Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Vilborg Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (born in 1963) is an Icelandic writer of both crime novels and children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998. Her début crime novel was translated into English by Bernard Scudder. The central character in her crime novels so far is Thóra Gudmundsdóttir (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir), a lawyer. Yrsa has also written for children, and won the 2003 Icelandic Children's Book Prize with Biobörn.

Yrsa is married with two children, and she has a career as a civil engineer.

Children's fiction

 * Þar lágu Danir í því (1998)
 * Við viljum jólin í júlí (1999)
 * Barnapíubófinn, Búkolla og bókarræninginn (2000)
 * B 10 (2001)
 * Biobörn (2003)

Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series

 * Þriðja táknið (2005), (English translation by Bernard Scudder: Last Rituals, US:2007, UK:2008)
 * Sér grefur gröf (2006) (English translation by Bernard Scudder and Anna Yates: My Soul to Take, 2009)
 * Aska (2007) (English translation by Philip Roughton, Ashes to Dust, UK:2010)
 * Auðnin (2008) (Veins of Ice) (English translation by Philip Roughton, The Day is Dark, UK:2011)
 * Horfðu á mig (2009) (English translation by Philip Roughton, Someone To Watch Over Me, UK:2013)
 * Brakið (2011) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Silence of the Sea, UK:2014)

Freyja & Huldar (Children's House) series

 * DNA (2014) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Legacy, UK:2017)
 * Sogið (2015) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Reckoning, UK:2018)
 * Aflausn (2016) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Absolution, UK:2019)
 * Gatið (2017) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, Gallows Rock, UK:2020)
 * Brúðan (2018) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Doll, UK:2021)
 * Þögn (2019) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Fallout, UK:2022)

Karólína & Týr series

 * Lok, lok og læs (2021)
 * Gættu þinna handa (2022)

Non-series novels

 * Ég man þig (2010) (English translation by Philip Roughton, I Remember You, UK:2012)
 * Kuldi (2012) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Undesired, UK:2015)
 * Lygi (2013) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, Why Did You Lie?, UK: 2016)
 * Bráðin (2020) (English translation by Victoria Cribb, The Prey, UK:2023)

Film and screenwriting:
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir has written episodes for two Icelandic TV series: Trapped (Icelandic: Ófærð) and The Press (Icelandic: Pressa).

Two of her books have been adapted into Icelandic films, both starring Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.


 * Ég man þig (2017) (English film translated title: I Remember You)
 * Kuldi (2023) (English film translated title: Cold)