The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson

 

First Line: Today sees the publication of Deadline, the latest novel by bestselling author, Elín S. 

Jónsdóttir.

Young police officer Helgi Reykdal's life is looking up. He's in a new, happy relationship with Aníta and is enjoying the simple pleasures of being with her and immersing himself in his favorite crime novels. When he's assigned to look into the disappearance of a bestselling novelist, he can't wait to prove himself.

His superior officer tasks him with finding out where the missing woman is before her disappearance is leaked to the press, but there are absolutely no clues, and Helgi has to begin at the beginning by interviewing all the people who know her best.

But as his interviews progress, Helgi learns that the novelist's life wasn't what it seemed. In fact, it's even stranger than the bestselling mysteries she wrote.

~

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer is Helgi Reykdal's second appearance (after Death at the Sanatorium). The young police officer is the replacement for Hulda Hermannsdóttir, who is the main character in Jónasson's superb Hidden Iceland trilogy. Helgi is intrigued by Hulda, a difficult woman who seems to have vanished into thin air, but he's thrilled to be given the task of finding Iceland's bestselling author, Elín Jónsdóttir. His greatest pleasure in life-- besides his burgeoning relationship with Aníta is to bury himself in his favorite mystery novels, and Jónsdóttir is one of his favorite authors.

This book is written in the style of Golden Age mysteries, combining Helgi's investigation with segments of a taped interview with the missing woman. That investigation on its own kept me fully engaged, but what brings The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer to the next level is the inclusion of Helgi's personal life. In many ways, Helgi is better suited to being an armchair detective. He is extremely non-confrontational and naive, qualities which can be dangerous in a police officer's life and oftentimes bad in personal relationships. Jónasson takes a page from Alfred Hitchcock's playbook by letting readers know more about what's actually happening around Helgi. As I read, my feeling of dread continued to build, and by the book's conclusion, I now have to know two things: (1) what happens to Helgi now, and (2) will he ever discover what happened to Hulda? 

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson 

Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb

eISBN: 9781250408273

Minotaur Books © 2025

eBook, 282 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Helgi Reykdal

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen

 

First Line: I hope I haunt you.

Forty years ago, Iceland was rocked by two deaths: a woman, throat slashed, was found out in the snow with her drowned infant daughter nestled beside her. The case was never solved, but people were convinced that the woman's husband was the killer. When the man took his son and moved half a world away to California, it just proved that the gossip was right.

Almost fifty years later and a year after his death, Agnes wants to clear her beloved grandfather's name once and for all. Recovering from his death and a devastating injury, Agnes' life has been turned upside down, so she quickly agrees to true crime podcaster Nora Carver's invitation to come to Iceland to be interviewed.

The very same weekend that Agnes joins Nora in the remote town where her grandfather and father lived, a local girl goes missing. Is this a coincidence? Even if it isn't, it only fuels Agnes' determination to clear her grandfather's name.

~

Iceland in winter. A derelict house where a murderer allegedly lived. A young woman determined to clear her grandfather's name. Everything stacked up in Melissa Larsen's The Lost House to make it a book that I should really enjoy.

The creepy, ramshackle house and the brutal Icelandic winter weather did draw me in, but those were the only two things that did. The whodunit was not surprising, and the story moved very slowly-- sometimes with too much description.

The nail in the coffin of The Lost House was its characters. This is a book where you must care for the main character, and Agnes never did grow on me. She was a lonely addict riddled with angst-- definitely not my kind of character.  Moreover, none of the others could fill in the gap. No, I'm sorry to say that this character-driven reader never did warm up to Agnes, but your mileage can certainly vary. 

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen

eISBN: 9781250332882

St. Martin's Press © 2025

eBook, 352 pages

Thriller

Rating: D+

Source: Net Galley

Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson

 

First Lines: 2012. Helgi. The despairing silence was broken.

1983. Two deaths in a former sanatorium rock a community in northern Iceland. A nurse, Yrsa, is murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir and her boss, Sverrir, are the investigators. There are plenty of suspects: the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and the caretaker, who is arrested but subsequently released. 

Less than a week after the murder, the chief physician is found dead, apparently from a fall from a sanatorium balcony. Sverrir rules his death as suicide, assumes he was guilty of the nurse's murder, and closes the case.

2012. Young police officer Helgi Reykdal has been studying criminology in the UK but returns to Iceland to accept a job at the Reykjavik police department-- the job Hulda Hermannsdóttir is about to retire from. Helgi is also a collector of Golden Age detective stories and is writing his thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. Deciding to meet with the original suspects, he soon finds silence and suspicion at every turn as he works to solve the thirty-year-old mystery.

~

Ragnar Jónasson's Hidden Iceland trilogy (The Darkness, The Island, The Mist) featuring Hulda Hermannsdóttir is one of my all-time favorites, so I was pleased to see that Hulda would make an appearance in Death at the Sanatorium. Granted, it's more of a cameo, but she does make an impact, and her appearance is bittersweet for those readers who have read the Hidden Iceland trilogy. (Do you need to read that trilogy before reading this book? Absolutely not.)

 

Jónasson has translated Agatha Christie into Icelandic, and his familiarity with her work is obvious in his meticulous plotting. When it comes to plots, this man is a master weaver. But Death at the Sanatorium isn't all about the story. Jónasson is also a master at atmospheric settings, and you can't get much better than setting a murder mystery in an old tuberculosis sanatorium. I have a special sympathy for this setting because my mother was a patient in one when I was a baby. I'm very familiar with the photographs taken there-- especially the one of my grandfather holding me up to the window, me reaching futilely for my mother, and the look on my mother's face on the other side of the glass.

Plot? Check. Setting? Check. What about the characters?

It didn't take me long to want to throttle the young nurse, Linna. She enjoyed being an important witness, and she wasn't above stretching the truth. "The truth was that life was easier if you tweaked the facts a little in your favor." See what I mean?

Helgi is the star here. His father was an antiquarian bookseller, and Helgi has a fantastic library of detective fiction, in particular translated detective fiction, that was lovingly collected by both his grandfather and father. Those books-- as well as his investigation into the 1983 deaths at the sanatorium-- are his escape, and he does need one, as readers soon learn.

The ending of Death at the Sanatorium made me smile in appreciation of the author's skill. It also made me want to see Helgi again because I hope that he can solve yet another murder.

Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.

eISBN: 9781250770776

Minotaur Books © 2024

eBook, 320 pages

 

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson & Katrín Jakobsdóttir

 

First Lines: 1956. 6 August. The grey hat flew out to sea.

 

In 1956, the disappearance of fourteen-year-old Lára from the small island of Videy became Iceland's most infamous unsolved case. What happened to her? Is she still alive? 

 

Thirty years later, the city of Reykjavík is celebrating its 200th anniversary, and journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into Lára's case which garners a lot of public interest. However, as Valur gets closer to uncovering the secret, it becomes very clear that Lára's disappearance is a mystery someone is determined to keep unsolved.

 

~

 

Although Reykjavík took some time to really get moving, authors Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir created a character and a story that kept me reading and guessing. 

 

The story begins in 1956 with fourteen-year-old Lára's disappearance and the young police officer who tried to find her. When journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation thirty years later, he learns that the officer's inability to find  Lára has haunted him throughout his career. I was rather surprised that both Valur and the police officer felt a bit stiff and lifeless even though both their roles were so important.

 

However, the story really shifted into high gear and grabbed my interest when Valur's sister, Sunna, arrived on the scene. Her grit and determination added fire and urgency to the story, and I found myself hoping that I would meet her again in a future book. 

 

I can't say much about Reykjavík without giving away key plot points, but I was disappointed with my failure to deduce what was going on when all was revealed at the end. When you pick up a copy to read it for yourselves, make sure to read the authors' note at the end. You never know what writers will get up to in the middle of a pandemic!

