Yrsa Sigurdardottir books

Yrsa Sigurdardottir is an Icelandic crime writer and civil engineer whose Thora Gudmundsdottir series and Children's House series have made her one of the most translated Icelandic authors in the world. Her novels are known for their atmospheric settings, complex crimes, and strong female protagonists.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Ten Year Stretch 2018 Buy

Children’s House Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Legacy 2014 Buy
The Reckoning 2015 Buy
The Absolution 2016 Buy
Gallows Rock 2017 Buy
The Doll 2021 Buy
The Fallout 2022 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
I Remember You 2010 Buy
The Undesired 2012 Buy
Why Did You Lie? 2013 Buy
The Prey 2020 Buy

The Black Ice Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Can’t Run, Can’t Hide 2024 Buy
The Wake 2025 Buy

Thora Gudmundsdottir Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Last Rituals 2005 Buy
Trzeci znak 2005 N/A
My Soul to Take 2006 Buy
Neem mijn ziel 2006 N/A
Ashes to Dust 2007 Buy
Cenere 2007 N/A
De donkere dag 2008 N/A
The Day is Dark 2008 Buy
Horfðu á mig 2009 N/A
Someone to Watch Over Me 2009 Buy
Brakið 2011 N/A
The Silence of the Sea 2011 Buy

Yrsa Sigurdardottir works as a civil engineer and writes crime fiction in her spare time — an arrangement that has produced one of the most substantial bodies of crime writing in Icelandic literature. She began the Thora Gudmundsdottir series in 2005 and over twelve books developed a protagonist who is also a lawyer and single mother, investigating cases that often involve Iceland’s historical past or its remote geography.

Her Children’s House series, which began with The Legacy in 2014, introduced two new protagonists: detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja, whose professional relationship and personal tension drive the books. The series is named after the real Icelandic institution that provides support for child victims of crime. Someone to Watch Over Me, the fifth Thora Gudmundsdottir novel, won the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year award, and The Silence of the Sea won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel in Translation in 2015.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Yrsa Sigurdardottir written?

Yrsa Sigurdardottir has written 25 books across five series.

What was Yrsa Sigurdardottir's first book?

Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s first book is Last Rituals, published in 2005.

How many series has Yrsa Sigurdardottir written?

She has written three crime series: the Thora Gudmundsdottir series (twelve books, beginning 2005), the Children’s House series featuring Freyja and Huldar (six books, beginning 2014), and The Black Ice series (two books, beginning 2024). She has also written four standalone crime novels.

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