The Wake

by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

**'The undisputed Queen of Icelandic Noir' Simon Kernick**

AMONG THE MOURNERS AT A FUNERAL, ONE OF THEM IS A KILLER...

A group of young professionals travel to the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland to attend an old friend's wake. Their reunion soon turns into a living nightmare, as the memories of a party they attended at university, and desperately tried to forget, come rushing back.

When two bodies are found on a rocky beach close to the refurbished lighthouse keeper's house that the group had stayed in, medical examiner Iðunn is sent to provide the local police assistance.

For Iðunn, who grew up on the island, this takes her back to the heart of her complex family and the ghosts of her own past she would prefer to keep at bay.

But as the deadly secrets soon become insurmountable, can any of them escape unscathed?

A chilling, isolated thriller from the legendary Icelandic crime writer and international bestseller, perfect for fans of C. J. Tudor and Ragnar Jónasson.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

416 pages, Hardcover

Published October 9, 2025

About the author

AKA: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic writer, of both crime-novels and children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998.
Her début crime-novel "Last Rituals" published in the US in 2007, and the UK in January 2008 was translated into English by Bernard Scudder, and is book 1 of the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series.

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997.

Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.

In 2000 the Icelandic department of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) awarded Yrsa for her book Við viljum jólin í júlí (We Want Christmas in July).

Yrsa lives in the Reykjavík suburb of Seltjarnarnes. She is married with two children.

Reviews

[Jannelies · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than a decade ago, six friends shared the same hallway at their university lodgings. There was also a seventh, but this person was not a real part of the group of people who became friends quite fast. They all chose another subject to study so after graduation, they all went their separate ways – except one. One of them disappeared under strange circumstances and the memory still haunts them all, albeit in different ways.

Now one of them has passed away and they are on their way to her funeral. They were lucky to find a place to stay although this newly renovated villa is supposed to house only four people and that’s why the fifth friend is sort of smuggled in.

Five days after they arrive, two bodies are found on the beach. One is badly burned, the other died without any signs of what happened to this person. Medical examiner Iðunn has to travel over from Reykjavik to the island to try and find out what happened. She’s not keen on being on the island where her father lives with his new family and she’s therefore absolutely horrified when one of his daughters decides that Iðunn is her role model and she wants to step in her shoes.

The story is being told in two timelines: the first starting with the arrival of the group, the second with the aftermath of several gruelling killings on the island. The chapters alternate between the two timelines and the closer they near each other, the more tension is building up. Building up to a very unexpected finale.

I’m not naming any names here because during the story, we learn what happened all those years ago with the missing friend and what happens to the group that’s on the island. It is very dark and tense and full of secrets and surprises. I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this review copy.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of friends gather on a small Icelandic island for a friend’s wake, encumbered by the memory of a traumatic event at university several years previously. As relations between the group start to disintegrate and two bodies are discovered, they find themselves under suspicion for murder. Sigurdardottir is incredibly good at putting very dislikeable people under extreme claustrophobic pressure, and this is done perfectly here.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to complex plots, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir weaves a tangled web, but untangling that web is so rewarding. The Wake is a fine example of this. ❄️
The setting is the Westman Islands, where five friends from university days have a reunion of sorts. They have traveled to the Islands for the funeral of another member of their group. Things begin to take a sinister turn, almost as soon as they arrive. ❄️
Five days on from their arrival, two bodies are found on the beach, with another found at their rental a few days later. Pathologist Iðunn, and a team from Reykjavík, are sent to help the local police with their investigation. ❄️
The story is told across two timelines: the first is told across the days the friends are on the Islands, the second six days later. The first timeline is told from the POV of Trausti, one of the friends, the second from Iðunn's. ❄️
The pace is slow, but don't let that put you off because this is dark, tense, and creepy, with a surprising twist at the end. ❄️

[Lesley Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good plot and the different narrative timelines built up the tension and mysteries. The characters were all believable and there was an ending I didn't see coming. It was a lot of reading but worth it overall.

[Barbara T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many plot twists! Creepy Icelandic mystery

[Margaret Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read several of Yrsa Sigurdardottir's books, I've come to the conclusion they are a very mixed bunch. I hardly know where to start with this one. Convoluted and improbable doesn't even go near to describe it. The plot is quite ridiculous and the characters completely implausible. I was so thankful to reach the last page.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay but dragged on a bit. I definitely prefer her books with the supernatural element

[Kerrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tangled web! The author makes the read work overtime to get the sequence of events sorted out.

The events take place in the last week of January but there is a very convoluted time frame, and at least two settings. Nor are the chapters in order. It reminded me at the beginning of a choose your own adventure book, but once where the author had taken the finished chapters and shuffled them into a semi-random order. Not quite - but you get my drift.

Idunn is Iceland's only pathologist and she is sent off to the Westmann Islands to work out what has happened, and how there are so many dead bodies.

Four days earlier a group of friends arrived by ferry from Reykjavic to attend the funeral of a friend whom they haven't seen since they were students at university in the capital 7 years before. They are not clear about how she has died and they are all avoiding thinking too much about when they last saw her.

In 4 days time 4 of them will be dead, and the investigation will begin.

An incredibly complex story, so many strands. It really puts this author on another plane in crime fiction.

This is #2 in the Black Ice series, and we meet up with part of the investigation team who featured in the previous novel CAN'T RUN, CAN'T HIDE

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

This is book nr 2 about Idun and Tyr.

It’s a tense Icelandic thriller, The Wake follows five former university friends who reunite on the Westman Islands for a funeral only to be confronted by a long‑buried secret and a new double murder that forces them, and medical examiner Idun, to face the past they tried to forget.

I liked the first one best. I like Idun as a character she is a bit weird but the medical examiner bit is good and interesting.
The book has past and present pov and it’s a lot of characters. A few to many for my taste. The story was interesting but a bit long. The ending summarized it well and I liked the ending.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder mystery reworking the familiar scenario of a group of friends reuniting for a peer’s funeral and revisiting the shared secret that disturbed their undergraduate years. The reunion chapters alternate with chapters about the murder investigation set a few days later. All the characters are fully rounded and have their issues whilst the stark Icelandic setting adds an oppressive atmosphere to proceedings. I found the denouement bordered on implausibility but I was happy to go along with it as I was totally engaged by what had happened already.

[Wendy Drury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, this author kept me gripped until the very end. I could not work out who the killer was, and at the very end, when they were disclosed, I was gobsmacked!
I also enjoyed the development of the relationships between the crime scene investigators and the forensic team.

In my view, this was Icelandic Noir at its best!

[Lisa Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but struggled with the amount of poor choices that everyone made. The POV and change of timeline from Trausti - one of the attendees of the wake, to Idunn - the medical examiner - definitely pulls you in!

[Alondra Miller]

Title page fixed! :)

[Kirstie O'Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a ghost story it's not. However the final chapter was amazing so I didn't hate it

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kathryn Fathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

[Georgia Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars