Girls Who Lie

Eva Bjorg Ægisdóttir

May 2021 · Orenda Books

About this ebook

When a depressed, alcoholic single mother disappears, everything suggests suicide, until her body is found on the lava fields. Icelandic Detective Elma and her team are thrust into a perplexing, chilling investigation in book two in the award-winning, international bestselling Forbidden Iceland series...

'Chilling and addictive, with a twist you won't see coming. I loved it!' Shari Lapena

'An exciting and harrowing tale' Ragnar JÓnasson

'Complex, gripping and moving' The Times

'Eerie and chilling. I loved every word!' Lesley Kara

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When single mother MarÍanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she's taken her own life ... until her body is found on the GrÁbrÓk lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected fifteen-year-old daughter Hekla has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

Fifteen years earlier, a desperate new mother lies in a maternity ward, unable to look at her own child, the start of an odd and broken relationship that leads to a shocking tragedy.

Police officer Elma and her colleagues take on the case, which becomes increasingly complex, as the number of suspects grows and new light is shed on MarÍanna's past – and the childhood of a girl who never was like the others...

Breathtakingly chilling and tantalisingly twisty, Girls Who Lie is at once a startling, tense psychological thriller and a sophisticated police procedural, marking Eva BjÖrg Ægisdottir as one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

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Praise for Eva BjÖrg Ægisdottir

***WINNER of the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger***

'Fans of Nordic Noir will love this ... subtle, nuanced, with a sympathetic central character and the possibilities of great stories to come' Ann Cleeves

'Not only a full-fat mystery, but also a chilling demonstration of how monsters are made' The Times

'Beautifully written, spine-tingling and disturbing ... a thrilling new voice in Icelandic crime fiction' Yrsa SigurethardÓttir

'As chilling and atmospheric as an Icelandic winter' Lisa Gray

'Elma is a fantastic heroine' Sunday Times

'Eva BjÖrg AegisdÓttir is definitely a born storyteller and she skilfully surprised me with some amazing plot twists' Hilary Mortz

'An unsettling and exciting read with a couple of neat red herrings to throw the reader off the scent' NB Magazine

'Chilling and troubling ... reminiscent of Jorn Lier Horst's Norwegian procedurals. This is a book that makes an impact' Crime Fiction Lover

'Elma is a memorably complex character' Financial Times

'The twist comes out of the blue ... enthralling' Tap The Line Magazine

For fans of Ragnar Jonasson, Camilla Lackberg, Ruth Rendell, Gillian McAllister and Shari Lapena

Ratings and reviews

Fifteen years ago, a young woman gives birth. Unable to even look at her own child, this is the start of of a relationship that leads to an appalling tragedy. Today, Detective Elma and her team are called to investigate when a body of a woman is found in an abandoned cave ... the victim of murder. She had disappeared 7 months earlier. leaving behind a note, leaving her daughter and the police assuming she had either just walked away or perhaps committed suicide. As Elma and her team interview the people who knew the victim, they find that her life was a mystery. The more they learn, the more questions they have. This is a multi-layered crime fiction / police procedural with a bit of psychological undertones. Suspense starts on the very first page and maintains a high level until the shocking conclusion. There are twists that turn the reader first this way, then the other. Characters are solidly defined. An Icelandic novel written by an Icelandic author, this is well written and expertly translated into English. Many thanks to the author / translator for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

Victoria Cribb studied and worked in Iceland for many years. She has translated more than 30 novels from the Icelandic and, in 2017, she received the OrethstÍr honorary translation award for services to Icelandic literature. Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study my MSc in Globalization when she was 25. After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. The book went on to win the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers' Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland.