Fatal Isles: FEATURED IN THE TIMES' BEST CRIME BOOKS ROUND-UP 2021

(Paperback)

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A remote island. A brutal murder. A secret hidden in the past . . .

In the middle of the North Sea, between the UK and Denmark, lies the beautiful and rugged island nation of Doggerland.
Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby has returned to the main island, Heimo, after many years in London and has worked hard to become one of the few female police officers in Doggerland.

So, when she wakes up in a hotel room next to her boss, Jounas Smeed, she knows she's made a big mistake. But things are about to get worse: later that day, Jounas's ex-wife is found brutally murdered. And Karen is the only one who can give him an alibi.

The news sends shockwaves through the tight-knit island community, and with no leads and no obvious motive for the murder, Karen struggles to find the killer in a race against time.

Soon she starts to suspect that the truth might lie in Doggerland's history. And the deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that even small islands can hide deadly secrets . . .

Reviews

This first novel in a proposed trilogy has terrific characters as well as effectively inventing a new genre, Anglo-Nordic noir -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times *
A cracking police procedural set in a richly described isolated island community * Irish Independent *
An excellent police procedural - she does detail brilliantly - but also really thrilling. I love books that send me somewhere completely new and I really enjoyed Doggerland. She captured it perfectly, and held me there for the whole thing * Jo Spain *
Karen Eiken reminds me a bit of Jane Tennison: a strong, feminine and dedicated woman confronted by sexism within the police force while doing her job. At the same time striving not to be eaten up by the pressure of duties, struggling to quit smoking and not drinking too much. The island is a cool setting too, a bit Shetland-like . . . a good debut * Kjell Ola Dahl *
A suspenseful and intriguing story that combines the best of British crime writing tradition with Nordic noir. Doggerland is a unique and alluring universe that I can't wait to revisit * Camilla Grebe *
Fatal Isles has everything I want from nordic noir - a spellbinding plot, atmospheric setting and a wonderfully flawed protagonist. I loved it * Sarah Ward *
Fatal Isles is an impressive debut combining an empathetic main character tormented by her past, with a detailed, complex police procedural. Adolfsson's main achievement, however, is Doggerland, a believable island nation where everyone knows everyone else and the mistrust of outsiders runs deep * Canberra Times *

Author Bio

Maria Adolfsson (b. 1958) lives in Stockholm where she, until recently, worked as a communications director and now writes full-time. The Doggerland series has been sold in to 18 languages to date, and has sold over 250 000 copies in Sweden alone.