Under the Blazing Sun

Hannahs love life is in ruins, writers block hits, and her agent sends her to Sicily to finish her sequel. But when murder strikes, Hannahs life turns into the crime novel shes meant to write. Darkly funny, atmospheric, and full of twists, the second instalment in an addictive new series.

Jenny Lund Madsens spoof destination thriller is a brilliant follow-up to her meta-mystery Thirty Days of Darkness ... It cunningly fulfils Hannahs promise to her agent that her second crime novel will be "bloodier and more dangerous. Just the way you like it, with lots of twists and turns."The Times

Hilarious, dark and whip-smart, Under the Blazing Sun confirms Madsen as a wonderful literary talentDoug Johnstone

This flight from Denmark to Sicily will offer plenty of wry smiles for fans of the genre in a clever, double-pronged approachNordic Watchlist

The quintessential holiday read, funny and atmospheric. Hannah is the kind of heroine wed all love as a friend, and its also a brilliant evocation of the stunning island landscape of Sicily. My favourite read of the year so far!Kate Rhodes

A wild ride of murder and humour. The most fun Ive had reading a crime novel this yearWill Carver

______

Hannah is miserable. Her love life is in ruins, her contract demands a sequel to her bestselling crime debut – and shes out of ideas. After a mortifying TV interview, her agent ships her off to a sun-drenched Sicilian villa with a simple order: finish the book. No distractions. No excuses.

But inspiration doesnt strike – murder does.

When a night out ends in murder, Hannah finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation … again. The police want her out of the way, and the only person who seems to believe her is a young but charming Italian police officer. That is, until she doesnt.

Soon Hannah is chasing suspects, fleeing crime scenes, and doing whatever it takes to avoid becoming the next victim. She came to write a crime novel. Now shes trapped inside one.

Dark, sly and deliciously atmospheric, Under the Blazing Sun is the second novel in the award-winning series featuring accidental sleuth and disgruntled literary author Hannah, whose pursuit of plot twists keeps turning dangerously real.

____

Praise for the MURDER BY THE BOOK series

Dark and atmospheric … Hannah is a pitch-perfect depiction of the bombastic neurosis that we writers know so very wellHarriet Tyce

An original and thoroughly enjoyable treatGuardian

Fantastic … darkly funny, tense and a lot of poking fun at crime-writingTariq Ashkanani

Dark and sharp … a lot of funVal McDermid

Witty, dark, meta, ingenious and hugely compellingWill Dean

Hilariously scathing. Satirises genre fiction while creating a first-class example of it, full of suspects, red herrings and twists … wit and originality make it a joy to readSunday Times

Such a clever, original twist on the Nordic Noir tradition – darkly humorous and utterly captivatingEva Björg Ægisdóttir

Delightfully darkAntti Tuomainen

So atmosphericCrime Monthly

An absolute gem … a superb mix of humour and dark, twisty crime fiction with an added layer of contemplation regarding what makes books literary … Not to be missedYrsa Sigurðardóttir

Shades of Fargo and Twin Peaks – and theres no higher praise than that. Absolutely brilliant!Rod Reynolds