Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Legacy | 2014 | Yrsa Sigurdardottir | Buy |
| 2 | The Reckoning | 2015 | Yrsa Sigurdardottir | Buy |
| 3 | The Absolution | 2016 | Yrsa Sigurdardottir | Buy |
| 4 | Gallows Rock | 2017 | Yrsa Sigurdardottir | Buy |
| 5 | The Doll | 2021 | Yrsa Sigurdardottir | Buy |
| 6 | The Fallout | 2022 | Yrsa Sigurdardottir | Buy |
The Children’s House series began with The Legacy (2014), in which a murder investigation leads Huldar to seek Freyja’s help in speaking with a traumatized seven-year-old girl who may have witnessed her mother’s death. The series is darker and more psychologically complex than the earlier Thora novels, with crimes that frequently involve children and a procedural structure that takes the investigative process seriously.
The six books span The Legacy through The Fallout (2022) and form a coherent series best read in order, as the relationship between Huldar and Freyja develops across the novels. The Icelandic setting — bleak winters, isolated communities, and the specific texture of Reykjavik — gives the books a strong sense of place that sets them apart from British and American crime fiction.