The Murder Pool (Stella Blomkvist Book Four) by Stella Blómkvist

 

The Murder Pool (Stella Blómkvist Book Four) by Stella Blómkvist.

Translated by Quentin Bates.

Published 5th March 2026 by Corylus Books.

From the cover of the book:

Sometimes murder runs in the family. Or does it?

When a well-known artist is found in Snorri's Pool with an axe buried deep in his chest, Stella Blómkvist is immediately thrown in at the deep end, brought in to defend the apparently harmless young man the police have in their sights as the killer.

The man's mother had spent time prison, convicted of the killing of a personal trainer, despite her protestations of innocence. Stella can't help being drawn into both the cold case and this fresh murder, with a trail of guilt that stretches half-way around the world.

As if she doesn't have enough to keep her busy, Stella's pursuing a political high-flyer suspected of being a serial rapist, and defending a senior police officer on corruption charges that have all the hallmarks of a vendetta. But the toughest challenges Stella faces are among her own loved ones…

With a razor-sharp tongue and a moral compass all of her own, Stella Blómkvist has a talent for attracting trouble. Her trademark explosive mix of murder, intrigue and surprise has made this of Iceland's best-loved crime series.

***********

With a lot on her mind, controversial Icelandic lawyer Stella Blómkvist goes for a night-time stroll, only to come across the body of a well-known artist in Snorri's Pool. It is immediately obvious that the man is dead, given the axe buried deep in his chest.

Already in the process of helping a woman prove her innocence over a conviction that had her imprisoned for the murder of her personal trainer lover years before, Stella now finds herself also defending the woman's young son - who the police believe is guilty of the brutal crime after acting as a model for the artist.

Meanwhile, Stella is also trying to bring down a powerful political advisor whose reign as a serial rapist has been allowed to continuing unchallenged, and defending a senior policeman from serious charges of bribery and collusion with the Icelandic criminal fraternity.

It is business as usual for Stella Blómkvist...

Stella Blómkvist, the ball-busting legal creation of the mysterious best-selling author of the same name, is back with her fourth gripping adventure, translated into English by Quentin Bates. And this time she has more on her drama-laden plate than ever.

Stella's new-found happiness with her wife, Rannveig, is clouded with worries, but the pressure of work is not about to let up for an instant. Stella finds herself in the midst of several tricky investigations at the same time, all of which have links with secrets and lies from the past - some of which touch Stella's own fiery encounters with very bad criminal types and the upper echelons of political and business circles.

The separate threads of murder, sexual misconduct, corruption, and revenge become increasingly tangled together, and Stella is off ruffling feathers; using her contacts to ferret out dirt; dropping hints into all the right ears; flying about in her silver merc; and using her forthright attitude to her advantage. The action comes thick and fast, punctuated by tense courtroom scenes, and there are many exciting twists and turns on the the way to hidden truths on several fronts.

Without a doubt, this is Stella's most complicated story to date. With so many parallel cases there is a lot to keep track of, particularly when it comes to remembering who's who in the rogues gallery. However, a Stella Blómkvist story is always a gritty fun-ride, with bags of suspense, and this is no exception. Stella's uncompromising attitude keeps you entertained throughout, and drives the plot onwards to satisfying conclusions (and intriguing moral dilemmas). I really enjoyed how many faces from the previous books made appearances, and Blómkvist makes excellent use of the echoing themes of dysfunctional families, ambition, sexual abuse, vendettas, and double-dealing.

A one-sitting read - superbly translated by Quentin Bates, as always. I am already looking forward to book five!

The Murder Pool is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Corylus Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ewa Sherman for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

With a devoted following in Iceland where the Stella Blómkvist books have been a bestselling series since their appearance in the 1990s, the books have been published under a pseudonym – and the author’s identity remains a firmly under wraps.

Who is behind Nordic Noir’s best-kept secret is a question that crops up regularly, but it looks like it’s going to remain a mystery...

About the translator:

Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language, a new profession and a family…

He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland – and as a translator he has worked with some of Iceland’s coolest writers, including Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Sólveig Pálsdóttir, Stella Blómkvist, Einar Kárason, Ragnar Jónasson, Jónína Leósdóttir, Óskar Guðmundsson and more.

The Harvey Girl (The Harvey Girls Mysteries Book One) by Dana Stabenow

 

The Harvey Girl (The Harvey Girls Mysteries Book One) by Dana Stabenow.

Published 5th March 2026 by Aries.

From the cover of the book:

WELCOME TO THE GILDED AGE. WHERE NOT EVERYTHING GLITTERS.

1890. The New Mexico Territory is a lawless frontier where criminals steal money and land alike with impunity. Everyone wears a six-gun and is ready and willing to draw it.

In the new city of Montaña Roja, Fred Harvey's growing empire is threatened by the robberies plaguing his newest Harvey House restaurant. To get justice, he needs a skilled detective to go undercover and procure answers to questions the law will not ask.

The assignment falls to Clare Wright, a young Pinkerton agent. Disguised as one of Harvey's famous hostesses, Clare travels west where she risks being exposed at every step of her investigation. To get answers - and to get out alive - there are only two things she can trust: her instincts, and her derringer.

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1890. The New Mexico Territory is opening up fast. The march of civilisation is not far behind, but for now lawlessness is the name of the frontier game. Entrepreneur Fred Harvey is making the most of the opportunities offered in the Wild West by extending his chain of Harvey House restaurants into New Mexico, but frequent train robberies are threatening his empire. He needs someone to go undercover in his newest restaurant in Montaña Roja to put a stop to the thefts - especially now the culprits have upped their game to include murder.

Young Pinkerton agent Clare Wright is the perfect person for the job. Disguised as one of Harvey's famous hostesses, a Harvey Girl, she heads west to investigate - armed with her notebook and trusty derringer...

I am partial to a mystery set in the good old Wild West, so I was instantly attracted to this exciting novel from Dana Stabenow - especially as it is set in the intriguing Gilded Age (a term taken from a novel by Mark Twain, who makes an entertaining appearance).

Unfurling largely from the perspective of ingenious, kick-ass detective Clare, the story begins with her wrapping-up an investigation in Bienville, Mississippi (via a fascinating prologue about her origins, which becomes relevant later in the story). A meeting with a perplexed Fred Harvey and Clare's Pinkerton employers then sends her out west to New Mexico, for an incognito job that will test her sleuthing skills and her mettle to the max. 

Montaña Roja is a revelation for Clare. Awed by the scenery, shocked by the lack of competent law enforcement, and bemused by the shenanigans of the local business mogul and his cronies, she sets to work ferreting out those responsible for the daring railroad raids - even though she is exhausted by the amount of work expected of her as a Harvey Girl. With a little help from some strategically placed hired gun-types (famous faces amongst them), and the steadfast women in Montaña Roja, Clare's investigation produces surprising results that spark a highly enjoyable, fast-paced finale that channels the Wild West vibe to perfection.

Stabenow perfectly balances this gripping adventure on the knife-edge of a new territory teetering between lawlessness and civilisation. Boom town fever, and the spread of the railroad are opening up the west, and she does an excellent job of immersing you in all the contradictions of a town where killings happen openly in the streets, while robber barons build gaudy mansions funded by back-room deals, and ordinary citizens go about their lives. The plot blends western fun with a compelling crime story, and encompasses fascinating political, geographical and historical detail - much of which sent me down rabbit holes, especially about Fred Harvey and Harvey Girls, who I had not heard about before. 

I galloped (pun intended) through Clare's atmospheric escapade, and cannot wait for the next instalment of the series!

The Harvey Girl is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aries for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Dana Stabenow was born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised on a 75-foot fishing tender. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere and found it in writing. Her first book in the bestselling Kate Shugak series, A Cold Day for Murder, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

The Other Moctezuma Girls by Sofia Robleda

 

The Other Moctezuma Girls by Sofia Robleda.

Published 24th February 2026 by Amazon Crossing.

From the cover of the book:

In sixteenth-century Mexico, a fearless young woman strives to uncover the secrets her mother kept as the last Aztec empress in a sweeping historical epic by the author of Daughter of Fire.

Tenochtitlan, 1551. Thirty years after the Spanish Conquest destroyed everything she loved, the last Aztec empress has passed and left behind a pristine yet tenuous legacy for her children. As her last will and testament is read out, her daughter Isabel suspects that another account of her mother’s life may exist, hidden away, chapter by chapter, in the Valley of Mexico. Following each clue, Isabel is determined to find out who her mother really was and to discover the secrets she buried in order to survive.

