down. And she brings such a range of emotions out in me as a reader that I feel slightly battered myself when I finish reading . . . Truly powerful storytelling and characters I have come to love'

'I was hooked from the very first page and enthralled and completely drawn in throughout the book. (. . .) This is a story which builds and weaves perfectly. It's so twisty'

About the Author

Author of the bestselling Thora Gudmundsdottir crime series and several stand-alone thrillers, Yrsa Sigurdardottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1963 and works as a civil engineer. She made her crime fiction debut in 2005 with LAST RITUALS, the first instalment in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series, and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Her work stands 'comparison with the finest contemporary crime writing anywhere in the world' according to the Times Literary Supplement. The second instalment in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series, MY SOUL TO TAKE, was shortlisted for the 2010 Shamus Award. In 2011 her stand-alone horror novel I REMEMBER YOU was awarded the Icelandic Crime Fiction Award and was nominated for The Glass Key, and has been made intoa film starring Johannes Haukur by ZikZak Filmworks. In 2015 THE SILENCE OF THE SEA won the Petrona Award for the year's best Scandinavian crime novel, and THE LEGACY, the first novel in the Freyja and Huldar series, was nominated for The Glass Key and won the Icelandic Crime Fiction Award. All of her books have been European bestsellers.