Words leave imprints in your mind like footprints in the sand...
beach reading
starry skies to read under
reading in nature
  • Location: Heimaey

Ashes to Dust

Ashes to Dust

Why a Booktrail?

1973/2000s: The story of how a volcanic eruption buried an entire Icelandic village in lava and ash.

  • ISBN: 978-1444700060
  • Translator: Philip Roughton
  • Genre: Crime

What you need to know before your trail

In 1973, a volcanic eruption buried an entire Icelandic village in lava and ash.

In the present day, the site is one of horror yet again as bodies have been discovered  – and they are recent deaths. Suspicion soon falls on Markús Magnússon, a man accused of killing his childhood sweetheart. His lawyer Þóra Guðmundsdóttir finds that her client has a most inventive story to tell. But then why aren’t the locals willing to back him up?

Travel Guide

The strength of this story is the fact that it’s based on a unique phenomena which occurred in 1973 when a volcano erupted in January 1973 covering many homes under solid lava and destroying a large part of the island as a result.

As the blurb of the book says – this tourist site proves deadly once again – and it sure does when bodies are found.

Eldfell is a volcano on the tiny island of Heimaey, off Iceland’s south coast, and the museum is  definitely a place to visit where you can see models of the town and the house destroyed and learn about the tragic situation as it unfolded as well as the aftermath.

A thrilling backdrop to a gruesome series of crimes. Fact and fiction mix chillingly well in a place known as the ‘Pompeii of the North’ To find out more the eldheimar.is/en museum is a good place to start.

Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: Ashes to Dust

Destination:    Heimaey           Departure Time:  1973 onwards

Back to Results

Featured Book

Dark Island

2000s: Midwinter in Orkney. Six hours of daylight. A race against time to catch a killer.

Read more