Yrsa Sigurdardottir began her career as a writer of children‘s fiction. For these works shereceived the Icelandic Children‘s Literature Prizeand the Icelandic IBBY Award.
In 2005 Yrsa Sigurdardottir began writing crime ficition.Her series about attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir has reached international bestseller status in addition to winning the Icelandic Crime Ficition Award and being nominated for the Scandinavian Glass Key Award and the American Shamus Award. Yrsa‘s work is written in her native Icelandic but her novels have to date been translated to over thirty languages. Yrsa has also written two stand alone horror novels, both have been aquired by Hollywood for filming. Her Thora novels have also been purchased for TV with the intention of English language production.
Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a civil engineer by profession and still works as such in Iceland where she is a senior partner at one of the countries largest engineering consultancy firms.Her speciality is in the power sector and she has i.a. been the technical manager for the construction of one of the largest hydropower plant in Europe, the 630 MW Kárahnjúkar HEP. Presently she is a project manager for two geothermal power plants to be constructed in Northeast Iceland.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kuldi / The Undesired
2012, Crime
Brakið / The Silence Of The Sea
2011, Crime
Ég man þig / I Remember You
2010, Thriller/Horror
Horfðu á mig / Someone To Watch Over Me
2009, Crime
Auðnin / The Day Is Dark
2008, Crime
Aska / Ashes To Dust
2007, Crime
Sér grefur gröf / My Soul To Take
2006, Crime
Þriðja táknið / Last Rituals
2005, Crime
Bíobörn
2003, Children‘s Fiction
B10
2001, Children‘s Fiction
Barnapíubófinn, Búkolla og bókarránið
2000, Children‘s Fiction
Við viljum jólin í júlí
1999, Children‘s fiction
Þar lágu Danir í því
1998, Children‘s fiction
REVIEWS
Someone to watch over me
“Yrsa Sigurdardóttir is ensconced at or near the summit of Nordic crime writing, and the lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is an appealing heroine full of real-life problems. Someone to Watch Over Me is Sigurdardóttir’s most ambitious, deepest novel, less reliant on the Icelandic landscape, more concerned with damaged minds.”
The Times (UK)
“This is a tough but moving novel, with an unusual plot and characters.”
Sunday Times (UK)
“Thriller of the week. This grimly compelling tale sees harassed Icelandic lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir investigating an arson attack on a home for the disabled. This is a finely drawn portrait of a nation in shock.”
Mail (UK)
“Someone To Watch Over Me, just out, has already seen Yrsa Sigurdardóttir inevitable labeled ‘Iceland’s answer to Stieg Larsson'”
The Independent (UK)
I remember you
“Very elegantly executed. The criminal aspect itself is first class crime fiction. In addition comes the strangeness, the ghosts, the unexplained eeriness that causes you to feel bony fingers touching your shoulders. The whole book is cleverly conceived and written with cunning care. It works both as intrigue, as criminal suspense and as horror.”
Faedrelandsvennen (Norway)
“You need strong nerves to get through this novel in one piece…”
Dagbladet (Norway)
“Expertly woven together, with plenty of cliffhangers and perfect control of the macabre mood: intriguing, entertaining, and very spooky indeed.”
The Guardian (UK)
“Some horror novels convey a creeping sense of dread, some a feeling of disgust, and others real fear. This one does all three, and does it with such conviction that it’s hard to remember it’s not real… A fast-paced, stomach-churning ghost story that will rattle your cage.”
Press Association (UK)
“Publishers and blurb writers are competing to hail the new monarch of Nordic crime fiction… I would be tempted to offer a name not from the obvious crime soil of Sweden or Norway, but from bleak and moody Iceland. /…/ A chiller-thriller of immense scariness… Not to be read alone after dark.”
The Times (UK)
“Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s chillers get better and better. I Remember You is a truly creepy combination of haunted house story and modern detection in Iceland.”
Sunday Telegraph (UK)
“Genuinely bone-chilling, and proves that as well as being the queen of Icelandic crime fiction, Sigurdardóttir is a supreme generator of fear /…/(she) is clearly relishing the business of scaring our pants off.”
The Independent (UK)
“I Remember You is certainly worth reading and it is rare that you notice your body tremble in suspense when reading crime novels, but this book is at times really creepy. I’m looking forward to the movie and the next book from Yrsa Sigurdardóttir.”
Moss Avis (Norway)
The Day is Dark:
“This Nordic mystery proves colder, bleaker and more introspective than most: Scandi-noir extreme.”
iMagazine, The Independent (UK)
“Put simply, it’s terrifying. And brilliant.”
Stylist (UK)
“As with the other books in this series there is humour and warmth. Atmospheric, complex and compelling with an unexpected ending.”
Shots Magazine (UK)
“It has more than enough to make a really good detective novel with a hair-raising horror atmosphere, but Yrsa Sigurdardóttir also deftly interlaces myth and history, curses and real dangers. /…/ It never becomes unnecessarily exotifying. Instead Yrsa Sigurdardóttir emphasizes the deeply human and frankly depicts lack of understanding and abuse, love and rage, and how wickedly people can behave in groups. /…/ Yrsa Sigurdardóttir is an exceptionally refreshing crime author, not only when it comes to the subjects but also in the surprisingly wild language.”
Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)