Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson #bookreview #translatedbook

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Death at the Sanatorium in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published: September 10, 2024

 

Summary:

Fresh off his career-changing standalone co-written with Icelandic PM, Reykjavík, #1 Icelandic bestseller Jonasson presents a riveting new thriller spinoff from The Darkness, soon to be a TV series.

1983

At a former sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward, an old nurse, Yrsa, is found murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir and her boss, Sverrir, are sent to investigate her death. There, they discover five the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and the caretaker, who is arrested following false testimony from one of the nurses, but subsequently released.

Less than a week after the murder, the chief physician, is also found dead, having apparently fallen from a balcony. Sverrir, rules his death as suicide and assumes that he was guilty of the murder as well. The case is closed.

2012

Almost thirty years later, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, has been studying criminology in the UK, but decides to return to Iceland when he is offered a job at the Reykjavik police department—the job which detective Hulda Hermannsdottir is about to retire from.

He is also a collector of golden age detective stories, and is writing his thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. As Helgi delves deeper into the past, and starts his new job, he decides to try to meet with the original suspects. But soon he finds silence and suspicion at every turn, as he tries to finally solve the mystery from years before.

 

My thoughts:

I have long been a fan of Ragnar Jonasson’s crime fiction novels, having read every one of his books to date. As soon as I heard about this one, I immediately requested it and I was most definitely not disappointed.

This is a slow-burn mystery that is incredibly atmospheric. I loved the alternating timelines and all the different points of view, including a familiar face – one you will know if you’ve read Jonasson’s Hidden Iceland series, though not to worry if you haven’t as this book is in no way connected to that series. I’m always a fan of the cold case trope and loved how that was woven into this story. Plus, the sanatorium parts just add to the overall intrigue. This one really kept me guessing right up to the very end!

As I was reading, I couldn’t help but get a lot of Agatha Christie-like vibes from this story, which if you know this author, makes sense. And then I read the last part of the book and it all became clear. This book is a true testament to Jonasson’s love of Christie and I couldn’t have loved it more. While it has Jonasson’s own trademarks that I have come to love – an isolated setting, a very character-driven story and being incredibly, chillingly atmospheric, it also has the hallmarks of what makes Christie’s books so good – an intricate plot, just the right amount of details and clever twists. Nothing is superfluous and the suspense rises as you flip those pages.

I cannot recommend this book enough, or this author, enough! As I already mentioned, I’ve read all his books and will now be eager to see what he writes next!

 

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