Sun On Fire

When the gutted body of a businessman is discovered in the Icelandic embassy in Berlin, Iceland’s best detectives are sent to Germany to investigate the crime. The stab wounds and the murder weapon―an elegant hunting knife―suggest a ritualistic killing. But the only suspects present in the sleek modern office building were some of the island nation’s cultural elite, including Jón the Sun Poet and ceramics artist Lúdvík Bjarnason. The victim is someone few would miss, and investigators Birkir and Gunnar, joined by forensics expert Anna Thórdardóttir, wager they have an open-and-shut case on their hands. What they find is anything but: The crime reeks of premeditation and vengeance, and leads the team into a sordid tale of international child abuse, arson, and retribution.

Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson is the author of several books, including Daybreak, which was the basis for the 2008 Icelandic television series Hunting Men. In 2001, his third novel, House of Evidence, was nominated for the Glass Key Award, given by the Crime Writers Association of Scandinavia; his novel The Flatey Enigma was nominated for the same prize in 2004. His numerous short stories have appeared in magazines and collections.

Icelandic native Björg Árnadóttir has lived most of her life in England; her British husband, Andrew Cauthery, is fluent in Icelandic. They have worked together for many years, translating both English texts into Icelandic and Icelandic texts into English. They have worked on a wide variety of manuscripts, including books on Icelandic nature and technical topics, as well as literature. This is their third translation of Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson’s work, following House of Evidence and Daybreak.