Stop Dead (Iceland Mysteries Book Two) by Katrín Júlíusdóttir

 

Stop Dead (Iceland Mysteries Book Two) by Katrín Júlíusdóttir.

Published 21st May 2026 by Orenda Books.

Translated by Larissa Kyzer.

From the cover of the book:

Thousands of runners.

One killer.

Icelandic detective-in-training Sigurdís is studying criminal psychology in the USA, but her plans are thrown into disarray when she discovers that her boss and mentor, Garðar, has been put on leave from Reykjavík CID as a result of his investigation into Sigurdís’s father’s death.

Returning to Iceland to deal with the fallout, Sigurdís finds herself pulled into a disturbing case: controversial TV personality Olga Einarsdóttir has been stabbed to death during the Reykjavík Marathon. Struggling to locate a runner wearing bib number 1407, who was seen near the murdered woman during the race, the police soon discover that several masked runners were wearing the same number.

As the mystery deepens, Sigurdís and her fellow detective Unnar soon learn exactly how unpopular Olga was – not just with the interviewees she humiliated on live TV, but with her own son, her business partner, a widower who insists that she had a hand in his wife’s death, and her ex-husband, who died in suspicious circumstances thirty years ago…

As her exploration into Olga’s past becomes ever darker and more harrowing, Sigurdís must also face the truth about her own father, while searching for an attacker who will go to any lengths to cover up their crimes…

***********

Newly graduated from her criminal psychology studies in Florida, Icelandic detective-in-training Sigurdís is considering her options. It seems likely she will stay in the USA and apply to join the FBI, like her American boyfriend, Jeff, but then a phone call from back home changes everything. Sigurdís' boss, and mentor, Garðar, has been suspended after a recent audit of Reykjavík CID, and the investigation into the death of her father has been reopened. 

Sigurdís returns to Iceland to rejoin Reykjavík's CID team, and be near her troubled family and friends. She is soon drawn into a high profile murder case. TV journalist Olga Einarsdóttir has been stabbed to death while taking part in the Reykjavík Marathon, seemingly by a fellow runner, but this one solid clue is shown to be far less useful than the police hope when they discover more than one competitor was wearing the number 1407.

The case becomes even more complicated when the CID team realise quite how unpopular Olga was. Many people had cause to dislike her, from her own family to those upset by her controversial programmes, and it is going to take time eliminating them all from the investigation. Meanwhile, someone is stalking Sigurdís from the shadows...

Sigurdís is back in her second gripping adventure, picking up the threads of Katrín Júlíusdóttir's delicious debut, Dead Sweet. Sigurdís has been following a new direction, but she finds herself right back in the turmoil of her past, when the case into her father's apparent suicide is reopened. Although therapy has given her a way to start coming to terms with the trauma associated with growing up in a house blighted by domestic abuse, it takes all her new-found control to wade through the questions and difficult memories this turn of affairs throws up - not to mention the disruption this brings to her relationships with her brother and mother, and her police career. 

In parallel, Sigurdís and the CID team (hello again, handsome Unnar) have a very tricky investigation on their hands with the death of the very unpleasant Olga Einarsdóttir, whose murder opens up a whole can of bitter worms related to her present and her past. And the plot only thickens the more Sigurdís uncovers, opening up tangled lines of inquiry around past misdeeds, the lengths people will go to protect their secrets, legacy, and revenge - all classic Nordic Noir fare, with a chilling modern twist.

My favourite thing about Júlíusdóttir's writing is the way she blends the police procedural elements of her books with the personal lives of her characters. She uses themes of broken families and childhood trauma incredibly well, so the private lives of the characters complement her crime plots to perfection. It is psychologically fascinating to be in Sigurdís' head, especially when it comes to the strategies she is coming to rely on to bring light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel. I loved the up-turn in her romantic life too - the chemistry between her and Unnar is a welcome addition the otherwise menacing mix (poor old Jeff, he never stood a chance).

This was a very satisfying second instalment of the series, and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Stop Dead is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Katrín Júlíusdóttir has a political background and was a member of the Icelandic parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, was a store clerk and also worked the night shift at a pizza restaurant. She studied anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. 

Katrin's debut novel, Dead Sweet, was published in English in 2023, and longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize.

She is married to critically acclaimed author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys and live in Garðabær.