Mads Peder Nordbo: The Girl Without Skin

Are you a fan of Scandi noir? Did you love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? If you're nodding your head, or screaming "Yes!" then this event is a must! Join us for an evening with Greendlandic crime sensation Mads Peder Nordbo as he discusses his spine-chilling crime thriller, The Girl Without Skin, with Sue Turnbull. His only Sydney appearance!

About the Book

They were near the edge of the glacier. The sea beneath the helicopter was dense with pack ice. In front of them, the endless whiteness stretched as far as the light could reach. It hurt his eyes. Millions of white crystals. Except in one place. One spot. Right where the mummified Norseman had been found and Aqqalu had kept watch. There, the ice was glossy red.

When a mummified Viking corpse is discovered in a crevasse out on the edge of an ice sheet, journalist Matthew Cave is sent to cover the story. The next day the mummy is gone, and the body of the policeman who was keeping watch is found naked and flayed—exactly like the victims in a gruesome series of murders that terrified the remote town of Nuuk in the 1970s.

As Matt investigates, he is shocked by the deprivation and brutal violence the locals take for granted. Unable to trust the police, he begins to suspect a cover-up. It’s only when he meets a young Inuit woman, Tupaarnaq, convicted of killing her parents and two small sisters, that Matt starts to realise how deep this story goes—and how much danger he is in.

Praise

"The Girl Without Skin has everything the heart of a true crime fan could desire. Murder, eeriness, shivers, superstition, terrible secrets – but at the same time you can feel the author’s affection for Greenland." - Krimifan

"A very satisfying thriller. Packed to the brim with grisly murders, corrupt officials, and sinister secrets, all set against the bleak, yet oddly beautiful, Greenlandic landscape, the bar has certainly been set quite high for the series to come." - AU Review

"Mads Peder Nordbo writes with great insight into the environment of Greenland, in which the nearly unbearable events play out." - Jysk Fynske Medier

The Better Read View

'Bloody (and bloodily) brilliant. Fans of Scandi noir, especially Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (aka Millennium) series, will love this. Nordbo is a cut above, the kind of precise cut made with an ulo, the Inuit blade that is wielded with such methodical and macabre precision in this riveting thriller set in Greenland. Dual narratives, one from the 70’s, the other from modern day, come together superbly. A must for crime fans and newbies alike.' - John, Better Read Events.

About the Author

Mads Peder Nordbo is Danish but has lived in Greenland for several years and works at the town hall in Nuuk. He holds degrees in literature, communications and philosophy from the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Stockholm. He is the author of five novels; his two latest books will published in eighteen languages. The Girl Without Skin is the first to be published in English.