Ragnar Jónasson: Dunkel (2020, btb)
Taschenbuch, 377 pages
Published Sept. 8, 2020 by btb.
"Spanning the icy streets of Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is an atmospheric thriller from Ragnar Jonasson, one of the most exciting names in Nordic Noir. The body of a young Russian woman washes up on an Icelandic shore. After a cursory investigation, the death is declared a suicide and the case is quietly closed. Over a year later Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is forced into early retirement at 64. She dreads the loneliness, and the memories of her dark past that threaten to come back to haunt her. But before she leaves she is given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. She knows which one: the Russian woman whose hope for asylum ended on the dark, cold shore of an unfamiliar country. Soon Hulda discovers that another young woman vanished at the same time, and …
"Spanning the icy streets of Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is an atmospheric thriller from Ragnar Jonasson, one of the most exciting names in Nordic Noir. The body of a young Russian woman washes up on an Icelandic shore. After a cursory investigation, the death is declared a suicide and the case is quietly closed. Over a year later Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is forced into early retirement at 64. She dreads the loneliness, and the memories of her dark past that threaten to come back to haunt her. But before she leaves she is given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. She knows which one: the Russian woman whose hope for asylum ended on the dark, cold shore of an unfamiliar country. Soon Hulda discovers that another young woman vanished at the same time, and that no one is telling her the whole story. Even her colleagues in the police seem determined to put the brakes on her investigation. Meanwhile the clock is ticking. Hulda will find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger" --
I can't stop thinking about this book. Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is such an intriguing main character. And the ending blew me away. I will read more by Ragnar Jonasson.
I could not put this down, and the ending! Oh My! I LOVED IT! So dark, with a delightful and flawed aging heroine that flouts detective-hero conventions. If you pay careful attention, you may be able to pin the villain, I guessed before Hulda, which I was supposed to do in order to make the ending a real pleasure. In a genre that is packed with enjoyably miserable settings and stark murders on icy wind-swept floes, Ragnar Jonasson still manages to create an inventive and entertaining yarn.
Read it in one day, so ya gotta think I kinda liked it.
It must be hard to set a detective series in a place like Iceland, which, Jónasson tells us, only has 1 or 2 murders a year. But the main character in The Darkness is looking over a cold case and she suspects (surprise!) it is something more than just a suicide by drowning. So Hulda investigates, leading her to the shadowy world of the people waiting for asylum in Iceland.
I liked the character, a unique 64 year old female investigator. Hard to tell if she really was as snubbed as she says she was or perhaps was just looking for reasons to explain why she didn't get along with others. Iceland itself is a main character and the descriptions of the place are fascinating.
And there is a very interesting twist at the end, setting up …
Read it in one day, so ya gotta think I kinda liked it.
It must be hard to set a detective series in a place like Iceland, which, Jónasson tells us, only has 1 or 2 murders a year. But the main character in The Darkness is looking over a cold case and she suspects (surprise!) it is something more than just a suicide by drowning. So Hulda investigates, leading her to the shadowy world of the people waiting for asylum in Iceland.
I liked the character, a unique 64 year old female investigator. Hard to tell if she really was as snubbed as she says she was or perhaps was just looking for reasons to explain why she didn't get along with others. Iceland itself is a main character and the descriptions of the place are fascinating.
And there is a very interesting twist at the end, setting up a unique trilogy. It was an easy, interesting read that went down smooth. Can't wait to see how it goes now!
