An art expert joins a detective to investigate a horrific murder on a Swedish island, leading them to a mystery rooted in Viking rites and Scandinaviaôs deepest, darkest winter. The Queen of French Noir returns with a chilling, utterly captivating gothic thriller, based on a true story. FIRST in a new series.
`A dark, dark slice of Scandi Noirô Heat magazine *Book of the Month*
`Gustawsson`s writing is so vivid, it`s electrifyingô Peter James
`Remember her name. Johana Gustawsson has become a leading figure in French crime fiction [and] Yule Island is impossible to put downô Le Monde
***Winner of the Cultura Ligue de l`Imaginaire Award 2023***
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Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when sheôs asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden`s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?
As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman`s tragic death somehow hold the key?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past - Viking rites and tainted love - and Scandinavia`s deepest, darkest winter...
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PRAISE FOR JOHANA GUSTAWSSON
`Wonderfully dark and intricately woven ... will have you hooked from the very first pageô B A Paris
`Johana Gustawsson has become the queen of the French thriller genreô Le Point
`Intriguingly dark and vivid, and so cleverly toldô Essie Fox
`A gripping story of murder and black magic ...Gustawsson slowly weaves together three seemingly disparate strands of her narrative with a skill that shows why she is such an admired crime writer in her native Franceô The Times
`A wonderfully creepy, unsettling read, with a superb twist in its tailô James Oswald
`Bewitching and wonderfully gothicô Sunday Express
`Johana Gustawsson brilliantly illuminates the depths of the human heartô Le Figaro
`A whirlpool that draws you irresistibly into levels of darkness so much deeper than you can possibly be ready forô Ambrose Parry
`A stunning and beautifully written gothic thrillerô Alexandra Benedict
`Johana Gustawsson has no equal when it comes to hooking us with stunning twists and unexpected leaps in timeô Les Echos
`A bold and intelligent readô Guardian
`Utterly compellingô Woman`s Own
`Cleverly plotted, simply excellentô Ragnar Jónasson
`A must-readô Daily Express
