Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson

 

First Line: "Police, Inspector Ari Thór Arason speaking."

It's Easter weekend, and Police Inspector Ari Thór Arason is really looking forward to having his new constable holding down the fort at the station so he can spend as much time as possible with his girlfriend and their three-year-old son. But we all know what happens with best laid plans.

A nineteen-year-old girl falls to her death from the balcony of a house on the main street of town. Although there is not a shred of evidence that this is anything but a tragic accident or suicide, Ari Thór can't shake the feeling that it's murder. His suspicions are strengthened by an entry in the girl's diary and by the words "she was murdered" that were written over and over again on the wall of the room of an old man in a local nursing home.

Then a violent blizzard cuts off the power and access to the town, just when Ari Thór feels he's getting close to solving the crimes. Will howling wind and blinding snow keep him from his appointed task?

~

I am a huge fan of Ragnar Jónasson's writing, so I pre-ordered Winterkill and couldn't wait to read it. Evidently, fans of his Dark Iceland series begged the author to write one more book about Ari Thór Arason, and Jónasson obliged. While not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, Winterkill felt flat to me, as if Jónasson's mind had already moved to greener writing pastures. 

Winterkill basically rounds out the story of Arason. The series began with his moving to a small town in remote northern Iceland as a new recruit to the police department, and each successive book showed him growing in experience while his personal life didn't run nearly as smoothly. Arason is now the head of the police department in town with a new recruit of his own that he must train. 

Once the dead girl's personality is fully uncovered, it's not difficult to deduce what happened, and the mystery mainly concerns itself with how Ari Thór can prove what happened and what the old man's wall scribblings are all about. When all is revealed, an occurrence at the end of the book isn't much of a surprise either. Perhaps the best thing in Winterkill is how Jónasson wraps up his main character's personal life.

For those fans who wanted all the loose ends neatly tied up, their wish came true, but don't expect this to be of the same high caliber as so many other books written by the supremely talented Jónasson.

Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson

English translation by David Warriner.

eISBN: 9781913193454

Orenda Books © 2020

eBook, 209 pages

 

Police Procedural, #6 Ari Thór Arason mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

Rupture by Ragnar Jónasson

First Line: It had been an evening like any other, spent stretched out on the sofa.

Sometimes the past refuses to stay buried. With his town locked down in quarantine, young policeman Ari Thór has time to look into a 50-year-old case, but it's more difficult than he imagined it would be. He forgot that he's living in a place where secrets are a way of life and everyone is content not to know the truth. Ari Thór gets in touch with Ísrún, a news reporter in Reykjavik, for information. She's more than willing to help even though she's busy investigating a hit-and-run that takes a very sinister turn when a child goes missing in broad daylight.

Will Ari Thór and Ísrún be able to solve their mysteries?

I love how Ragnar Jónasson puts a story together. Perhaps it has something to do with those fourteen Agatha Christie novels he translated into Icelandic, but I think it has even more to do with his natural talent as a writer.

The characters in this Dark Iceland series are moving right along.  Ari Thór and his lady love Kristín seem to be growing up, but that is going to be tested in the future due to the actions of Ari Thór's superior officer. Speaking of superiors, Ísrún still has someone in the newsroom who would love to force her to quit, but she's having an easier time of it because she's learned a few tricks in how to deal with the situation.

Both mysteries-- the one in northern Iceland and the one in Reykjavik-- are strong stories. Ari Thór's is more deeply rooted in the past and is hampered by the fact that many of the people concerned are dead. Even more maddening are the people who want the past to remain in the past. For me, the mystery in Reykjavik affected me more. Emil's and Róbert's lives both changed when Emil's partner was attacked and left for dead. Two years later, the young woman finally dies. Emil's life is completely shattered while Róbert's has taken a dramatic turn for the better. As their story unfolds, Jónasson has us feel empathy for both men-- something that's not easy to do-- and the book is the stronger for it. After all, life is seldom simple.

As always, the weather and landscape of Iceland play a part in Rupture. Few authors are as talented as Jónasson in creating atmosphere. Combine that with strong, believable characters and a multi-layered story filled with unanswered questions and deep emotions, and you've got another winner from someone who has quickly become one of my favorite writers. I cannot recommend his books highly enough.

Rupture by Ragnar Jónasson
Translated from the Icelandic by Quentin Bates.

eISBN: 9781250193360

Minotaur Books © 2019

eBook, 263 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Dark Iceland mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson

First Lines: Unsettling. There was something unsettling about that ancient, broken-down house.

When a local policeman-- and Ari Thór Arason's boss-- is murdered, the peace and quiet of Siglufjörđur is shattered. Ari Thór assumes that he will be leading the investigation into his superior's death, but the mayor of the fishing village on the northernmost tip of Iceland brings in the man Ari Thór originally trained with several years previously.

