Dead Sweet

by Katrín Júlíusdóttir, Quentin Bates (Translator)

Overview

When a celebrated government official is found dead after his surprise birthday party, a young police officer uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives. Icelandic politician Katrí n Jú lí usdó ttir's award-winning debut – first in a breathtaking series…

**Winner of the Blackbird Award for Best Icelandic Crime Debut**

‘A breathtaking thriller from one of Iceland’s most exciting new voices’ Eva Bjö rg Æ gisdó ttir

‘So chilling´ Heat magazine

‘Katrí n Jú lí usdó ttir skilfully weaves together intense family dynamics, dark pasts and criminal endeavours in this masterful narrative´ Lilja Sigurð ardó ttir

‘A sophisticated, multi-layered thriller … a series with great potential´ Financial Times

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A murder is just the beginning…

When ó ttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’ t until young police officer Sigurdí s finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.

As ó ttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdí s finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account.

Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdí s’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…

Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of unexpected twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, kicking off an addictive, chilling new series.

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‘Exceptional and realistic characters … Dead Sweet hooks you in from the very first page and keeps you there until the unexpected ending´ Blackbird Award judges: Yrsa Sigurð ardó ttir, Ragnar Jó nasson and Bjarni Þ orsteinsson

‘Delve into a world of corruption, power and a rising body count in one of your new favourite noir series’ B.S. Casey

‘A very welcome addition to the growing number of writers of Icelandic Noir … many twists and turns until all is revealed´ TripFiction

‘An excellent debut thriller with a highly original storyline´ SÆ unn Gí sladó ttir, The Reading Room

What readers are saying…

‘I devoured it in two sittings. I honestly cannot believe that it’s a debut´

‘Intelligent, suspenseful and totally gripping´

‘Expertly reveals secrets in a way that kept my eyes glued to the page´

‘Jú lí usdó ttir spins a cracking tale and keeps the revelations and teasers unwinding´

‘Another fabulous piece of Icelandic noir, with a fabulous cast of characters and a truly absorbing story´

‘Dark, chilling and twisty … I couldn’ t put it down´

‘Breathtakingly unnerving’

‘What an ending!´

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781916788176
Publisher:	Orenda Books
Publication date:	09/02/2025
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language a new profession as a seaman and a family, before decamping en masse for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, netmaker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism, largely by accident. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar Jó nasson’s Dark Iceland series.

Katrí n received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication. Katrí n has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrí n was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took nighttime shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjaví k University. She was raised in Kó pavogur, about 15 minutes' drive from downtown Reykjaví k. She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garð abæ r with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.

Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language a new profession as a seaman and a family, before decamping en masse for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, netmaker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism, largely by accident. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar Jó nasson’s Dark Iceland series.

Katrí n received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication. Katrí n has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrí n was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took nighttime shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjaví k University. She was raised in Kó pavogur, about 15 minutes' drive from downtown Reykjaví k. She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garð abæ r with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a tense and multi-layered thriller that incorporates politics and finance, as well as introducing the reader to a perfectly created cast of characters...This is a novel of many layers, and each one is as delicious as the last."—Mature Times

From the Publisher