 

Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson & Katrín Jakobsdóttir

Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb

eISBN: 9781250907349

Minotaur Books © 2023

eBook, 384 pages

 

Historical Mystery, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Outside by Ragnar Jónasson

 

First Line: It was mind-numbingly cold.

 

Four friends decide to spend a winter weekend together out on the remote moorlands of eastern Iceland to do some hunting. A sudden blizzard blows in, and the four are lucky to find shelter in a small, abandoned shack. 

The shack is in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no cell phone reception, and they find that they are not alone. As the darkness lengthens, the winds howl, and the snow piles up, an old tragedy thought long-buried resurfaces. A tragedy that changed the course of their friendship forever.

~

I have been a huge fan of Ragnar Jónasson ever since reading his excellent police procedural series set in northern Iceland featuring Ari Thór Arason and his superb Hulda Hermannsdóttir trilogy. However, I have to admit that the bloom is wearing off the rose a bit with this second standalone thriller.

 

Don't get me wrong. Outside is very well-plotted and extremely well-written. The narrative moves back and forth between the four friends so readers are able to get inside the characters' heads and formulate their own ideas about what exactly is going on. It doesn't take long at all to see that certain things just don't add up.

 

The set-up is good. The execution is fine. So... what exactly is my problem? This is the second standalone thriller Jónasson has written in which I haven't been able to rouse much enthusiasm for any of the characters. Wait. That's not entirely true. In Outside, I had enough enthusiasm to wish that all four friends would leave their shelter, go out into the raging storm, and turn into human popsicles. (It's fiction. I'm allowed, right?) I found all four of them to be extremely annoying and self-absorbed. So much so, that I think I kept on reading hoping that they would walk out into the snow and vanish-- never to be seen again.

Hopefully, you have more patience than I do.

Outside by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.

eISBN: 9781250833464

Minotaur Books © 2022

eBook, 320 pages

 

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B-

Source: Net Galley

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

 

First Line: Una awoke with a jerk.

 

It's 1986. Thirty-year-old Una is dissatisfied with her life. She lives in a shabby yet expensive apartment. She has no love life. Her savings are rapidly disappearing, and she can't find a permanent teaching position in Reykjavik. When she sees the ad in the newspaper, it looks like the answer to her prayers. How hard can teaching two little girls in a remote fishing village, population ten, be?

 

But once she gets there, her car is on its last legs, the people are civil but not welcoming, and the lack of a television bothers her more than she'd like to admit. As the days grow shorter and the winter darkness closes in, Una spends more and more time in her attic apartment with endless glasses of wine. The young Thór is the only person she really feels a connection with, but he goes out of his way to keep her at arm's length. No, it's Una and her wine in her apartment in the attic that's supposed to be haunted... and her nightmares of a young girl dressed in white who sings a lullaby. 

 

When a tragedy occurs, the villagers become hostile to Una, and she's left on her own to uncover a secret that's long been buried in the tiny village's past.

 

~

 

No one does claustrophobic like Ragnar Jónasson. A tiny remote fishing village during an Icelandic winter is the perfect setting for The Girl Who Died. I really enjoyed the mystery Jónasson created, and I'm still angry with myself for not figuring out a very major clue, although math has never been my strong point. There are some interesting threads woven into the story; one about a World War II British and American lookout post for example, and then literary allusions that can remind readers of books like The Haunting of Hill House.

If I had any problem with the book at all, it was my reaction to Una, the whiner. Una, the terminally dissatisfied. First, she's glad to be out of Reykjavik. She doesn't miss the city at all. Then when the reality of the tiny village grows on her, she misses the luxuries she'd become accustomed to. Then she decides that she does, indeed, miss the city after all. She bemoans the fact that none of her friends make any real effort to get in touch with her, but I'm of the firm opinion that they're all undoubtedly rejoicing in the absence of her whining. It's hard to feel any sympathy for a character who's never ever happy about anything, a character who spends almost all her free time in wine-soaked pity parties.

