Dark Iceland

Blackout

Filed Under: Books Read

Blackout

Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson
Published by Minotaur Books on August 28, 2018
Series: Dark Iceland #3
Pages: 272
Format: ebook
Genres: Mystery, Police Procedural, Scandinavian and Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

A huge bestseller in England, France, and Australia, the third book in the Dark Iceland series from a spectacular new crime writer."Easily the best yet. Beautifully written and elegantly paced with a plot that only gradually becomes visible, as if the reader had been staring into the freezing fog waiting for shapes to emerge."—The Guardian, UK (Readers' Books of the Year 2016)
"A chiller of a thriller whose style and pace are influenced by Jonasson’s admiration for Agatha Christie. It’s good enough to share shelf space with the works of Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Arnaldur Indridason, Iceland’s crime novel royalty."—The Washington PostOn the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer's night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves Reykajvik to investigate on her own, unaware that an innocent person's life hangs in the balance. Ari Thor Arason and his colleagues on the tiny police force in Siglufjordur struggle with an increasingly perplexing case, while their own serious personal problems push them to the limit. What secrets does the dead man harbour, and what is the young reporter hiding? As silent, unspoken horrors from the past threaten them all, and the darkness deepens, it's a race against time to find the killer before someone else dies...
Dark, terrifying and complex, Blackout is an exceptional, atmospheric thriller from one of Iceland's finest crime writers.

Nightblind

Filed Under: Books Read

Nightblind

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

Filed Under: Books Read

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.