Review *The Hotel Manager's Guide to Murder*

by Erlendur Arason

Translated by Quentin Bates

Published by Blekverk

Cover by KidEthic

The Hotel Manager’s Guide to Murder is first published in English in 2026 by Blekverk, and was originally published in Icelandic by Storytel in 2025 as Leiðarvísir Hótelstjóra að Morði.

*Guests at one of Reykjavík’s smartest hotels never know what happens behind the scenes –including what brings a group of down-and-outs to the Bristol Hotel every winter night while the rest of the world sleeps.

When overworked supervisor Torfi finds himself given an unexpected promotion that comes with a respectable pay rise, he takes it as a lucky break – until he’s told to make a murder victim disappear, and that he doesn’t have any choice. That’s when his life rapidly gets a lot more complicated.*

Torfi has never had to wrestle with such sudden or unique interruptions in his busy but routine-led working life. While things threaten to spiral way beyond his control, he'd truly prefer to quietly re-establish his old, boring life. Every book might be words, chapters, characters & plot. Some quietly roll through the pages, with bland characters eventually delivering a mediocre conclusion. THMGTM has such an excellent mixture of fascinating characters. We are drawn into the hotel life & treated to multiple threads of unexpected circumstance, unique predicaments, personal drama, impossible decisions, dark moments of humour & even compassion.

Real-world themes also feature, weaving flawlessly into the fabric of the story. In a time when some feel lost, invisible or abandoned, it's refreshing to see others actually choose to step up, even when there's risk involved.

As with any film or musical production, it's the hard work of writers, backstage crew, choreographers & set designers that makes the 'show' the best it can be for guests. In a hotel, the desired end result is also a smooth, polished & thoroughly enjoyable experience. When things fall apart quite suddenly, it's so hard to keep some wits about you, but these characters will keep things active and dynamic. They'll keep us guessing as we piece details together & the jeopardy ricochets between them. I believe readers will be immersed in the narrative & keen to devour this generous helping of Nordic Noir.

Thank you so much to Ewa Sherman for organising the tour & the invitation to participate. Tour poster designed by Sonja ‘West Words Review’ Van der Westhuizen. Make sure you visit all the stops listed.

It's great to discover small, independent publisher Blekverk that has a deliberate focus on Icelandic-to-English translation, of the artisanal AI-free variety. Future publications will definitely be on our radar 🇮🇸 Þakka þér kærlega fyrir.