 

There's quite the dichotomy in my reaction to The Girl Who Died. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the mystery itself and the spookiness and unease of the setting. On the other, I wanted to tape Una's mouth shut and lock her away in the attic. In conclusion, there's only one more thing I want to say about this book, and it's this: I had the opening bars of a song running through my mind during the last half of the story. I don't think I'll be the only one who thinks of The Girl Who Died as the Icelandic Hotel California.

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

eISBN: 9781250793744

Minotaur Books © 2021

eBook, 275 pages

Standalone Thriller/Suspense

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

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.

 

The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson

First Line: February 1988. Hulda Hermannsdóttir opened her eyes.

1987. In the midst of a seemingly unending snowstorm, there's someone pounding on a farmhouse door. An extremely remote farmhouse in the scarcely populated east of Iceland. The snowstorm should have kept everyone at home, but it didn't. The couple had no way of realizing what would happen when they opened the door to the stranger, but now it's up to Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir to put all the pieces together to find out what actually happened.

Before I say anything else, I have to say this: Ragnar Jónasson's Hulda trilogy is brilliant.

I say this knowing that it's definitely not everyone's cup of literary tea. But these three books have grabbed me in a way that few seldom do: The Darkness, The Island, and now The Mist make me want to read them all over again, and I don't reread books. (That's almost a rule carved in stone.)

Jónasson did something with this trilogy that I'd never read before: he told his story in reverse chronological order. The first book, The Darkness, lets us meet Hulda at the end of her career, and each successive book takes us to an earlier chapter in her life.

The opening of The Mist begins with Hulda, who's reeling from tragedy and back to work too soon. She's feeling so lethargic that none of the cases she's working on interests her, even the one concerning a young girl who's gone missing while enjoying a gap year from her studies. From Hulda's prologue, we move to a remote farmhouse in the east of Iceland where the winter snows never stop, and Erla Einarsson is stuck at home for weeks-- if not months-- at a time. Her only company besides her husband Einar is her books. Erla is looking forward to Christmas because she's read her stockpile of books and knows she'll be getting new ones as gifts. This opening with Erla is fantastic as she describes her life during the winter. Cold, completely claustrophobic, and utterly compelling. It's not long, however, until we begin to wonder how reliable Erla is as she tells us about her life.

There are two investigations in The Mist. One concerning the missing girl, and the other concentrating on what happened in that remote farmhouse. How Jónasson ties them both together is a little piece of magic.

Now that I've read the trilogy, I see the significance of the book titles. The title of this book refers to the mist that can come down and cloud your judgment and even your sanity. I definitely will be rereading these books, only in chronological order this time because I want to see how Jónasson slotted all the pieces together.

The Mist is a knockout ending to this trilogy. But be warned: Hulda is a very unhappy, very damaged character. She has good reason to be. Bad things happen in these books, and everything doesn't always come right at their conclusions. If you haven't read any of these books, I strongly urge you to do so, knowing that you have an advantage over those of us who began with The Darkness: you can choose to read the books in chronological order. However, while I'm in Urge Mode, I urge you to read them in the order in which they were published. But hang onto your socks. They just might get knocked off.

The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.

eISBN: 9781250768124

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #3 Hidden Iceland

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

First Line: The babysitter was late.

In 1987, a romantic weekend in the Westfjords of Iceland goes wrong and has tragic consequences for the families involved. Ten years later, four friends decide to honor a deceased member of their group by spending a few days in an old hunting lodge on an island completely cut off from the outside world. They want to spend the time reconnecting, but things don't turn out as the friends had planned. One of them doesn't come back from that remote island alive, and Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is determined to find the truth.

The first book in the Hidden Iceland series, The Darkness, was the best book I read in 2018. I love how Jónasson begins this series with the end of the main character's career and has each successive book go further back in time. Reading about a life lived backward makes a reader more aware of the formation of personality traits that make Hulda the person she is.

