Death on the Island

A remote Icelandic island. A diplomatic dinner party. A murderer in their midst.When Kavita Banerjee, the deputy ambassador of Canada, dies suddenly at a dinner party attended by the great and the good from Icelandic business and politics, suspicion falls on everyone present, but particularly on the victim’s boss, Graeme Shearer, the Canadian ambassador.Jane Shearer, Graeme’s long-suffering wife, is accustomed to cleaning up his messes. But now, saving her husband’s career—and her crumbling marriage—requires her to investigate her fellow dinner guests. Uncovering corruption and murder is a dangerous job, but Jane knows better than most what desperate people will do to protect their secrets.

"Aside from Reid's suspense-maximizing structural inventiveness, Death on the Island is a Christie-esque affair, with a tight roster of secret-keeping suspects and a satisfyingly stagey all-hands-on-deck summing-up; Reid has just swapped out Christie's secluded English country manor for an Icelandic island that's not all that much bigger." -- Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

"Eliza Reid fills the canvas with relatable characters and enough red herrings to mislead even the most ardent crime fiction readers...Death on the Island is easily one of the best debut crime fiction novels of the year to date." -- BOLO Books

Goodreads Most Anticipated Spring Mysteries 2025

"Reid's atmospheric fiction debut creates suspense through a trio of murders...the evocative, isolated setting becomes the locked room in this Christie-esque whodunit." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A classic murder mystery set against a brooding landscape. Full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right to the very last page." -- Will Ferguson, Giller Prize-winning author of 419

"Eliza Reid has drawn on her experience as Iceland's former First Lady to craft a classic murder mystery set on the windswept Westman Islands. The ensemble cast is filled with quirky, complex, and believable characters who are all dealing with their own baggage, along with a dead body or two. And the island itself is a mesmerizing setting made even more sinister by the lashing storm. Whether you have the self-control to savour this tale, or you read it in one desperate binge, as I did, Death on the Island is the debut everyone will be talking about." -- Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

"So this is what Eliza Reid was thinking about during all those diplomatic dinners." -- Anthony Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author

"Eliza Reid's take on a locked room mystery is an island off the coast of Iceland during a perfect storm--for the perfect murder. Among the suspects are an ambitious chef, an award-winning writer, an ambassador, and a captain of industry. Skullduggery in high places! A most enthralling, entertaining, and intriguing mystery." -- Liz Nugent, national bestselling author