Death on the Island: A Novel

by Eliza Reid

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A little murder mystery with plenty of suspects. Set on a remote island off Iceland during a violent storm, this is a fun read brimming with secrets and hidden agendas. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and locked-room mysteries, the surprises are brilliant and keep coming.

**INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER**

"A brilliant debut." — Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"An intriguing mystery, an exotic setting, and a Christie vibe—what's not to love?" — Shari Lapena, internationally bestselling author

Trapped on a remote island by a howling storm, nine people sit down to dinner.

One of them is about to die.

A group of international players has gathered in a tiny village off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic dinner. There's Kristján, the mayor reeling from a personal tragedy. Graeme, the ambassador with an agenda to push. Jane, his wife, along for the ride on another one of her husband's many business trips. And several others, from Iceland and from abroad, each with their own reason for being there, their own loyalties and grievances. By the end of the night, one of them will be dead. And it will be up to the ambassador's wife, Jane, to figure out how—and why.

What Jane soon comes to realize is that small communities can be the most dangerous of them all… and no one in their group is safe. With secrets around every corner and violent weather trapping the finite list of suspects together on the island, this locked-room mystery by internationally bestselling author Eliza Reid brings Agatha Christie and Nordic noir together in a brand-new twist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728292410
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Eliza Reid is a bestselling writer, public speaker, gender equality advocate, and cofounder of the acclaimed Iceland Writers Retreat. She was born and raised in Canada but has lived in Iceland for more than twenty years. Her first book, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World, was an instant bestseller in Canada and Iceland, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Pick, and translated into numerous languages. From 2016 to 2024, Eliza served in the unofficial role of First Lady while her husband was President of Iceland. Eliza lives in the outskirts of Reykjavik with her husband and four children.

Editorial Reviews

Goodreads Most Anticipated Spring Mysteries 2025

"Aside from Reid's suspense-maximizing structural inventiveness, Death on the Island is a Christie-esque affair, with a tight roster of secret-keeping suspects and a satisfyingly stagey all-hands-on-deck summing-up; Reid has just swapped out Christie's secluded English country manor for an Icelandic island that's not all that much bigger." — Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

"Reid’s atmospheric fiction debut creates suspense through a trio of murders...the evocative, isolated setting becomes the locked room in this Christie-esque whodunit." — Kirkus Reviews

"I loved this book. Eliza Reid is so assured in her plot, her characters that it’s hard to believe this is her first novel. Death on the Island is compulsive and propulsive reading. Not only wonderfully evocative of a little known area of Iceland, it is also surprising, with twists even a seasoned crime reader won’t see coming. A brilliant debut that promises more to come." — Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"An intriguing mystery, an exotic setting, and a Christie vibe—what’s not to love?" — Shari Lapena, internationally bestselling author of What Have You Done?

"Now, here’s something new: The Good Wife meets Agatha Christie beneath the Northern Lights of Iceland. In Death on the Island, Eliza Reid—who served as that country’s First Lady for eight historic years—evokes its extraordinary atmosphere, its cultural rituals, even the quirks of its language; better still, her protagonist—the intrepid yet vulnerable wife of a diplomat—is tactful but fierce, a heroine to thrill fans of Scandal and Madam Secretary. And the mystery, cunningly structured as a series of tick-tock countdowns, pays homage to locked-room classics while blazing a path that’s defiantly modern. This is a fresh, transporting, emotionally involving suspense debut, that rare crime novel you’ll want to discuss with friends. Maybe even beneath the Northern Lights." — A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window and End of Story

"An addictive and edgy murder mystery with wonderfully quirky characters and razor-sharp dialogue. You’ll turn the pages faster than you ever thought possible." — Jann Arden, bestselling author of The Bittlemores

"Death on the Island is a wonderful and compelling debut, welcoming a new and unique voice to the Icelandic crime fiction genre." — Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, international bestselling author

"With its twisty Golden Age plot and a fascinating Nordic Noir setting, this novel is perfect for lovers of each." — Ann Cleeves, New York Times bestselling author

"An addictive and edgy murder mystery with wonderfully quirky characters and razor-sharp dialogue. You’ll turn the pages faster than you ever thought possible." — Jann Arden, bestselling author of The Bittlemores

"Eliza Reid’s take on a locked room mystery is an island off the coast of Iceland during a perfect storm—for the perfect murder. Among the suspects are an ambitious chef, an award-winning writer, an ambassador, and a captain of industry. Skullduggery in high places! A most enthralling, entertaining, and intriguing mystery." — Liz Nugent, national bestselling author

"So this is what Eliza Reid was thinking about during all those diplomatic dinners." — Anthony Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author

"Eliza Reid has drawn on her experience as Iceland’s former First Lady to craft a classic murder mystery set on the windswept Westman Islands. The ensemble cast is filled with quirky, complex, and believable characters who are all dealing with their own baggage, along with a dead body or two. And the island itself is a mesmerizing setting made even more sinister by the lashing storm. Whether you have the self-control to savour this tale, or you read it in one desperate binge, as I did, Death on the Island is the debut everyone will be talking about." — Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

"A classic murder mystery set against a brooding landscape. Full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right to the very last page." — Will Ferguson, Giller Prize-winning author of 419

"Eliza Reid fills the canvas with relatable characters and enough red herrings to mislead even the most ardent crime fiction readers...Death on the Island is easily one of the best debut crime fiction novels of the year to date." — BOLO Books

From the Publisher

2025-03-22
Multiple murders blacken a diplomatic dinner in an icebound restaurant.

Reid’s atmospheric fiction debut creates suspense through a trio of murders, each of them alternating with flashbacks providing significant details doled out in teaspoons. In a murky prologue, Kristján Gunnarsson, later identified as the mayor of Vestmannaeyjar, encounters a corpse whom we later learn was his husband, Ari. Despite his fragile emotional state, Kristján is obliged to host a diplomatic dinner at the noted Skel restaurant on Heimaey, an island off the southern coast of Iceland. The attendees include Canadian ambassador Graeme Shearer and his wife, Jane, from whose perspective this section is presented. A double blow comes when a storm prevents the nine people present from leaving and Graeme’s deputy ambassador, Kavita, suddenly collapses and dies. Subsequent chapters, beginning with “Thirteen Hours Before She Died,” march forward to the tragic event. Noteworthy revelations include Kristján’s belief that Ari was murdered and Jane’s realization that Graeme is having an affair she’s the last to learn about. Before the solution to this second murder comes another section, kicked off with “Thirty-Seven Hours Before He Dies.” Again, the story moves forward in small chunks of time before the identities of both the killer and the third victim are revealed. Reid’s status as a Canadian native and former first lady of Iceland—her husband was president from 2016 to 2024—authentically informs both the Canadian perspective and the Icelandic setting. Her cast of suspects is vivid, even if their uniqueness is sometimes lost in the swirl of the complex puzzle.

The evocative, isolated setting becomes the locked room in this Christie-esque whodunit.

Kirkus Reviews