In The Island, we learn more about Hulda's family background, which involves her making a long journey. I find her character almost hypnotic. Her life has been a series of heartbreaks-- from family losses to her fight against misogynistic males in the Icelandic police force. The case she's working on now could very well make her even more unpopular with her fellow police officers, but something like that ceased to bother her long ago. For Hulda, it's all about finding justice for those who have lost their lives and for those left behind. Hulda never says "the body" or "the victim." To her, a person's death does not strip them of their humanity. If she makes a mistake, she's angry-- for the victim, not herself. She knows that her mistakes can slow down not only justice but closure for grieving families, too.

The Island shows just how important doing the job right and bringing closure to families is, especially in Jónasson's depiction of what happened to Dagur's family in the years after the events in 1987.

Poised against the grimness of Hulda's investigation is the beauty of summer in Iceland. Reading Jónasson's books is a delight because of the knowledge readers gain about Iceland, its people, customs, and landscape-- and when you add to that the strength of the stories he tells and the mesmerizing characters he creates, you've got an unbeatable combination.

Jónasson has written two mystery series. If you're a newcomer to his work, you can't go wrong by reading either series. Chances are, once you've read one, you're going to want to read all of his books. They're fantastic.

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.

ISBN: 9780718187255

Michael Joseph © 2019

Hardcover, 343 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Hidden Iceland mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.


 

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.


 

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

First Line: "How did you find me?" the woman asked.

Over her long career, Hulda Hermannsdóttir has hit the glass ceiling so many times that she should be severely concussed, but she keeps on going. Bringing justice to victims and solving cases are what this detective inspector lives for. But a few months before her sixty-fifth birthday, she is told in the cruelest way possible that she's surplus to requirements and being retired early. Her young male replacement is already here, and her desk needs to be cleaned out so he can start work.

One of the reasons why Hulda has been so successful is that she is supremely obstinate, and-- somehow-- she manages to avoid being tossed out by insisting on solving a cold case before she goes.

Over a year ago, a young Russian woman was found dead on the beach. After a very desultory investigation, her death was deemed a suicide and the case was closed. After all, she was just an asylum seeker. This has never set well with Hulda, so she quietly begins to investigate. It doesn't take her long to discover that no one she interviews is telling her the complete truth-- and that another young Russian woman vanished at the same time. But her superior is anxious to get rid of her, the clock is ticking... is Hulda going to be able to solve this one last case?

Ragnar Jónasson has rapidly turned into my favorite Nordic crime fiction writer. Iceland comes to life under his pen. Give this man snow and the endless dark days of winter, and he's fully capable of giving readers a severe case of claustrophobia to go along with his well-paced and -plotted mysteries. This newest trilogy opens with a bang. The Darkness is a superb character study of Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir.

The Darkness takes place at the end of May, when Iceland is getting warmer and brighter in advance of July when the sun never sets. These lengthening days are bringing things to light that have been buried in darkness for a long time. Yes, the book title is very symbolic and becomes even moreso the farther one reads.

One of the ways the darkness is dispelled in this novel is by alternating chapters told in different voices. One of the voices is easily identified as that of a young Russian woman, but it takes a few chapters before the reader realizes that Hulda's backstory is slowly unfolding. Be forewarned: this is not a happy book. Hulda has had many harsh things happen to her throughout her life, and as a result she's not Little Miss Mary Sunshine. Having had some of the same things happen to me, I identified with this woman very closely-- even while I was mentally trying to tell her not to do some of the things she did during her investigation.

By the time you come to the end of The Darkness, you will realize that this series does not start out in a conventional manner. Not only that, but the story itself does not advance in a linear fashion. However, I did not find it at all confusing. No, I found it brilliant. The Darkness is marvelous reading for those who find it easier to empathize with characters. Hulda Hermannsdóttir has gotten under my skin, and I can't wait to read the next book in this trilogy.

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

eISBN: 9781250171047

Minotaur Books © 2018

eBook, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Hidden Iceland mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley


 

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


 

The Puffin of Death by Betty Webb

First Line: As he snapped yet another photograph of the black, yellow, and white bird, Simon Parr congratulated himself.

