Dead Sweet

When a celebrated government official is found dead after his surprise birthday party, a young police officer uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives. Icelandic politician Katrín Júlíusdóttir's award-winning debut - first in a breathtaking series... **Winner of the Blackbird Award for Best Icelandic Crime Debut** `A breathtaking thriller from one of Iceland's most exciting new voices' Eva Björg Ægisdóttir `So chilling´ Heat magazine `Katrín Júlíusdóttir skilfully weaves together intense family dynamics, dark pasts and criminal endeavours in this masterful narrative´ Lilja Sigurðardóttir `A sophisticated, multi-layered thriller ... a series with great potential´ Financial Times ____________________ A murder is just the beginning... When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn't until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging. As Óttar's shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís's own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home... Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of unexpected twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, kicking off an addictive, chilling new series. ______________________ `Exceptional and realistic characters ... Dead Sweet hooks you in from the very first page and keeps you there until the unexpected ending´ Blackbird Award judges: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Ragnar Jónasson and Bjarni Þorsteinsson `Delve into a world of corruption, power and a rising body count in one of your new favourite noir series' B.S. Casey `A very welcome addition to the growing number of writers of Icelandic Noir ... many twists and turns until all is revealed´ TripFiction `An excellent debut thriller with a highly original storyline´ Sæunn Gísladóttir, The Reading Room What readers are saying... `I devoured it in two sittings. I honestly cannot believe that it's a debut´ `Intelligent, suspenseful and totally gripping´ `Expertly reveals secrets in a way that kept my eyes glued to the page´ `Júlíusdóttir spins a cracking tale and keeps the revelations and teasers unwinding´ `Another fabulous piece of Icelandic noir, with a fabulous cast of characters and a truly absorbing story´ `Dark, chilling and twisty ... I couldn't put it down´ `Breathtakingly unnerving' `What an ending!´

Katrín received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication. Katrín has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took nighttime shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. She was raised in Kópavogur, about 15 minutes' drive from downtown Reykjavík. She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.