Joined by her siblings and a handsome young cook named Juan, Isabel embarks on a perilous journey to piece together the past—a journey that will force the party to brave the brutal viceroyal court, face fearsome legends in mystical chinampas, and trek through desert, fire, and snow. As Isabel’s feelings for Juan grow, she confronts everything she thought she knew about her Spanish father, her empress mother, and herself.

 Facing everything from the tunnels of ancient pyramids to the summit of an active volcano, Isabel will meet every challenge to fulfil an epic quest for the truth.

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1551, Tenochtitlan, Mexico. Tecuichpoch, the last Aztec empress (known as Isabel Moctezuma), has died leaving behind a will that causes consternation amongst her children. Brothers and sisters have been set against each other over Tecuichpoch's wishes. And for her youngest daughters, Isabel and Catina, the retired life of nuns in a convent beckons.

But Isabel has other ideas. A stunning tapestry left behind by their beloved mother convinces Isabel that there is more to her life than she revealed. Fleeing the wrath of their embittered elder brothers, Isabel, Catina (who is deaf), their closest brother Nano, and a young Moorish cook named Juan, set off on a dangerous quest to discover the real story of the last Aztec empress.

Inspired by what little remains about the life of Tecuichpoch and her children, Sofia Robleda weaves an utterly absorbing adventure, set thirty years after the Spanish Conquest, that delves into the fascinating, and heart-wrenching history of sixteenth century Mexico. 

The story unfurls from the perspective of fiery Isabel, beginning with a gripping scene where the reading of Tecuichpoch's will sets the seeds for sibling discontent amongst her seven children. When their Spanish father Juan Cano heads to his mother country to attend to the endless political wrangling that has kept Tecuichpoch's empire intact, discontent spills over into shocking violence - spurring Isabel, Catina, and Nano to escape, with the threat of their older brothers' wrath constantly dogging their heels.

In the company of Juan, the handsome gentle cook (who has a sad story of his own to tell), the siblings find themselves in ever more perilous situations in locations related to Tecuichpoch's life, on a quest for a series of diaries she has left behind. Each diary tells them a little more about her history, from her childhood as the favourite daughter of Emperor Moctezuma, through to her experiences following the Spanish Conquest at the hands of infamous Conquistador Hernán Cortés and her six husbands. 

Robleda pitches this story beautifully, incorporating the kind of history that sends you down endless rabbit holes into a heart-pounding adventure at the side of the three siblings, Juan, and a host of unexpected allies. Each stage of the quest brings alive the life of suffering and sacrifice Tecuichpoch endured, explaining the decisions she made in order to survive the destruction of everything she knew when the Conquistadors arrived, and vividly juxtaposes aspects of pre-Hispanic old world with the new reality under cruel Spanish rule.

Along the way, the Isabel, Catina, and Nano learn things about themselves, their relationships with full and half-siblings, their father, the sides of their mother they never knew, and the history of their country. A slow-burn romance between Isabel and Juan intertwines all the fast-paced, mystery-laden loveliness, for top-notch emotional content too. 

I could not put this book down. The characters are wonderful, especially the fire-brand women who shine through the entire novel; the well-written, coming of age plot captures you completely; and Robleda's passion for Mexico in all its complexity sings out. I learned so much about the uncomfortable history of the Spanish Conquest, and the powerful legacy of pre-Hispanic culture. And all the little touches around Catina's deafness added an intriguing extra dimension.

The forewords about Mexica history, Nahuatl pronunciation, and inclusion of a handy Family Tree were so helpful before embarking on the story - and for fellow fans of such things, there is even a map to help you navigate the journey of Isabel and her companions!

Highly recommended to lovers of captivating historical fiction (with an undercurrent of magical realism and folklore) that opens your heart and mind to the past in the best way possible. I loved it from atmospheric beginning to the clever twist in the tail at the end!

I also recommend signing up to Sofia Robleda's newsletter via the link at the end of the book for some welcome bonus content.

The Other Moctezuma Girls is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Folk PR for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Sofia Robleda is a Mexican writer and author of Daughter of Fire. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and completed her undergraduate and doctorate degrees in psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. She currently lives in the UK with her husband and son, and splits her time between writing, raising her son, and working as a psychologist, supporting people with brain injuries and neurological conditions.