Tiché kroky na schodech – Aegisdottir Eva Bjorg (2025)

Police officer Elma decides to move back from the capital city of Reykjavik to her hometown of Akranes, a port town in western Iceland, after her relationship falls apart. However, instead of the expected peace, she is almost immediately drawn into investigating a mysterious death near a pair of Akranes lighthouses. The victim is Elísabet, who lived in the town as a child, and Elma and her colleagues must not only look into her recent relationships but also dig a little deeper into the past.

As time goes on, old secrets and long-forgotten family tragedies come to light, yet the resolution of the case remains elusive. Who was Elísabet a thorn in the side of? And what are the residents of Akranes willing to do to maintain their good reputation?

The debut novel by Icelandic author Eva Björg Agisdóttir, Silent Steps on the Stairs, won the 2018 competition for the best manuscript with a crime plot and received the Svartfuglinn award, backed by popular Icelandic crime writers Ragnar Jónasson and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. Since then, Silent Steps on the Stairs has received numerous accolades, been translated into more than twenty languages, and is currently being adapted into a film.