A tense and thrilling whodunnit set in superstitious 17thC Iceland

THE remote outposts of 17th-century Iceland are harsh, superstition-ridden places where even reading and writing are viewed with mistrust.

Rosa is educated, but her priest father is dead and her mother is ailing. Although attracted to Pall, she agrees to marry Jon, the rich chieftain of another settlement. Her new husband is a mystery – there are dark rumours about his first wife – and his right-hand man, Petur, is rumoured to be from the Huldufolk, who feast on souls.

Then the body of a woman surfaces from the ice-encrusted sea and Rosa is faced with terrifying possibilities. Intensely written and atmospheric, with an unusual setting, this is a stark evocation of a community where fear of the outsider is rife and unsettling.

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