The nights are darker, the snow drifts deeper and the crimes more brutal
Ragnar Jonasson is a crime fiction tour de force. Whilst holding down a successful portfolio career (Jonasson works as a lawyer, a copyright lecturer and a translator) he managed to deliver Nordic Noir gold with his Dark Iceland series featuring Ari Thor. As translator of Agatha Christie's work into Icelandic he has a unique insight into the mind of a crime writer but over the past few year Jonasson has established his own distinct voice.
The Darkness marks the first appearance in English of Jonasson's protagonist Hulda Hermannsdottir. Hulda is a retiring cop being given the final push by her unsympathetic boss who reluctantly lets her investigate one last case before she retires. At 64, Hulda is older that other crime fiction leads but she's wiser and her dreams and fears are richer than those of younger characters. The truth is, Hulda Hermannsdottir is pure crime fiction perfection and Jonasson knows just how to to write a high paced thriller around her final weeks on the force.
The Darkness finds Hermansdottir reopening a cold case concerning a young Russian asylum seeker who was found dead from a suspected suicide. Unhappy with the way the case was concluded Hermannsdottir lifts the lid on the story and finds a link to the case of another missing girl. As her investigation continues she anxiously considers her own future in retirement and her new friendship with Peter. Could he be what she needs to finally put to bed the ghosts of the past?
Jonasson takes the crime fiction tropes we recognise and administers them with a sharp injection of Icelandic chill. The nights are darker, the snow drifts deeper and the crimes more brutal.
Read The Darkness now before the follow up which is due for publication in 2019
The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson and translated by Victoria Cribb published by Michael Joseph, 336 pages
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