Home Before Dark

Struggling to separate her dreams from reality, a young woman investigates the disappearance of her sister ten years earlier ... worried that she might be next. A breathtaking, twisty standalone thriller from the international bestselling author of the Forbidden Iceland series...
`She uses complex plots to explore how monsters are made and demonstrate that "evil can lurk behind the most attractive of smiles" ... If you have never read Ægisdóttir, now is the time to start- Mark Sanderson, The Times
WINNER of the Blood Drop Award for Iceland's Best Crime Novel of the Year
SHORTLISTED for the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel
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November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsi has a secret penpal - a boy who lives on the other side of the country - but she has been writing to him in her older sister's name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time.
But when the date arrives, Marsi is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes missing - her bloodstained anorak later found at the place where Marsibil and her penpal had agreed to meet.
November, 1977. Stína's disappearance remains unsolved. Then an unexpected letter arrives for Marsi. It's from her penpal, and he's still out there...
Desperate for news of her missing sister, but terrified that he might coming after her next, Marsi returns to her hometown and embarks on an investigation of her own.
But Marsi has always had trouble distinguishing her vivid dreams from reality, and as insomnia threatens her sanity, it seems she can't even trust her own memories ... and her sister's killer is still on the loose...
Twisty, dark and utterly chilling, Home Before Dark is a breathtakingly accomplished psychological thriller where nothing and no one are what they seem, and smouldering secrets from the past reach into a present where everything is at risk, including Marsi's life......
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Praise for Eva Björg Ægisdóttir
`Chilling and addictive, with a completely unexpected twist ... I loved it- Shari Lapena
`Fans of Nordic Noir will love this- Ann Cleeves
`Emotive, atmospheric and chillingly suspenseful- AA Chaudhuri
`This is virtuoso suspense writing- AJ Finn
`A canny synthesis of modern Nordic Noir and Golden Age mystery- Financial Times
`Riveting, exciting, entertaining and packed with intrigue- Liz Nugent
`A tense, twisty page-turner that you'll have serious trouble putting down- Catherine Ryan Howard
`Your new Nordic Noir obsession- Vogue
`Confirms Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir as a leading light of Icelandic noir ... a master of misdirection- The Times
`Beautifully written ... one of the rising stars of Nordic Noir- Victoria Selman
`Eerie and chilling. I loved every word!- Lesley Kara
`Creepily compelling- Heidi Amsinck
`Exciting and harrowing- Ragnar Jónasson
`Fantastic- Sunday Times
`So atmospheric- Heat
Winner of the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger
Shortlisted for the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime
Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger
Shortlisted for the Capital Crime Award for Best Thriller

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study my MSc inGlobalisation when she was 25. After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. The book went on to win the CWA Debut Dagger, the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers' Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland. The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Iceland series) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit. You Can't See Me (book four) was released in 2023, with Boys Who Hurt out in 2024. Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík.