Five Canadians, a diplomat, his wife, his deputy, her husband and a best selling author travel to a remote island off the coast of Iceland. They have dinner at the local hotel, prepared by a notable chef, and are joined by an artist, the local mayor, a business owner and his wife. At the dinner, someone dies, possibly poisoned. A local policeman investigates while all are trapped on the island by a raging Winter storm.

This is the premise of Death on the Island, a debut thriller by Eliza Reid. This is one of the best mysteries I have read. All characters are secretive and manipulative, the remote volcanic island location is eerie and atmospheric and the plot is so complex that only the final pages provide a conclusion. Death on the Island should be an immediate best seller and I hope the talented Eliza Reid is writing her next mystery. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Eliza Reid for this ARC.

Eliza Reid’s "Death on the Island" is a smart, atmospheric debut that blends the structure of a classic whodunit with modern emotional depth.

Set on the remote Icelandic island of Heimaey, the novel opens with Kristján Gunnarsson, the mayor of Vestmannaeyjar, finding his husband dead. This apparent tragedy soon spirals into a trio of murders during a diplomatic dinner where attendees are stranded due to a violent storm.

The story is told in a non-linear fashion via a cleverly fragmented timeline that alternates the present-day events with timestamped flashbacks, which slowly reveal betrayals, secrets, and motives. At the heart of the story is Jane, the Canadian ambassador’s wife, whose growing unease adds a sharp, personal edge to the mystery. Reid's special dual perspective, as both a Canadian and former First Lady of Iceland, brings cultural nuance and authenticity to the dialogue and setting.

While the cast occasionally blurs in favor of plot complexity, the vivid, icebound setting and well-paced revelations keep the tension high. With equal parts locked-room thriller and slow-burn character study, "Death on the Island" is a compelling mystery with a wealth of emotion.

A fairly fresh-feeling crossover between Nordic noir and locked-room mystery. First off, I loved that this wasn’t especially long and drawn out with unnecessary detail — it gives you information you need and not much more. I love a locked room mystery, in this case, locked… island? The cast is large but fairly easy to keep straight. This book took many of the usual Christie-esque tropes and turned them a little sideways — an inexperienced detective who is no wunderkind was sort of refreshing.

Knocked down a star only because it felt a bit slow in some small parts, and I thought the POV shifts in this book left me feeling like I wasn’t sure who to trust (could I even trust what was being presented on the page? Can I rule anyone out or is a narrator lying to me?). The POV jumps instead of one clear protagonist to follow slowed momentum for me. Still, a fast popcorn thriller that I really enjoyed! Agatha Christie fans will also enjoy it.

Stranded on a remote island… one dead body… everyone’s a suspect 👀
If you're into locked room mysteries with serious Agatha Christie meets Lucy Foley energy—this one’s for you.

🌫️ The vibes? Immaculate. Moody, atmospheric, totally eerie.
😶 The characters? Shady. No one’s telling the whole truth.
🔄 The plot? Twisty enough that I kept second-guessing everyone.

BUT… the middle dragged a bit & some characters were kind of one-note.
Still, that final reveal? Chef's kiss. Not explosive, but smart and satisfying.

📚 Perfect if you like:
✔️ Isolated settings
✔️ Slow-burn suspense
✔️ Murder with a side of secrets

⭐️ 3/5 for me—but I’d recommend it for a cozy, rainy weekend read!

I just finished this and really enjoyed the ride. The setting was such a standout for me the island felt so vivid and atmospheric, it added this underlying tension to everything. The mystery was engaging without being overly complicated, and I liked how the clues unfolded naturally. I also appreciated that the characters felt like real people, with messy relationships and believable reactions. There were a couple of side elements I wish had been explored more, but that didn’t take away from how much I was into the story. It kept me turning pages and thinking about it after I was done. Definitely a strong 4.5 stars.

Book Review 📚

A locked room mystery, stuck on an small Iceland island. Everybody wants someone dead, two murders, who is the main suspect?

A book with lots of mysteries, POV.

A must for this summer, if you love a good thrillers with multiple POV!

Thanks
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author : Eliza Reid
Publisher : Poisoned Pen Press
Pages : 336
Genre : Suspense Thriller


#bookreview #arcreview #arcreviewer #bookrecommendation #mayrelease #thrillersofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #thrillerslovers #netgalley

Thank you to netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for the e-arc to review.

I loved the idea of this, but it was so slow and uninteresting. I didn't care for any of the characters and found them all pretty bland. I did like the mystery itself, and that's what kept me reading.

Someone who really loves Nordic noir might enjoy this.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

An atmospheric thriller in an excellent setting, multiple murders, international diplomats, and shocking climax.
Graeme, the Canadian ambassador and his wife Jane are attending a diplomatic dinner along with an artist, an author, a deputy ambassador and several other international diplomats including Kristján, the mayor, who is still grieving his husband, Ari's death.
Each person has their own selfish reasons to attend, and some are hiding deadly plans. After a storm traps them and there's no way out, one of them got murdered in front of everyone, but no one could guess, how and why ? After that, everyone is a suspect.

It's very cleverly plotted with historical facts about the Iceland mixed with fiction woven in between. Multiple murders, multiple points of view, and shifting timelines increase the suspense. It slowly builds up with unreliable characters and selfish goals with political agendas that added the tension, which resulted in a shocking climax.
If you are a fan of Agatha Christie style locked-room mystery, it's for you.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Reid’s previous book was a nonfiction read about the strong women of Iceland, Secrets of the Sprakkar. She loves the time she has spent in Iceland, and that love is apparent when you read either of her books. The descriptions of the Westman Islands in the book are enough to make me want to book a one-way ticket!

You may find it hard to separate the characters in the first few chapters. However, the more you read, the more you can separate them as their personalities begin to sort themselves out.

As this is a mystery, I can’t give too many details about the plot or the story’s conclusion. I will say that the ending left as many questions as it did answers. But that is okay as far as I’m concerned.

Death on the Island is a fantastic read. It reminds me of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Be warned: you won’t want to stop once you start reading it. Because it is under 350 pages, you could easily read Death on the Island in one day—or at least in a weekend. When you book your trip to Iceland, let me know, I want to tag along!

A gripping whodunnit set against the stark, haunting beauty of Iceland. Death on the Island pulled me in with its moody atmosphere and compelling mystery. Eliza Reid does a fantastic job weaving Icelandic history and culture into the narrative—it added such a unique layer to the story and made the setting feel alive. The characters were well-drawn, and the twists kept me guessing. A solid debut that blends suspense with a strong sense of place. Looking forward to what Reid writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital ARC!

Death on the Island is a locked room mystery that has an Agatha Christie vibe. Based in Iceland, we watch a group of nine people having dinner and a tragedy unfolding.

The book had all the elements for a great mystery, but I struggled to stay connected with the number of characters and the plot. Also want to add, there’s a lot of history integrated in this book so it kinda made me confused.

A character driven mystery :)

Death on the Island

This book has a lot going for it. A group of people from disparate backgrounds with conflicting interests are gathered for an event on a small island off the coast of Iceland when they are forced by inclement weather to stick around until a couple of them meet untimely deaths. Virtually all of the main players are unlikable and selfish, leading to any number of possible suspects. Described as Agatha Christie meets Nordic noir, Death on the Island moves quickly and has several interesting characters, although not too many to keep straight. The exotic setting is suitably mysterious as well.

The focus of the chapters shifts among the characters, which adds to the mystery. The use of differing perspectives helps to keep the reader guessing. All in all, this is a solid debut. It is a worthy addition to the “stranded on an island” subgenre of locked room mystery novels, but it is certainly less noir and more classic Golden Age mystery-type stuff. It falls between three and four stars on a five star scale, in my opinion.

Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley provided access to this ARC; all opinions are my own.

Murder, Mayhem, and Mysteries Abound!

Eliza Reid knows how deliver an exciting mystery! Death on the Island is full of Agatha Christie-esque characters, more twists & turns than a labyrinth, and multiple murders! It’s exhilarating at times and there such hidden motivations that come to light within these pages that readers are going to LOVE it!

If you’re a fan of locked room mysteries, then this is the book for you. It starts in a classic “And Then There Were None” fashion with characters coming together for a dinner, where someone won’t make it out alive. However, with flashbacks leading up to the death, I was hooked. You get small glimpses of each character that build an engrossing environment! From here one might expect the story to wrap up as more gets revealed. However, in a fashion similar to John Marrs the story KEEPS going! Giving more and more depth to the story and bodies start piling up!

I think mystery readers are going to love this and Eliza Reid is an author to keep your eye on! I can wait to see what they write next!

Set against the dramatic backdrop of a remote Icelandic island, Party of Liars promises a chilling locked-room mystery but fails to deliver the tension and intrigue that such a premise deserves. The setup is classic: a diplomatic dinner turns deadly when one guest is murdered, and the ambassador’s wife, Jane, is thrust into the unlikely role of amateur sleuth. Unfortunately, despite the atmospheric setting and potential for intrigue, the book struggles with pacing and believability.

The narrative is bogged down by a sluggish plot and underdeveloped characters. For example, a pivotal scene in which Kristján, the grieving mayor, inexplicably allows two near-strangers to rifle through his dead partner’s belongings strains credibility and undermines emotional realism. Similarly, the character of Graeme, Canada’s ambassador, is positioned as a major power player, but his motivations and maneuverings come across as vague and unconvincing.

There are glimmers of promise, particularly in the dinner scene, which is richly described and captures the eerie tension of isolation and suspicion. However, these moments were too few to keep me interested. While the Icelandic setting is evocative, the mystery itself lacks urgency, and the twists fail to surprise. A disappointment for fans of Nordic noir or Christie-style suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Death on the Island is an Agatha Christie-esq locked room mystery. That is all it takes to get me to pick it up. Add in Iceland as the setting, and I was hooked. So I thought...

The book had all the ingredients for a great mystery, but it just kept falling short and not delivering the mystery and suspense. There was a lot of history about the island that honestly bogged down the flow of the story.

If you like character driven mysteries, then this may be for you. Personally, I prefer a more gripping edge of your seat mystery.

Set on an Icelandic island, the Canadian ambassador is visiting for the opening of a photography exhibition and also as part of talks with the local seafood firm, they are hoping to establish themselves in Canada. The party are enjoying a meal at the local restaurant Skerl, which prides itself on offering Icelandic food.
The highlight of the meal is The Flaming Viking cocktail, demonstrated by the chef and the Mayor, but when the deisplay is over and the guests sample their drinks one of them crashes to the ground.
Due to a storm the ferry is not running and the police chief is away on a course, so recently qualified Jonas is in charge of the investigation. This is a really good book with lots of twists with the biggest one right at the end.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

A remote Icelandic island. A mysterious death or two. A classic locked door mystery on a stormy weekend

A group of international players has gathered in a tiny village off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic dinner. There's Kristján, the mayor reeling from a personal tragedy. Graeme, the ambassador with an agenda to push. Jane, his wife, along for the ride on another one of her husband's many business trips. And several others, from Iceland and from abroad, each with their own reason for being there, their own loyalties and grievances. By the end of the night, one of them will be dead. And it will be up to the ambassador's wife, Jane, to figure out how—and why.
What Jane soon comes to realize is that small communities can be the most dangerous of them all… and no one in their group is safe.

Moody, atmospheric, and quietly unsettling—Death on an Island by Eliza Reid pulled me all the way in.
Not your typical fast-paced thriller—this one simmers—it’s a smart, character-driven mystery with emotional depth and just enough menace to keep you flipping pages late into the night.

DNF 33%

This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy Nordic noir and simmering tension that is both diplomatic and personal. Unfortunately, I am finding that I'm not invested in the characters or the murder mystery.

Review: Death on the Island by Eliza Reid
Out 13/05/25

A classic locked-room mystery with a Nordic edge. Slower paced than my usual picks, but the stormy island setting, clean multiple POVs, and fully explained ending was great. Not groundbreaking, but a quick and enjoyable read.