As many of you already know, I enjoy
Ragnar Jónasson's writing, especially his trilogy featuring Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir, and his police procedural series with Ari Thór Arason. His last three books have been standalones, but it doesn't matter-- if he writes something, I want to read it. Can you imagine my delight when I read about his next book? I'm so tickled that I can't wait for the US cover reveal. Let me tell you more about it, and you'll understand that this discovery was a wheelie-popping experience.
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UK cover. Available in US September 10, 2024!
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Synopsis:
"
Fresh off his career-changing standalone
co-written with Icelandic PM, Reykjavík, #1 Icelandic bestseller
Jónasson presents a riveting new thriller spinoff from The Darkness,
soon to be a TV series.
1983
At a former
sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward, an old nurse,
Yrsa, is found murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir and her boss,
Sverrir, are sent to investigate her death. There, they discover five
suspects: the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and
the caretaker, who is arrested following false testimony from one of the
nurses, but subsequently released.
Less than a week after the
murder, the chief physician, is also found dead, having apparently
fallen from a balcony. Sverrir, rules his death as suicide and assumes
that he was guilty of the murder as well. The case is closed.
2012
Almost
thirty years later, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, has been
studying criminology in the UK, but decides to return to Iceland when he
is offered a job at the Reykjavik police department―the job which
detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir is about to retire from.
He is
also a collector of golden age detective stories, and is writing his
thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. As Helgi delves deeper into the
past, and starts his new job, he decides to try to meet with the
original suspects. But soon he finds silence and suspicion at every
turn, as he tries to finally solve the mystery from years before."
Death at the Sanatorium sounds like a winner even without the chance to see Hulda in action once again. I can't wait to get my hands on this one!
This does sound enticing, Cathy! I like the idea of a sanatorium as a setting for a murder mystery, ironic as it seems. And his writing is really good....
ReplyDeleteA book set in a sanatorium always has my nerves on edge. I remember watching the first two episodes of a British horror series about a former sanatorium-turned-luxury-apartment-building, and when I learned what the buildings had formerly been, I remember looking at the TV and demanding, "Are you NUTS?!?!"
DeleteHe's a favorite of mine, too. And a sanatorium setting? Perfect for an atmospheric mystery. Adding this one to my list. :D
ReplyDeleteThere's something about a sanatorium.... *shiver*
DeleteThis definitely sounds like a winner. I love the character of Hulda and hope that Jonasson will give us another adventure featuring her at some point.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he realized how popular she would be. Naturally, for any of us who've read Hulda's trilogy, we know that any subsequent adventures will take place in the past.
DeleteI still haven't read any books by this author. However, I did remember that he was a favorite of yours. Soon, hopefully! This one sounds good!
ReplyDeleteSo many books...
DeleteNot read anything by this author. Yet.
ReplyDeleteHe is a bit different from the authors you tend to read. I hope you give him a try. I'll look forward to your thoughts.
DeleteI didn't like one book by him which had a horrid ending. And this book takes place in a former sanitorium? I'm already heading for the hills. Not for me.
ReplyDeleteI knew that the second I read about it, Kathy. See? I don't always add to your TBR lists. ;-)
DeleteThankfully, not. But in general you are adding to not only my TBR lists, but to two friends' lists.
ReplyDeleteAs if I needed any encouragement to continue to be an "enabler"!
Delete