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The Legacy

Freyja and Huldar (Book 1)

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What to expect

Translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb

Selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020

The first in an exciting series from 'Iceland's outstanding crime novelist' (Daily Express) Yrsa Sigurdardottir.

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
THE INTERNATIONAL PRIZEWINNER

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

Detective Huldar is out of his depth. His first murder case is like nothing he's seen before - a bizarre attack on a seemingly blameless woman.

The only evidence is a list of numbers found at the scene, and the testimony of the victim's eleven-year-old daughter, who isn't talking.

While his team attempt to crack the code, Huldar turns to child psychologist Freyja for her expertise with traumatised young people.

Because time is running out...and the one thing they know for certain is that the murderer will strike again.

Critics Review

The queen of Nordic crime shows her considerable chops with an introductory murder that hikes the tension
to cardiac-arrest levels, then introduces a new detective, the baggy-eyed Huldar, to sort it out. Icelandic noir
at its reliably gripping best
The Sunday Times
Iceland's outstanding crime novelist
Daily Express
The Legacy takes us into a world where secrets are buried deep, only to reappear decades later and inflict harm on people who have no idea that they're connected by past horrors. Yrsa is a magnificent writer who envelops her stories with atmosphere so thick that only care and a bit of luck can see through it. Her characters spring vividly to life as they try their best to do just that, knowing that any mistake could be deadly for another innocent person. Impossible to put down.
The Legacy is the start of an exciting new direction for Yrsa Sigurdardottir. The horror of a decades-old family separation provides the catalyst for dark crimes and a complex investigation. The Children's House promises to be an outstanding series.
We have always been able to rely on Yrsa Sigurdardóttir for a good story well told, and The Legacy is no exception. A strong sense of place, interesting characters and a chilling plot make The Legacy a novel to savour.
Yrsa remains the queen of Icelandic thriller writers
Guardian on THE LEGACY
5*s - Believe all the hype - this is crime at its best.
Heat Magazine on THE LEGACY
If you like your crime fiction dark and engaging, look no further. THE LEGACY is as brutal as it gets. A cracking start to a new series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
Another tour de force from Sigurdardottir that cements her reputation as the queen of Nordic noir
i Paper in THE LEGACY
The conclusion is even more astounding, thanks to her white-hot plotting.
CrimeFiction Lover on THE LEGACY
The connecting thread in all the writer's work is her astuteness in observing human relations, the everyday mixed with the dark and devious.
The ArtsDesk on THE LEGACY
A tale of elegant twists and turns, which surprised me at least three times in the last fifty pages
No one does crime fiction quite like Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardottir... THE LEGACY is a masterful procedural infused with the author's dark imagination.
Criminal Element
The deeper Sigurdardottir delves into the dark corners of her imagination, the more her creative talents thrive.
This is a compelling read for anyone with an appetite for the macabre and the cryptic.
Daily Express
Solid characters and great complex plot...If you haven't already met the Queen of Icelandic Crime fiction start here, because this is her best novel to date
Globe and Mail
The Icelandic queen of Nordic Noir, Yrsa Sigurdardottir's writing manages to be both spare but sinister. Expect goosebumps to sprout while reading this tale of murder, abuse and other worldly shenanigans in rural Iceland.
Red Magazine on THE UNDESIRED
The stories share an underlying menace that is at once disturbing and compelling.
Daily Mail on THE UNDESIRED
Yrsa Sigurdardottir's chillers get better and better. I REMEMBER YOU is a truly creepy combination of haunted house story and modern detection in Iceland.
Sunday Telegraph
. . . A chiller-thriller of immense scariness . . . Not to be read alone after dark.
The Times on I REMEMBER YOU
Expertly woven together, with plenty of cliffhangers and perfect control of the macabre mood: intriguing, entertaining, and very spooky indeed.
Laura Wilson, Guardian on I REMEMBER YOU
Genuinely bone-chilling, and proves that as well as being the queen of Icelandic crime fiction, Sigurdardottir is a supreme generator of fear . . . (she) is clearly relishing the business of scaring our pants off.
Independent on I REMEMBER YOU
Sigurdardottir intertwines these plotlines brilliantly and the two creepy strands gradually tighten together to really give the reader the heebie-jeebies. The author comes from a crime and thriller background and you can tell: there are cliff-hangers at the end of almost every chapter and she expertly ramps up the feeling of dread as the plot accelerates and all in the book find themselves in mortal danger.
Big Issue on I REMEMBER YOU
A chilling read, perfect for a dark night.
Daily Express on I REMEMBER YOU
A chilling read, enhanced by Sigurdardottir's taut plotting, realistic characters, and dry humour
Metro Books of the Year on ASHES TO DUST
..a grisly chiller set in the depths of winter... It's an accomplished debut.
Sunday Telegraph on LAST RITUALS
Author Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Narrator Lucy Paterson
Series Freyja and Huldar
Duration 13 hours and 39 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781473622739
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Genre Crime and mystery fiction, Fiction in translation, Thriller / suspense fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE

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