I am sure you have heard of Quentin Bates in one or all his guises: journalist, translator, writer and one of the founders of IcelandNoir crime fiction festival. Immersed in Icelandic culture and nature Bates effortlessly brings various aspects of this fascinating country to English readers as he translates technical texts, classics (Gudlaugur Arason’s Bowline and Indriði G. Thorsteinsson’s Cab 79) and crime fiction. Thanks to him we are lucky to read Ragnar Jónasson’s atmospheric Dark Iceland series consisting of Snowblind, Nightblind, Blackout, Rupture and Whiteout, and Lilja Sigurdardottir’s stunning Reykjavik Noir trilogy: Snare, Trap, Cage.

However, I want to draw your attention to his own series of novels set in and around Reykjavik, featuring Officer Gunnhildur Gísladóttir, also known as Gunna, the no-nonsense down-to-earth detective with excellent skills, solid experience and a dry sense of humour. Gunna featured in Frozen Out / Assets, Cold Comfort, Chilled to the Bone, Cold Steal, Summerchill, Thin Ice, Winterlude and Cold Breath. Here are my earlier reviews of Cold Breath via Crime Review pages and Summerchill via Euro Crime blog spot but of course I would encourage you to find out for yourself about Quentin Bates and read his books https://graskeggur.com.

And I have one copy of Reykjavikin Murtomies (Cold Steal) translated by Raimo Salokangas into Finnish and recently published in Finland by Blue Moon.

A successful housebreaker who leaves no traces and no clues as he strips Reykjavík homes of their valuables has been a thorn in the police’s side for months. But when one night the thief breaks into the wrong house, he finds himself caught in a trap as the stakes are raised far beyond anything he could have imagined. Gunnhildur Gísladóttir of the Reykjavík police finds herself frustrated at every  turn as she searches for a victim who has vanished from the scene of the crime, and wonders if it could be linked to the murders of two businessmen with dubious reputations that her bosses are warning her to keep clear of.

I will be more than happy to send Reykjavikin Murtomies to one Finn based in the UK in return for telling me why they should have this book, and then spreading the word. In Finnish, English, Icelandic or any other language.