Review: The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson

Title: The Darkness

Author: Ragnar Jonasson

Series: Hidden Iceland, #1

Published: October 2018, Minotaur Books

Format: Hardcover, 310 pages

Source: Library

Summary: 

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.

My thoughts: This is the first book in Ragnar Jonasson’s newest series, Hidden Iceland. For some reason, I didn’t read it when it first came out, and I was able to get my hands on the second book, The Island, which comes out in the middle of May, so me being my typical self who prefers to read series in order, I decided to start with book 1 and I am so glad I did!

This series features Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir who is a widow and is quickly approaching her retirement. She is 64 and finds out her boss would rather have her retire sooner as he has a younger person all set to do her job. This new person just happens to be male…this aptly sums up her career in a nutshell – she was never quite let into the “boys club,” never quite being accepted by her male colleagues, despite having a very successful career. Problem is, Hulda isn’t quite ready to retire just yet. She negotiates to be able to work on one last cold case, the death of a young Russian woman.

There are three threads in this book that keep it moving along. There is Hulda’s investigation, the upbringing of an illegitimate child, and a young woman’s trip to the Icelandic wilderness. The main story is of course, Hulda’s investigation, but the other two are equally compelling and are told by unknown voices. This only adds to the mystery as to why they are included in the story. As I started the book, I was wondering where it was all going, but then as I got further into the book, I kept trying to figure out how these threads would all piece together. I had many guesses, but none were correct!

While this is a mystery, I was more fascinated with Hulda’s character. She has secrets and I loved that they were not readily available for us to find out. I think Ragnar Jonasson does a great job in teasing this information out of her at just the right times, slowly revealing bits about Hulda when it seems pertinent. She certainly is quite the complex character!

This book is a pretty quick read, one that pulls you in and keeps you engaged in all that is going on. It is also incredibly atmospheric. I could feel the Icelandic chill of the winter, the darkness looming. Having been to Iceland myself, I could appreciate the descriptions of the lone terrain.

I cannot wait to read the rest of this trilogy, particularly as it is being told in reverse order. The next book, The Island, is set twenty-five years earlier. I think it will be quite interesting to see Hulda earlier in her career. 

Books in this series:

1. The Darkness
2. The Island – due out May 2019
3. The Mist – due out 2020