Theodora Bentley can hardly believe that her boss is footing the bill to send one of Gunn Zoo's keepers to Iceland to facilitate the shipment of an orphaned polar bear cub and a pair of puffins back to California. She finds it even harder to believe that she's the lucky zookeeper.

The trip is meant to be a combination of work and play, but when  Teddy finds the body of a murdered man sprawled atop a puffin burrow, she finds herself right in the middle of the investigation. The dead man was a birdwatcher and winner of the largest Powerball lottery payout in history, and when he decided to foot the bill to bring the entire birdwatching club to Iceland, he seems to have brought along his own list of suspects. Once it's determined that an American would best understand other Americans, Teddy has carte blanche to follow the birders... but she's putting herself right in the line of fire.

The Puffin of Death is filled with Betty Webb's fascination with the people, culture, natural beauty, and wildlife of Iceland, and she easily proves that it's a worthwhile country with which to be enchanted. Although the book has a bit less of the author's humor that I'm used to, there are some laugh-out-loud moments-- particularly in describing the romance novels that the dead man's wife writes. Then there's the little thing about the Accidental Incest App to bring a touch of amazement into the lives of Webb's readers.  

We get to see Teddy working with the polar bear cub, and getting to know the behavior of the puffins. The information Webb imparts about animals in each book of this series is always choice and heartfelt.

As I read, I discovered that the book is more about Iceland than it is about the mystery, which isn't particularly difficult to solve. Instead I was left with mental pictures of Gunn Zoo owner Aster Edwina's reaction to the bills Teddy runs up while there-- especially those incredibly long transatlantic phone calls she makes to her boyfriend. There's some fascinating information in The Puffin of Death, but it's not the strongest book in this series.
    

The Puffin of Death by Betty Webb

ISBN: 9781464204142

Poisoned Pen Press © 2015

Hardcover, 258 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #4 Gunn Zoo mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Net Galley

 

The Flatey Enigma by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson

First Line: An easterly wind swept across Breidafjördur with the break of dawn, and a sharp spring breeze intensified the foam of the waves breaking on the strait between the Western Isles.

After three seal hunters find a body on a tiny deserted island off the western coast of Iceland, the district magistrate's assistant is sent to investigate. It's 1960, crime is very low in that area, and it's best not to send for the police from Reykjavik unless it's absolutely necessary.

When it's learned that the body is that of a missing Danish professor, some of the talk amongst the villagers turns to the Flatey Enigma, a set of questions based on the ancient Icelandic text that the professor was trying to solve. Just when the magistrate's assistant, Kjartan, feels that he's getting close solving the professor's death, another body is found-- this time mutilated in the ancient Viking tradition of the blood eagle. The police arrive from Reykjavik, but Kjartan knows that he and the villagers still have the inside track on solving the crimes.

Although the professionals from Reykjavik are finally sent for, it's the amateurs who really do the lion's share of the murder investigations in The Flatey Enigma, and I found following them around this remote area of western Iceland to be fascinating. As villagers are interviewed, as they help guide the magistrate's assistant from place to place, the reader learns a lot about the customs and food of Iceland in 1960. I have to admit that I tended to skim over the menus quickly because roast puffin breast and baby seal stew just don't appeal to me, but the food people eat says a lot about them, and it certainly does here.

I deduced the killer's identity early on, but I still enjoyed following the investigation because I was learning so much about Iceland. Each chapter in the book ends with information about the Flatey Book (which actually exists), ancient Icelandic legends that are contained within its vellum pages, and finally the forty enigma questions themselves. Sometimes inclusions like these interrupt the narrative and are annoying. They certainly weren't in this case.

Sometimes when I read a mystery, what I reap is so much more than solving a crime, and this is what happened when I read The Flatey Enigma. Yes, the mystery is interesting, but I feel as though I learned a great deal about the customs and the people of an area of Iceland far removed from its capital of Reykjavik.
 

The Flatey Enigma by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson
Translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon

eISBN: 9781611090970

Amazon Crossing © 2012

eBook, 326 pages

Historical Mystery, Standalone

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.