"Death on the Island" was an interesting read for me--a collection of interesting characters at a dinner on a remote island off of Iceland end up suspects in a murder when one of them is killed during a dinner at a popular local restaurant.

The setting was done well--Reid does an impeccable job invoking the isolation and dark and brooding location--and the characters are well-written with a mystery that drew me in right away (the story actually starts with the death and then goes back in time).

The number of characters and their numerous secrets can be a little challenging to follow and the pacing is inconsistent, but it's a distracting read. (Overall I'd say 3.5 stars, rounded up.)

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for my gifted ARC!

Death on the Island was a take on the locked room - trapped island?? - trope. It was a good homage to Agatha Christie, and had some sweet twists of its own. Ultimately, though, this book didn’t pull me in like I thought it might. Look at how cloying and atmospheric the cover is! Here’s to hoping the next from this author sucks me in more!

This is a light mystery novel, in spite of it being set on an isolated Icelandic island during a very bad storm that has ferry service interrupted. It has a classic locked room feel to it, with no one character being central to the plot, but rather all being under suspicion when a murder takes place. The cast of characters includes the local mayor, a Canadian ambassador and his entourage, an artist, a writer, a local industry magnate and his wife, and the chef who created a gourmet meal followed by a fiery cocktail reveal during which one guest was murdered. Each character is developed well enough that they can stand on their own, which is quite an accomplishment with nearly a dozen separate character threads to follow. Each of the characters acts badly enough at one point or another that any is feasible as a culprit.

The plot doesn’t blast along, but moves forward quickly enough to keep the reader’s interest. The atmospheric writing about the island setting and the storm helps maintain interest, while the short chapters and changing perspectives help with the pace. Where the plot was headed was not obvious, at least to me, but the resolution was believable and supported by the preceding narrative. The book was somewhat more contemplative than plot-driven, which was an advantage for me but might be a disadvantage for other readers. Several themes were touched upon, including the manner in which art, money, and politics are tied together. I also found the author’s interpretation of the difficulty of defining one’s worth as a trailing politician’s or industrialist’s spouse a unique and fascinating aspect of the book. The author would know something about that, as she is the wife of Iceland’s 2016-2024 President.

Death on the Island is a debut novel, so we will hopefully have more to read from Reid as she moves from the political life to a literary one. I enjoyed this book, and I hope to hear more from her.

Thank you to the publisher and the NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: You may want to take this review with a grain of salt but I did read enough of it to weigh in with my thoughts. I did not fully finish it though. I will say this is an unique and different take on the island mystery. I am not sure I can pinpoint what exactly made me not finish this but I just lost interest. The setting and atmosphere is well done and one that is not used much, the country being Iceland. The author is knowledgeable and was able to paint what seems like (from someone who has never been to Iceland) as a clear picture. I did find myself feeling confused about who was who and what role they played in the current situation. I think some of that was on me and my state of mind but also maybe could have been more clear in the plot and writing. I say all this to say, that this is not a book where I would feel confused if it had high ratings, but it wasn't for me.

I think the author took on something a little to big for her to handle. It's hard to write so many characters in an enclosed space and still make it interesting. I think it lacked a bit in the characterisation and the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nine people are gathered at a dinner in Heimaey, the capitol of Iceland’s isolated Westman Islands. One of them will not survive the night.
The group is a mixture of locals and visitors. It includes the recently bereaved mayor, the CEO of a large fishery organization, his unhappy and neglected wife, and a local artist who’d achieved fame elsewhere and is having her first exhibition in her hometown, as well as the Canadian ambassador to Iceland, his charming and astute wife, and her novelist friend.
Each person there has a hidden or not so hidden agenda, and all of them have secrets that could prove dangerous, even deadly. At the end of the evening, one of them takes their secrets to the grave.
The story is a skillful and delightful combination of an Agatha Christie closed room (island) traditional mystery and an icy, tension-filled, Nordic noir

This book had a lot going for it- a creative premise, a well-developed sense of place, and some lovely writing. It was however awfully complex right off the bat so I felt like I was playing catch up the whole time. It’s hard to pull off the “And Then There Were None” trope successfully- it’s a lot of characters to juggle and the author wasn’t always successful here. Overall, I appreciated the work that went into this one but it was not quite for me.

This is an excellent mystery set on an island in Iceland. A group of prominent people, including the British ambassador to Iceland have gathered on the island for a dinner. The island is remote and weather has stranded them. When one of them ends up dead the authorities cannot reach them. So Jane, the discontented wife of the ambassador decides to find a killer. The story is a good one, set in an interesting place and culture.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this title, but unfortunately it didn’t quite capture my interest. While the premise was promising, I found it difficult to stay engaged. That said, I’m sure it will find its audience with readers who connect more strongly with the writing style or pacing.

In Death on the Island, we follow an eclectic group of characters who come together in a tiny island community off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic event. We have the mayor of the town, an Ambassador from Canada and his wife, a local high-profile chef, an artist with ties to the island, and others. They all come together for a special dinner to open up their talks and hopefully create good spirits amongst the group.

It's supposed to be a joyous occasion, and it does seem to start out that way. That is until one of the guests ends up dead of unknown causes, but what everyone quickly assumes to be poison consumption. Making matters worse, a brutal storm is bearing down on them. It's clear no one is going to be leaving the island. All the better to catch a killer, but in the meantime, doesn't that mean they're trapped with one?

I had a blast reading Death on the Island. I went into it with zero expectations. I hadn't heard of this author, or any buzz for the book, but the title screamed, READ ME!!! I'm so glad I made the time for it. I was completely engaged from the start. It actually turns out this is the author's debut novel, and I'm so excited for more.

I appreciated how quickly Reid gets us into the action. I was drawn into the story so fast. I liked that we were following political figures, such as ambassadors and mayors. I haven't read one like that in a while, so it was a nice change of pace. I enjoyed how the author formatted the story as well. You get the reveal of the death, and then you go back in time and track through the events leading up to that death. It was done in a countdown-style that I feel added a level of tension to it that might not have been there otherwise.

Learning about this cast of characters, as well as their relationships to one another and potential motivations for why someone would take out anyone at this dinner party, was very entertaining. There was certainly plenty of drama to oh-and-ah over. With this being said, I'll admit there's a lot of moving parts and it was a little hard to track in the beginning. For a minute, I started to feel overwhelmed, but I tried to just relax into it, not worry too much about the details, and to just let Reid do her thing.

Ultimately, Reid pulled it off. This had me so invested, I had no longstanding issues tracking the various characters, or their interpersonal dramas.

Overall, I loved the atmospheric-island setting, which was done so well in my humble island-dweller opinion. I also really enjoyed the use of an inclement weather element to help build out that tense atmosphere, as well as the interesting cast of characters. It was so gripping trying to solve this murder mystery, my head was all over the place. I did Buddy Read it with a friend, and definitely recommend that. It was so fun trying to guess the killer together, and their reasons behind it.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me a copy to read and review. I loved how this kept me guessing, and I'm looking forward to more from Eliza Reid!!!

Eliza Reid’s DEATH ON THE ISLAND delivers an evocative sense of place, with the stark beauty of the Icelandic landscape emerging as the novel’s strongest feature. The atmosphere is rich and immersive, lending the book an appealing, moody tension that fans of Nordic noir will appreciate.

However, the strength of the setting is not quite matched by the novel’s character development. The central figures often feel one-dimensional, with motivations and relationships that could have been explored more deeply. As a result, it’s difficult to become fully invested in their emotional arcs or stakes.

The plot, too, struggles to gain traction. While the premise holds promise, the pacing feels rushed and the narrative thin, leaving little room for the kind of layered intrigue or suspense that might elevate the mystery. The resolution arrives with more convenience than complexity, and the book as a whole lacks the satisfying heft of a fully fleshed-out whodunit.

Despite these shortcomings, it shows potential. Reid’s atmospheric writing suggests she has the tools to craft a compelling mystery, and this debut may serve as a stepping stone toward more ambitious and refined work. I would be curious to see how her voice and storytelling evolve in future novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

2025 might be the strongest year yet for debut novels, and Death on the Island by Eliza Reid is a standout. Set on a storm-battered Icelandic island during a tense diplomatic retreat, the book delivers a smart, atmospheric locked-room mystery that kept me guessing until the end.

Reid brings the setting to life—the isolation, the cold, the tension—all adding to the claustrophobic sense of danger. The cast is diverse and layered: an ambitious chef, a bestselling author, and an ambassador, all with secrets worth uncovering. The mystery unfolds with just the right balance of elegance and suspense, clearly influenced by classic whodunits, but with a fresh, Nordic twist.

