I asked the young woman in the tourist information centre in Klaksvík where the best place in the Faroe Islands is to see puffins. ‘Iceland’ comes the reply with a ready smile. The Faroe Islands are Danish territory, but fiercely independent in everything else. They sit in the cold Atlantic between Iceland and Shetland, somehow […]

Really pleased to announce that Every Last Puffin will be released in paperback and ebook on September 10th. More details, and preorders here: https://linktr.ee/everylastpuffin

The crowd funding campaign for my second book, Every Last Puffin, finishes in the next 15 hours. If you enjoyed Iceland, Defrosted please have a look at my kickstarter campaign. There’s still just about chance to get involved in this special project, and your support will get you a Puffin pin badge, signed or dedicated […]

The attached images are from a Puffin rescued in Anglesey, North Wales a couple of years back. It’s thought the puffin had been caught by a dog, and had received injuries to its wings as a result. Unbelievably, a member of the public had found him and was trying to feed him chips in an […]

Hi, I know it’s been a while. So sorry. He never calls, he never writes, etc. Just a short note to let you know that my new book project – Every Last Puffin – is now live on Kickstarter. More than simply a book about puffins, these are tales of finding the last remaining strongholds […]

The next instalment of Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series comes exactly at the right time, with both Iceland and Nordic Noir becoming increasingly popular, not to mention the success of Icelandic TV on British screens (see Trapped, Case and stretching the point a little, Fortitude). Again the translator is Quentin Bates, who brings his own […]

Thursday 23rd June 2016 It could be said that Sigur Rós are ideally suited to this location. A stage on the banks of the tidal River Avon facing an impressive classical crescent building. The stage is set beneath a turret and weathervane, and on the river beyond, boats are moored and redundant cranes reach upwards. […]

They say that practice makes perfect. Thin Ice might just be the proof that this is really is the case. Thin Ice is the seventh appearance of Officer Gunnhildur at the hands of Quentin Bates, and each book improves on the last. Quentin is also the translator of the increasingly popular Dark Ice series from […]

Let’s get this out of the way. Ragnar Jónasson is a talented and expert crime writer. If you thought his first foray into the English language market, Snowblind, was good then you’ll love Nightblind. It’s set five years after Snowblind. Ragnar’s believable and grounded Icelandic cop, Ari Thór Arason, is still in beautiful Siglufjördur, although […]

5. Of Monsters and Men: Beneath the Skin Beneath the Skin is a much more mature offering than their previous album, My Head Is an Animal. It still sounds like Of Monsters and Men, and still relies heavily on the partnership of Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson, but things have changed. Gone are the […]