The dark Arctic winter is closing in and there's a killer on the loose. As the two men investigate, they learn that there are many factors in this murder that need to be dealt with-- and some of those factors tie into tragic events in the past.

This is the third of Ragnar Jónasson's Dark Iceland series published in English that I've read, and I've read the books in chronological order rather than by publication date. An earlier book, Blackout, was one of the best books I read in 2017. Jónasson does a stellar job of describing his Icelandic setting and its climate. In Nightblind, a new tunnel has been constructed which prevents the small fishing village from being completely cut off from the outside world during the heavy winter snowfall, but that convenience comes at a price: outsiders are bringing problems and crime to Siglufjörđur.

The mystery in Nightblind is an interesting one, but it slowly sinks under the weight of all the characters' personal problems.The occasional journal entries that readers are given do tie into the mystery, and there's a slowly developed surprise that's revealed at the end, but all those personal problems sapped my interest in the mystery. Nightblind is still a good read; it's just not on par with Blackout.

Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the Icelandic by Quentin Bates

ISBN: 9781910633267

Orenda Press © 2015

Hardcover (UK edition), 215 pages

Police Procedural, #6 Dark Iceland mystery

Rating: B-

Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


 

Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson

First Line: How do you like Iceland?

A man has been beaten to death on a bright summer's night in northern Iceland. At the opposite end of the country in Reykjavik, an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption is choking and darkening the city, and a television reporter decides to head north to investigate the man's brutal death. Ari Thór Arason and his colleagues on the small police force in Siglufjörður are struggling with this increasingly complex case while dealing with their own serious personal problems. 

It soon becomes clear to Ari Thór that the dead man harbored many secrets and so does the reporter who's come to ask all these questions. The investigation is making a killer very nervous, and it's a race to the unmasking before someone else dies.

Ragnar Jónasson's Dark Iceland series has-- within the space of two books-- become one of my favorites. Quentin Bates' translations are excellent, and Jónasson's use of his Icelandic setting not only gives the landscape and weather character status in the books, it also propels the action. 

If you are the type of crime fiction reader who prefers a fast pace and plot over character, this series may not be for you (although the plot is a strong one). The characters' lives figure largely in the action; their behavior has a great deal to do with the story's outcome. In Blackout, there is a physical blackout due to the volcanic eruptions and ash clouds that are choking Reykjavik to the south, but in the north where Ari Thór Arason is a police officer, people lost in a deep psychological blackout are coming together... with dire consequences.

Of all the characters in this book, it is the television reporter's dogged pursuit of the truth behind the murder that held me hostage. All these characters' secrets form one huge magma chamber that's ready to erupt, and I wasn't content until every bit had been revealed. If you like vivid, atmospheric storytelling, treat yourself to Ragnar Jónasson's Dark Iceland mysteries. 

Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the Icelandic by Quentin Bates.

ISBN:  9781910633465

Orenda Books © 2016

Paperback, 276 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Dark Iceland mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


 

Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson

First Line: The red stain was like a scream in the silence.

Rookie policeman Ari Thór Arason and his girlfriend Kristin live in Reykjavik where Kristin is in medical school. Openings for police officers are few and far between, so when one occurs in the remote northern village of Siglufjörður, he takes it without asking Kristin's opinion.

He finds himself in a small village accessible only by sea or by a small tunnel through the mountains. Everyone knows everyone else. Secrets are kept closely guarded. It's dark twenty-four hours a day, and Ari is having a difficult time adjusting. 

Then a young woman is found unconscious and bleeding in the snow, and a famous writer falls to his death in the local theater. Ari is at the heart of a very complex case. The darkness seems absolute, and the snow is so unrelenting that an avalanche cuts the village off from the outside world. This rookie policeman must find the killer before anyone else dies.

Snowblind, the first of Ragnar Jónasson's Dark Iceland trilogy, is blessed with the three most important ingredients of an excellent mystery: a vivid setting; a strong, interesting main character with a few problems of his own; and a complex and sometimes frightening mystery. 

Girlfriend problems aside, Ari proves to be a very likable (if impulsive) young man who has good instincts for putting random bits of information together. Tómas, his boss, is a bit too blinded by the way things have always been in the village, but although he's often exasperated with Ari, the older man does see the rookie's potential.

The mystery involves both past and present, and it kept me guessing throughout the book, but the icing on this cake of murder and mayhem is the setting. Jónasson uses his remote Icelandic setting to wonderful advantage. Between the endless darkness, never-ending snow, and being cut off from the rest of the world, the claustrophobia is palpable--probably the best use of setting I've read so far this year.

If you like Nordic Noir, you definitely need to get your hands on Snowblind. I did, and then I immediately bought the second book in the series, Nightblind.      

Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson
Translated by Quentin Bates

ISBN: 9781910633038

Orenda Books © 2015

Paperback, 300 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Dark Iceland mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap