Crime Book Festival: Iceland Noir 2016

March 18, 2017

Iceland Noir 2016

NOVEMBER 17 - 20, 2016 // REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

In November of 2016, I had the opportunity to travel to my first-ever crime fiction festival: Iceland Noir, an annual festival held in Reykjavik, Iceland. This might have been my first crime festival, but it will no doubt long remain one of my all-time favorites! At this festival, I had the chance to meet some of my all-time favorite authors (Sara Blaedel and Ragnar Jonasson), and meet authors who quickly became new favorites for me (Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Thomas Enger). I also fell head-over-heels in love with Reykjavik, and had a great time exploring this gorgeous city.

Iceland Noir 2016 Coverage:

Iceland Noir Preview -- the authors I most anticipated meeting, and my initial thoughts as I headed to Iceland.

Author Interview: Thomas Enger -- an interview with Norwegian crime author Thomas Enger, whose Henning Juul series became an instant-favorite for me after the festival.

Iceland Noir Journal -- my full recap of my time in Iceland, including photos and links to further reading.

CBTb's Current Read:

The Absolution: A Thriller (Children's House)

By Yrsa Sigurdardottir

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Starting the new week right 🕵🏻‍♀️ aka with a lunch break trip to this cozy coffee shop ☕️ to dig into my new read. 🤓 •
Today has been a *very* Monday-ish Monday 😂 aka it’s been a bit of a challenge getting into the swing of the week after a relaxing weekend. BUT I’m always up for a challenge & I’m confident I can turn this Monday around yet 😉🖤 I’m off to Norwegian class tonight & then I’ve got a highly-anticipated book waiting for me on my commute home later tonight, so I think this day is looking up! 🙌🏻
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When you finally get your hands on a highly-anticipated book, are you someone who dives immediately in, or do you typically hang back a bit and just savor the anticipation of the new read? 📖 I definitely fall into the latter camp. I spent a good part of Sunday wrestling with whether or not I was ready to dive into THE ABSOLUTION by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and I finally took the plunge today... and DANG does it get off to an awesome start. ‼️ This book begins with a scene that I won’t spoil, but I WILL say it reminded me a bit of an ultra-creepy and tense scene from the latest Halloween movie involving a public restroom... that’s all I’m gonna say, but it definitely starts with a bang. 🕵🏻‍♀️ This mystery will (according to the plot description) involve a killer who uses Snapchat to somehow “promote” his crimes, which is a truly scary concept & one I can’t wait to watch play out. 😳🙌🏻 •
Happy Monday, friends!! 🖤

That feeling when a surprise package lands in your mailbox & it’s the newest book by one of your fave authors... I am NOT keeping calm over here. 😍🙌🏻🤗🕵🏻‍♀️🖤 Huge thanks to @Minotaur_Books for my review copy of Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s 2020 release THE ABSOLUTION 🔎 On sale in the US February 11, 2020!! (Aka mark your calendars NOW 🗓)
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You know that feeling when you get hooked on a series, and you’re just constantly waiting for the next book in the series to release? I feel that way about a number of Nordic Noir series, and Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s series featuring psychologist Freyja and police officer Huldar is 1000% one of them. 🙌🏻💯 THE ABSOLUTION will be the 3rd book released in this series, and if you *haven’t* given it a try yet, you absolutely should before this new installment goes on sale. Yrsa is a truly stellar crime writer—her books are intricately plotted and VERY chilling (she has a truly dark imagination, that Yrsa😂🙌🏻), and they’re the kind of mysteries you just want to sink into & fully immerse yourself in. PLUS they’ve got fantastic lead characters - an unlikely duo of a psychologist and a police officer, whose banter & rapport is charming and tons of fun to watch. Basically I LOVE this series & highly recommend it!! *The first 2 books in the series are: THE LEGACY and THE RECKONING, and you should read them in order to understand the character development best. 👍🏻*
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In THE ABSOLUTION, a disturbing Snapchat video leads the police to a brutal crime: a young woman’s body is found, mysteriously marked with a number “2.” Police officer Huldar is tasked with investigating the crime, and he brings child psychologist Freyja on board to help question the murderer teen’s friends. And then another teenager goes missing, more clips are found on social media, and a body with a “3” is found. The killer is clearly from done, and the truth is far from simple. And is there an undiscovered body carrying the number “1” out there? 🕵🏻‍♀️
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This is without a doubt one of my most-anticipated 2020 reads, and I am SO dang excited to be digging in!! Let me know in the comments if you’re a fan of this series, OR if you’re thinking of checking it out! 🤓🖤

Anybody else wish they could teleport anywhere in the world whenever they wanted?! 🙋🏻‍♀️ If I could, I’d send myself back to my favorite city (Oslo 🇳🇴) & right back to this cozy reading spot. 📖🖤 Where would you go?! •
Ok gang, I think I have *finally* gotten into the flow of my current read (NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY). Now just bear with me while I try to collect my thoughts. 😂 I’m going to finish it tonight, and I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed the way this story comes together. This is one of those books where you just kind of have to be okay having NO idea what’s going on for the first 100 or so pages 😂 so if that’s not appealing to you, probably best to skip this one. This is a VERY dark story, one that unravels the “who” and the “why” behind a cult called “The People of Choice.” It’s a story following a group of seemingly random people who are selected to participate in a suicide cult — but the odd thing here is that NONE of these people know they are part of the cult until they are called upon to die. It’s an extremely dark and harrowing topic, and one that I did find quite hard to read at times, so I would say DEFINITELY proceed with caution. That said, this is a book that raises very compelling and thought-provoking questions about what gives our lives meaning, and how we can be influenced - both overtly and subconsciously - by the world around us. I am honestly still not sure if I would recommend this one given how heavy its subject matter is—for me, this book didn’t feel “fun dark,” it just felt dark. (Not sure how to explain that difference but... think of “fun dark” as an episode of Criminal Minds or a gripping serial killer thriller.) That said, the author does a masterful job laying out a totally unconventional plot that weaves & intersects in ways the reader will never see coming. 👍🏻 This is a book that’s at once deeply, genuinely disturbing and also masterfully crafted and thought-provoking. I definitely need more time to digest it, so stay tuned & I’ll get a full review up as soon as my thoughts have settled. 🤓

NYC street scenes 🏙 on my walk to pick up an afternoon cup of coffee ☕️ I’m back at work today & so happy to be back to my routine! 🖤
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I honestly get maybe 80% of my reading done on my commutes to & from work (perks of long subway rides 😂) so whenever I’m away from the office for a couple days, it totally throws me off my reading game. BUT that just made it feel extra good to be back in the swing of things today! 🤓 I’m now about halfway (maybe a little bit more) through NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY, and I feel like I’m slowly but surely getting in sync with this book. •
Interspersed with mini-vignettes following the central “members” of the People of Choice cult, the author crafts these brief, sharp, irreverent little chapters narrated by an unnamed person who appears to be pulling all the strings of the People of Choice. 😳 This character provides little “rules” or “tips” for how to start a cult, and then the story illustrates how those “rules” are playing out with the characters who have already been recruited. If this sounds a bit ambitious/complex, that’s because it is, but the author does a very nice job seamlessly weaving these different perspectives together. What’s really interesting about this book is that - so far, at least! - there isn’t one “main character” for readers to follow. The predominant thread tying the story together is this unnamed narrator, but he or she is quite removed from the actual action moving the plot forward. It’s a VERY ambitious book structure and concept, and honestly I’m not sure how personally invested I am in the story just yet, but I can honestly say it’s so unusual and different that I definitely want to keep reading to see where it goes. 🔎
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Where do you get most of your reading done?! AND what format do you guys prefer to read? I’m a physical book reader! 🤓📖

