Genre: Scandinavian and Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers

Nightblind

Nightblind

Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson
Published by Minotaur Books on December 5th 2017
Series: Dark Iceland #2
Pages: 304
Format: hardback
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

Ari Thór Arason: a local policeman, whose tumultuous past and uneasy relationships with the villagers in an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland—where no one locks their doors—continue to haunt him.

The peace of this close-knit community is shattered by the murder of a policeman—shot at point-blank range in the dead of night in a deserted house. With a killer on the loose and the dark arctic winter closing in, it falls to Ari Thór to piece together a puzzle that involves tangled local politics, a compromised new mayor, and a psychiatric ward in Reykjavik where someone is being held against their will. Then a mysterious young woman moves to the area, on the run from something she dares not reveal, and it becomes all too clear that tragic events from the past are weaving a sinister spell that may threaten them all. Chilling, and complex, Nightblind is an extraordinary thriller from an undeniable new talent.

Night Blind is the second book in the Dark Iceland series. Five years ago, Ari Thor Aragon, a young policeman moved to a small town on the outer fringes of Northern Iceland, Siglufjordur. Ari is still developing a tolerable relationship with the villagers of the small town.

When the new police chief is shot and killed, Ari Thor sets out to figure out who murdered the chief. To assist in the investigation the former chief of police, Tomas, returns to Siglufjordur, together Ari Thor and Tomas begin to unravel the mystery of who murdered Hefjolfur.

Ari Thor and his girlfriend, Kristin, have a ten-month-old son and are having difficulties in their relationship stemming from some unresolved issues in Ari Thor’s past additionally Ari Thor is resentful that he was not made police chief when Tomas moved south and is now coping with Tomas taking over the investigation.

Things are not as they seem and despite the outside distractions that life has placed in front of Ari Thor he is able to puzzle out the mystery.

I enjoyed the book, if you are interested in Nordic Noir this is a fine book for you.

Snow Blind

Snow Blind

Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson
Published by Minotaur Books on January 31st 2017
Series: Dark Iceland #1
Pages: 320
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

Where: A quiet fishing village in northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors. It is accessible only via a small mountain tunnel.
Who: Ari Thor is a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik. He has a past that he's unable to leave behind.
What: A young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed elderly writer falls to his death. Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life.
Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness―blinded by snow and with a killer on the loose.
Taut and terrifying, Snowblind is a startling debut from an extraordinary new talent.

Endless days of gray sky set and snow set the stage for me to sit down to read Snow Blind, we haven’t seen the sun in days. Nestled in my comfortable chair in front of the fireplace, I settle into a small town close to the arctic circle were rookie Ari Thor has taken a his first position as a police officer. Shortly after his arrival, a local celebrity is found dead, Ari Thor is drawn to a woman who is not his girlfriend and a partially naked woman is found laying in the snow. While not an action packed thriller, the characters were well-developed holding my attention as the story slowing moved along, like the winter storm that had settled on Siglufjördur.

Frozen Assets

Frozen Assets

Frozen Assets by Quentin Bates
Published by Soho Crime on May 10th 2014
Series: Officer Gunnhilder #1
Pages: 330
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

A body is found floating in the harbor of a rural Icelandic fishing village. Was it an accident, or something more sinister? It's up to Officer Gunnhildur, a sardonic female cop, to find out. Her investigation uncovers a web of corruption connected to Iceland's business and banking communities. Meanwhile, a rookie crime journalist latches onto her, looking for a scoop, and an anonymous blogger is stirring up trouble. The complications increase, as do the stakes, when a second murder is committed. "Frozen Assets" is a piercing look at the endemic corruption that led to the global financial crisis that bankrupted Iceland's major banks and sent the country into an economic tailspin from which it has yet to recover.

It is interesting to read a murder mystery in a country where murder is all but non-existent, over the last two decades, an average of about two people have been murdered annually in the small and prosperous nation of 336,000. It has had entire years — 2003, 2006 and 2008 — when not a single person was murdered. Just recently, the murder of a 20 Icelander woman made the New York Times.

Iceland like the United States suffered the 2008 financial crisis, unlike the United States, the Icelandic government let its three major banks – Kaupthing, Glitnir and Landsbankinn – fail and went after reckless bankers. Many senior executives were jailed and the country’s ex-prime minister Geir Haarde was also put on trial, becoming the first world leader to face criminal prosecution arising from the turmoil. although he was cleared of negligence.

With the impending financial crisis as a backdrop Frozen Assets introduces Officer Gunnhildur, single mother, widow, police officer. After finding a body on a beach, Officer Gunnhildur does not accept the accidental death theory, she stumbles into a scheme that the energy minister and his wife are up too to make money at the expense of the taxpayer. Reading about police procedures in other countries is always interesting, unlike Arnaldur Indridason books, Quentin Bates books are not so dark and brooding. Be ready to be confused by the names.