As her first novel, this is an incredibly confident and satisfying read. Reid already impressed me with her nonfiction, and now she’s proven she can do fiction just as well. If you're a fan of tightly-plotted mysteries with rich characters and a chilling setting, don’t miss this one. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

'Death on the Island' has been described as an Icelandic noir crossed with an Agatha Christie locked room mystery. While it did not seem noir to me, it had all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery. Motives abound for both of the murders, and they are well thought out. There wasn't really a calling together of the suspects like in an Agatha Christie. However, the book had its own unique way of describing the murders at the end. 4 stars.

The author did a fantastic job fleshing out each character and their motivations. The countdowns beginning each chapter kept me on my toes and the final reveal was so good - a double misdirect! I'm a sucker for a mystery on an island. Isolated, desperate, and on the edge. The perfect recipe for disaster.

I do like to ring in changes in the books I read and especially change the country settings. Sitting here in tropical Sri Lanka amidst sweltering heat amidst monsoonal showers, the change could never be more different to Iceland.

The novel itself is atmospheric, never mind the land. Nine people getting together, all with diverse interests and aims with a surface bonhomie which does not fool anyone. Everyone is aware that tensions simmer beneath the surface and when one is poisoned in full view of everyone at a public dinner, one knows the scene is set for a lot of deep feelings, animosity and anger.

Secrets abound amongst all and the weather the one thing that cannot be controlled, corals all within a narrow area that endangers all. A second brutal death in a fire shows that the killer is getting desperate and it is only after a departure from the island and then a resummons, where perhaps the killer is lulled into a sense of complacency that he is free, that the final renunciation is made.

A very intense story, culturally diverse, fabulous setting.

Oh my goodness this was SOOOOO GOOD. Almost every thriller I’ve read this year has been absolutely amazing. Not sure what these new authors are putting in their books, but please keep it coming 🫶🏼😫

Reid's "Death on the Island" is an exciting debut, a locked-door mystery with an almost sprawling cast of characters that keeps you guessing until the final reveal.

As soon as I heard about this "who done it" on an island, I knew I was going to have to check it out, and Reid did not disappoint.

Reid beautifully sets the scene and makes the novel's titular island come to life, both from the POV of characters visiting as well as the locals.

Although I felt the characters were a bit tough to differentiate from one another (although that may have been due to the way the audiobook narrator voiced them all), as the story's layers begin to be peeled back, the begin to stand out more and more.

While the ending did feel a bit rushed, overall "Death on the Island: is an incredibly fun read and I look forward too reading Reid'd next novel.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

On an Icelandic island trapped by violent weather, a group of nine people gather for a dinner party they will never forget.

I liked the book overall, the mystery and twists were well written and thought out, however it was a slow burn. I found myself not understanding some of the words as they were Icelandic with no translation sometimes. I loved the setting and how it was described. For a debut novel it was definitely a great read I think if I understood how to pronounce Icelandic words properly I would have enjoyed it more.

This one kept me engaged throughout the story. The remote island setting lends great atmosphere, and the small circle of suspects, present at a local restaurant when a murder takes place, coupled with a storm cutting the island off from the mainland, all lend Christie-esque vibes to the mystery, with an Icelandic flavor. The timeline, shifting from the present to the past, numbers days before the death and works up to the time of the murder. It's an effective device, though the reader must pay attention to the time of action and which character's viewpoint prevails in any given chapter. (I find this enjoyable, but it might annoy some readers.) All the characters were convincing and three-dimensional; no stock characters here. Recommended for lovers of whodunnit-style mysteries.

I’ve long been enamored with Icelandic noir, so when this book came onto my radar, I eagerly snapped it up.

A group of diplomats gather on a remote island off the coast of Iceland. During the welcome dinner, one of them dies and the storm raging outside ensures no one can arrive… or leave the island.

I love me a locked room mystery and Death on the Island was a fascinating spin on the classic trope! Full of quirky characters, secrets, and told in alternating POV’s, it is a deeply political thriller, questioning ethics on many levels.

I loved learning more about Icelandic history and culture throughout this book, with the story set in a real town (even though the events of the book are fictionalized). It made me want to go back to Iceland and spend more time exploring.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy of this book!