Work from home day = lunch break at my local coffee shop. ☕️🖤 Happy Monday, friends!! •
Yours truly worked from home (aka from my bed) today because I caught a gross cold 😷🤧 but I ventured outside once for a little midday walk to my local coffee shop. Aka the perfect pick me up. ☕️🖤 Now I’m back in bed with an XL bottle of water and lots of vitamins, but still accompanied by my current read. 😉
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I’m finding that I’m having to read my current read (NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY by Will Carver) quite slowly because this book is DARK. It’s not dark in the sense of violence or gore - so far it’s not gory at all. It’s dark in a subtle, psychological way. This book gets up close and personal with individuals who feel that their lives are empty and meaningless to such a degree that they voluntarily participate in a cult that demands suicide of its members.😳 It’s a VERY affecting subject for a crime novel, and one that won’t work well for every reader, so definitely proceed with caution if this sounds interesting to you. Sometimes it’s books like this one, books that are psychologically disturbing & thought-provoking, that get under my skin and creep me out even more than slasher-style thrillers, and that’s definitely true here. I would say I still need to get into the rhythm of this book a bit more before I can judge whether or not I would recommend it, so stay tuned for my thoughts! 🤓
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What’s your favorite thing to binge-watch on Netflix right now?! I need some recs now that I’m done with work for the evening! 🖤

My kind of Sunday Funday: good books 📖 & lots of coffee. ☕️🖤
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I spent my morning at this exact same coffee shop, but this is actually a photo from a previous visit BECAUSE I spent my morning taking photos for a couple upcoming posts I can’t wait to share with you guys, featuring upcoming 2020 releases from some of my absolute favorite, ride-or-die crime authors. 🕵🏻‍♀️ Stay tuned - if you’ve been around CBTB for a little while, these are 1000% authors whose names you will recognize bc I rant about how much I love them regularly.😂 •
I had my current read, NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY by Will Carver, along for the ride with me as I went around the city today. 🤓 So far I have to say this book is basically *nothing* that I expected, and I’m very intrigued to see where it goes. This book tells the story of a cult known as “The People’s Choice” - a cult where the members don’t even know they’re part of it, until they receive a note informing them it’s their time to end their lives. 😳 This book centers around an undeniably WILD premise, and so far it’s a very sleek and stylish and quietly DARK book. It begins by introducing readers to unnamed men & women who are part of The People’s Choice, and reflecting on their reactions when they receive their notes. If my first impressions are any indication, this is going to be an extremely unusual read all the way through - but you guys know I’m always up for something different, & I will keep you all posted on where the story goes next! 🔎
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Have you read any books lately that felt super different from your usual reading choices? Or maybe books that you expected to be one thing, but turned out to be something completely different? 🤓

My Friday read courtesy of @OrendaBooks: NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY by Will Carver 🕵🏻‍♀️ a *very* creepy & shocking looking thriller that I cannot wait to dig into. 🖤
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If you guys are NOT familiar with UK-based independent publisher Orenda Books, I would highly recommend looking them up. Orenda has an absolute knack for finding truly unique & cutting edge voices, particularly in the crime fiction space, and my featured title today is their most recent book to catch my eye. 🤓 NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY is now available as an e-book, and it will be released as a paperback on November 14th! Orenda’s books publish in the UK before they come to the US, but you can of course always order their titles online. 👍🏻 If you’re in the marketing for a creepy cult thriller this fall, keep an eye on this book... 👀 •
NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY is a totally wild, hugely creepy high-concept thriller with a plot that literally made my jaw drop. 👉🏻 One night, 9 people arrive on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the exact same time, they run and leap to their deaths. 😳 Each of them received a letter this morning—a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: “nothing important happened today.” That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of The People of Choice, a mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another. 😱 32 people on a train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People of Choice are appearing around the globe: a decapitation in Germany, a shooting in Illinois... it becomes a movement. How do you stop a cult when no one knows they are members? NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY is a pitch-black thriller from critically acclaimed author Will Carver. •
Doesn’t this one sound wild?! I am so here for thrillers that push the envelope, and this book sounds like *exactly* that. What do you guys think, does this look up your alley?! 🕵🏻‍♀️

Cozy coffee shops ☕️ & creepy reads 👻 = my Thriller Thursday happy place. 🖤
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I am mere PAGES away from finishing up my Halloween read KILL CREEK by Scott Thomas, and dang it has been SO perfect for this season. 🎃 This book is definitely a true horror read - it’s got all kinds of supernatural scares 👻 & bone-chilling gore 😳 & spine-tingling tension. 😱 But if that’s something you’re in the mood for (which I completely was!) this book will be RIGHT up your alley. KILL CREEK is a haunted house story, but it’s ALSO a story of the ways a person’s hidden secrets and demons can haunt them - in a very literal sense. •
In KILL CREEK, a group of horror writers spend the night at a haunted house as a publicity stunt. But their stay in the house awakens something dark — a presence that will follow the writers long after they’ve left the house itself. 🏠 I don’t want to say too much (this is one that you’ve got to experience for yourself!!) BUT I will say the author does a superb job building out a whole world/mythology for the house & its motivations. The characters - men and women who begin a bit remote/distant/archetypal - become people whose fates you are truly invested in, which make the gruesome trials they face ALL the more affecting. This book definitely begins with a bit of a slow-burn, but I’ve found it an irresistible and totally chilling slice of Halloween horror. 👌🏻🙌🏻 Full review to come on my blog VERY soon. 🎃🖤
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What do you guys think: does KILL CREEK sound like it might be up your alley?! (Or if you’ve already read it... what did you think of it?) 🕵🏻‍♀️

My favorite little hideout in NYC: @TheMysteriousBookshop 🕵🏻‍♀️ a MUST visit if you’re ever in the city, especially if you’re a crime fiction fan. 🔎🖤
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At risk of being a broken record, I just wanted to thank you all SO MUCH for all the enthusiasm for my Halloween reading list!!!🎃 I can’t even tell you how much it means to me. I’m planning a little Halloween-themed giveaway as a way to say thank you, so stay tuned for that!! 👻🖤
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In my own Halloween reading news, I’m just about halfway through KILL CREEK by Scott Thomas and I’m loving it!!!👌🏻 I’ve gotten a number of questions from you guys about whether I think this book would work if you’re NOT a horror reader - and as always I’ll be honest, I would probably NOT recommend this particular book to someone who isn’t comfortable with flat-out horror. This book is totally entertaining and perfect for Halloween, but it’s *definitely* a horror read. 👻 (If you want alternate options, I’ve got tons listed in my Halloween reading list!!) KILL CREEK follows 4 famous horror writers - modern masters of the genre - who accept an invitation to spend the night in a reportedly haunted house as a publicity stunt. Each of the writers brings to the house their own baggage, secrets, and fears — and what they find in the house will shake all of them to their core. 😳 This is a LONG book, but it’s flying by pretty darn quickly. It has a bit of a slow-burn setup, but as I’ve gotten into the story - and as the authors have settled into the house! - I’ve found it more & more gripping. 👌🏻 If you’re game for ghosts & scares & things that go bump in the night, you’ll want to check this one out. 🎃
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Tell me: are you an all-out horror reader? Or do you tend to stick more to the mystery/suspense side of things? I stick with mystery/suspense most often, but every now & again I just have to branch out & get REALLY scared. 😂😱

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Crime by the Book

Starting the new week right 🕵🏻‍♀️ aka with a lunch break trip to this cozy coffee shop ☕️ to dig into my new read.… https://t.co/m5LmwKUv0e
Oct 21, 2019, 5:06 PM
Crime by the Book

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Crime by the Book

RT @AAKnopf: Lights on 🙂 lights off 😱 Get your tbr in order with this stack full of suspense, serial killers, and things that g… https://t.co/Ieh8K846PM
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Cannot WAIT to read this!!!! Congrats @riley_sager! (Also this book is on sale on my birthday next year sooo happy… https://t.co/gDdEAXt21k
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Crime by the Book

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Oct 19, 2019, 2:35 PM