Thirty Days of Darkness

A snobbish Danish literary author is challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days, travelling to a small village in Iceland for inspiration, and then a body appears … an atmospheric, darkly funny, twisty debut thriller, first in an addictive new series. ‘A real treat. Witty, dark, meta, ingenious and hugely compelling. I LOVED the Icelandic setting and satirical observations. EXCELLENT’ Will Dean   ‘Dark and atmospheric … a bleak and beautiful evocation of Iceland, and Hannah is a pitch-perfect depiction of the bombastic neurosis that we writers know so very well. The mystery pulled me in from the start’ Harriet Tyce   ‘Delightfully dark’ Antti Tuomainen  **Winner of the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel****Shortlisted for the Glass Key Award**   ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually reads them, and frustrated by writer’s block, Hannah has the feeling that she’s doing something wrong.   When she expresses her contempt for genre fiction, Hanna is publicly challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjöður – a quiet, tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colourful local characters – for inspiration. But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman’s young son is pulled from the water … and what begins as a search for plot material quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to uncover secrets that put everything at risk … including Hannah…  Atmospheric, dramatic and full of nerve-jangling twists and turns, Thirty Days of Darkness is a darkly funny, unsettling debut Nordic Noir thriller that marks the start of a breath-taking new series.     ‘A fantastic debut … Darkly funny, tense and a lot of poking fun at crime-writing’ Tariq Ashkanani   ‘An absolute gem … a superb mix of humour and dark, twisty crime fiction with an added layer of contemplation regarding what makes books 'literary'. The Icelandic setting is perfectly drawn …  Not to be missed' Yrsa Sigurðardóttir   ‘Shades of Fargo and Twin Peaks – and there’s no higher praise than that. Absolutely brilliant!’ Rod Reynolds   ‘A truly original thriller that perfectly balances humour and suspense’ Vogue   ‘Such a clever, original twist on the Nordic Noir tradition – darkly humorous and utterly captivating’ Eva Björg Ægisdóttir   ‘A hugely enjoyable read with thrills and laughs, as Hannah sticks her nose in where it’s not welcome’ Michael J. Malone   ‘So satisfying … a truly great read’ Lilja Sigurðardóttir   'This reminded me somewhat of the more recent, meta efforts of the great Anthony Horowitz’ The Bookbag   ‘The most original thriller of the year: realistic, suspenseful and romantic to the very last page. And just when you think you've got the plot figured out, the plot twists again' Politiken

"I loved it! Dark and atmospheric. I found it a bleak and beautiful evocation of Iceland, and Hannah is a pitch-perfect depiction of the bombastic neurosis that we writers know so very well, on top of which the mystery of the murder that pulled me in from the start." --Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange., "This is a real treat. Witty, dark, meta, ingenious and hugely compelling. LOVED the Icelandic setting and satirical observations. EXCELLENT." --Will Dean, author of Dark Pines & Wolf Pack.

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of Denmark’s most acclaimed scriptwriters (including the international hits Rita and Follow the Money) and is known as an advocate for better representation for sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. She recently made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater) and her debut literary thriller, Thirty Days of Darkness, first in an addictive new series, won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year and was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key Award. She lives in Denmark with her young family.