Grimsson #10

On a Friday evening in September, the 19-year-old Sigridur Bella Olafsdottir leaves her home. She tells no one where she is going. When she doesn’t return home, her parents call the police. It is as if the earth has swallowed their daughter. The tension is overwhelming as Horður Grimsson tackles his most complex case.

Twenty years after Sigridur Bella’s disappearance, human bones are found during an excavation in a garden in the eastern part of town. Hordur Grimsson leads the investigation. It turns out that these are the remains of Sigridur Bella, and chilling facts suggest she was murdered in a gruesome manner. The little evidence the police had at the time of the girl’s disappearance consists of a poorly conducted investigation report. Soon, police suspicions fall on a particular individual, but evidence is lacking, and everything must be handled with care so that the suspect does not catch wind of the investigation. Hordur fears that the murderer has not stopped and may have already chosen the next victim. The police work day and night on the case, as time is running out and lives are at stake.

Hordur Grimsson is undoubtedly one of the most popular fictional characters of our time. City of the Dead is Stefan Mani’s eleventh book about this unique detective. In the book, Hordur once again reveals new sides of himself, and the tension is overwhelming from beginning to end.

Nominated for The Blood Drop 2023 as the best Icelandic crime fiction.

“Am exhilarating thriller, woven with great cunning.”
EIRIKUR BERGMANN, WRITER

“If you have yet to read Stefan Mani then you are in for a treat. He excels in beautifully written page turners with a compelling protagonist in a league of his own.”
YRSA SIGURDARDOTTIR, CRIME WRITER