The Prey: the gripping international bestseller and Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year 2023

The book "Ice Cold" by Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a nail-biting, ice-cold tale of horror. It is a chilling mystery that takes place in a small fishing village in Iceland. The story follows a family who finds a box of photo albums in the attic of their new house, with a muddied child's shoe with the name "Salvor" written on the sole. Shortly after, the family receives a phone call from the nursing home where their mother, an Alzheimer's patient, lives. The nurse asks the man to let his sister, Salvör, know as well. The search and rescue team, led by Jóhanna, is searching for two couples from Reykjavik who have gone missing in the highlands. They find the first dead body and sense that they are being tracked out in the snow. Hjörvar works at the Stokksnes Radar Station in the highlands and receives a phone call from the gate, which sounds like a child's voice asking for her mother. The story is a thrilling tale of a struggle to survive in freezing temperatures, under a sky that never seems to lighten. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is twisty and twisted. The book has received positive reviews from critics, who praise Sigurdardottir's skill in tying all her threads and twists together neatly. The story is atmospheric, twisty, and scary as hell, and provides a chilling mystery that will keep readers hooked until the end.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 09 May 2024
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PETRONA AWARD 2024

'Mesmerising and atmospheric, with entrancing descriptions of landscape' *** A SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR ***

THE FIRST PHONE CALL SHOCKS A FAMILY

A box of photo albums is found in the attic of a house in Höfn, a small fishing village on the south coast of Iceland. The new owners return it to the man who sold them the house, along with a muddied child's shoe with a name written on the sole: Salvor. The man is baffled; they never knew anyone called that. Shortly after the phone rings - it's the nursing home where his mother, an Alzheimer's patient, lives. She's suffered a heart attack and the doctors don't expect her to live much longer. The nurse asks him to let his sister, Salvör, know as well. Their mother has been asking for her.

THE SECOND TRACKS TWO MISSING COUPLES

Jóhanna is a member of a search and rescue team in Höfn and she's searching for two couples from Reykjavik. Their phones' last location has been pinpointed as the road leading up into the highlands. It's far from clear why these people would have made such a risky trip in the middle of the harsh winter, and they soon find the first dead body. More troubling, Johanna senses her team is being tracked out in the snow.

A THIRD FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE?

Hjörvar works at the Stokksnes Radar Station in the highlands. He is alone when the phone connected to the gate rings. It's the first time it's done so since he began working there five months ago. He picks up the phone but can hear only interference and what sounds like a child's voice asking for her mother.

How are these events connected? And what may be searching for its prey out on the ice?

'A nail-biting, ice-cold tale of horror. Twisty, twisted and scary as hell' C.J. TUDOR
'Sigurdardottir is a skilled hand and ties all her threads and twists together neatly, but it's her thrilling tale of a struggle to survive in freezing temperatures, under a sky that never seems to lighten, that provides the real chill factor here' OBSERVER
'Atmospheric, twisty' HEAT
'An extraordinarily creepy mystery. Sigurdardottir can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up whether describing the weird and wintry terrain of southern Iceland or the odd behaviour of a cat called Puss. The outer darkness reflects that within the characters. One of the doomed hikers asks herself: "Was there no end to the wretchedness and cruelty of the world?" The answer she receives will make your blood run cold' THE TIMES
'Dark, creepy, and gripping from beginning to end' STUART MACBRIDE
'Yrsa gets better with each book' LIZ NUGENT
'Such engaging characters and a compelling, twisted and creepy mystery' SHARI LAPENA
'Atmospheric, mysterious and brilliantly plotted' MARI HANNAH

Weight: 248g
Dimension: 129 x 197 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529377477