T H E C O M M A N D M E N T S
Published by Qorylus Books
Translated by Quentin Bates
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Former detective Salka Steinsdóttir finds herself unwillingly pitched into the toughest investigation of her life, just as she returns to the tranquil north of Iceland to recover from a personal trauma.
The victim is someone she had pursued earlier in her career – and had never been able to pin down. Now a killer has taken the law into their own hands and meted out brutal retribution for ancient crimes. Salka is faced with tracking down the murderer of a stalwart of the church and the community, a man whose reputation stretches deep into the past, and even into the police team tasked with solving the case. As the killer prepares to strike again, Salka and her team search for the band of old friends who could be either killers or victims – or both. A bestseller in Iceland, The Commandments asks many challenging questions as it takes on some highly controversial issues. |
B O Ð O R Ð I N - T H E C O M M A N D M E N T S
On a Sunday morning in 1995, Anton, a nineteen year old boy, meets a priest in front of a church. The young man was never seen again. Twenty years later, under the midnight sun, a pastor is found brutally murdered in his church in a small fishing village north of the city of Akureyri, close to the Arctic Circle. When detective inspector Salka starts working on the case a deacon is found crucified in his home in Akureyri. The murderer leaves a message on both crime scenes and Salka realises that the killer is seeking revenge but she also fears that the lives of some other people in the church society are in danger. The two cases take an unexpected turn when Salka discovers a connection between the killings and events that took place two decades earlier.
The Commandments is the first book in series featuring Detective Inspector Salka Steinsdottir who is a strong female character. When we meet her, she is fly fishing up north, dealing with a tragedy in her family. She was determined to take a long break from her police duties but these horrible events cut her leave short.
On a Sunday morning in 1995, Anton, a nineteen year old boy, meets a priest in front of a church. The young man was never seen again. Twenty years later, under the midnight sun, a pastor is found brutally murdered in his church in a small fishing village north of the city of Akureyri, close to the Arctic Circle. When detective inspector Salka starts working on the case a deacon is found crucified in his home in Akureyri. The murderer leaves a message on both crime scenes and Salka realises that the killer is seeking revenge but she also fears that the lives of some other people in the church society are in danger. The two cases take an unexpected turn when Salka discovers a connection between the killings and events that took place two decades earlier.
The Commandments is the first book in series featuring Detective Inspector Salka Steinsdottir who is a strong female character. When we meet her, she is fly fishing up north, dealing with a tragedy in her family. She was determined to take a long break from her police duties but these horrible events cut her leave short.
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Oskar second book; Blóðengill (Bloodangel) was published by Bjartur in May 2018. Bloodangel went straight on top ten list and was several times #1.
Bloodangel got great review on TV and in the newspapers.
Bloodangel got great review on TV and in the newspapers.
Publishing perspectives: Suspense at Frankfurt:
Can Iceland’s ‘Blood Drop’ Winner Go the Distance?
Oskar Guðmundsson’s ‘Hilma’—with its strong
female characterization and mind-of-the-murderer
insights—took Iceland by storm,
‘in spite of very scarce advertising.’
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A W A R D W I N N I N G Oskar Gudmundsson and his debut novel HILMA was chosen the best criminal novel published 2015 and received in June 2016 the Icelandic crime fiction award, Blóðdropann (Blood-drop). Ten books were nominated to receive the award this year, including books by Arnaldur Indriðason, Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Stefan Máni. The book will be the Iceland contribution to the Glass Key, the Nordic crime fiction prize in 2017. |
