Mörkret

Hidden Iceland #1

by Ragnar Jónasson, Arvid Nordh (Translator)

En ung kvinna hittas död på en enslig strand. Här sökte hon skydd. I stället fann hon sin grav i vågorna. En förhastad polisutredning bedömer händelsen som självmord.

Hulda Hermannsdóttir, kommissarie vid Reykjavikpolisen, tvingas till en tidig pension. Dessförinnan ges hon möjlighet att åta sig ett sista fall. Hon vet exakt vilket hon ska välja. Och vad hon finner är något avsevärt mycket värre än självmord. Ändå har hon svårt att få ut ens den mest elementära information i fallet. När Huldas egna kolleger försöker bromsa utredningen, finns till sist bara ett sätt kvar. För att avslöja sanningen riskerar hon sitt eget liv.

Mörkret är den första boken i en planerad romantrilogi om poliskommissarie Hulda Hermannsdottír, av Islands just nu hetaste kriminalromanförfattare, Ragnar Jonásson.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Nordic Noir, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Ragnar Jonasson is author of the award winning and international bestselling Dark Iceland series.

His debut Snowblind, first in the Dark Iceland series, went to number one in the Amazon Kindle charts shortly after publication. The book was also a no. 1 Amazon Kindle bestseller in Australia. Snowblind has been a paperback bestseller in France.

Nightblind won the Dead Good Reader Award 2016 for Most Captivating Crime in Translation.

Snowblind was called a "classically crafted whodunit" by THE NEW YORK TIMES, and it was selected by The Independent as one of the best crime novels of 2015 in the UK.

Rights to the Dark Iceland series have been sold to UK, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, Poland, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Morocco, Portugal, Croatia, Armenia and Iceland.

Ragnar was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he works as a writer and a lawyer. He also teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University and has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV-news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.

He is also the co-founder of the Reykjavik international crime writing festival Iceland Noir.

From the age of 17, Ragnar translated 14 Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic.

Ragnar has also had short stories published internationally, including in the distinguished Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in the US, the first stories by an Icelandic author in that magazine.

He has appeared on festival panels worldwide, and lives in Reykjavik.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Iceland police, is 64 years old and soon to retire, but as far as her boss is concerned she may as well go now - he's got a much younger person lined up for her job, and he's male, which just about sums up Hulda's career - never 'one of the boys' quite literally, she's always been treated with derision by her colleagues. So she'll be overjoyed with the prospect of retirement won't she? No, not in the least, it's what gets her out of bed in the morning, what gets her adrenalin going.

However, before she hands in her badge for good, her boss agrees to let her take on one more case - a cold case involving a young female Russian immigrant who was found dead a year ago. Hulda believes her colleague Alexander didn't put much effort into this case, preferring to dismiss it as suicide - Hulda believes there was more to it than that, and is determined to get justice for this girl.

I'd heard great things about this author, so I was excited to read The Darkness. Alas it didn't quite live up to expectations for me. It was an ok read, and I really liked Hulda, but I never felt gripped by the storyline, never felt excited to get back to it.

* Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for my ARC. I have given an honest review in exchange*

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Scand-Noir set in Iceland featuring widow and Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Reykajavik Police, 64 years old and approaching retirement with nothing in her life but her job. Her boss, Magnus, is insensitive when he informs her they have someone already lined up for her post, and she can retire at once. Feeling unappreciated and unwanted, Hulda insists on staying, and is told she can work a cold case for two weeks. A shell shocked Hulda knows which case she wants, a Russian asylum seeker, Elena, was found dead at a cove just over a year ago. An incompetent colleague, Alexander, barely investigated, ruling Elena's death a suicide. Hulda considers getting closer to Petar, a retired doctor, to ease her loneliness, she literally has no-one, not even a friend. She loved her husband, Jon, but knows she does not have it in her to love anyone else as she loved him. Jonasson gives us a multi-layered story of darkness everywhere, in the geography and financial crash of Iceland, the glimpse of her childhood and the future that Hulda faces, and the case of Elena and what turns out to be the disappearance of another Russian woman, Katja.

The story takes Hulda, a woman who has been overlooked and experienced difficulty working with and gelling with her police colleagues, and gives us her introspective view of her life and the world. She is hugely claustrophobic, affected by dark enclosed spaces after her grandmother used to lock her up as a child. The only bright spot is that she begins to finds some comfort in her developing relationship with Petar and the promise that it holds. However, the case is difficult and complex, and Hulda inadvertantly wrecks an covert police operation involving a people and sex trafficker which brings the wrath of Magnus on her head. This is compounded by Hulda's actions with a hit and run driver who targets a paedophile. Hulda's life begins to spiral out of control when a confident and skilled murderer awakens and begins to feel that Hulda is getting too close to the truth.

Jonasson writes a crime story with strong psychological elements and twists. He gives us several threads, the Elena investigation, a mother experiencing severe obstacles in bringing up an illegitimate child after a one night stand with an American, and a woman who feels pushed into going out with a man on an dangerous outdoor adventure in the barren and dangerous Icelandic landscape, feeling completely out of her comfort zone. There are instances where the reader is made to feel that Hulda is an unreliable narrator, and we learn that her marriage is not what we are led to believe, holding its own darkness. All in all, this is a great and entertaining read, it was not what I expected it to be and the ending comes out of the blue. A dark tale for those who enjoy reading Scandinavian Crime. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst. Ending. Ever!

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a new series, features Hulga, a police detective who at the age of sixty four, will within months be retiring. Yet, she is far from ready for retirement, the though of being alone with nothing to do fills her with dread. When her boss tells her he has already hired someone to take over her cases, that she should clean out her office and start her retirement early, she refuses. To pacify her he tells her to pick out a cold case and she can work on it for a few weeks. The case she chooses is that of a young woman, an asylum seeker, whose death has been classified as a suicide.

I like that author are showing older woman in positions of power, refusing to give in nor give up. There is a poignant back story to Hulgas life, and explains how she came to be alone. My favorite thing this author does is the atmosphere created. One feels the cold, the ice, the gusts of wind, of winter in Iceland. It permeates the story, adding to it by bringing the reader into environment. Three separate threads, give us a personal look into the young life of Hulga, and of a young woman trudging through the snow. These threads connect and build on the story, personally and case wise. A strong start to what I believe will be another fantastic Nordic series.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Darkness" by Ragnar Jonasson is the first in the 'Hidden Iceland' series which sadly I found quite flat and with a rather bland and whingeing female protagonist, Hulda Hermannsdóttir.
Considering the author is an already an established best selling writer of the excellent "Dark Iceland" series featuring policeman Ari Thor, I thought that this was a very poor relation to them.
The story was generally uninspiring, although as the book went on I did get into it slightly more and I was curious enough to want to see it through to the end. The interspersed chapters featuring Hulda's childhood years and the events leading up to what happened with Elena, did make it a little more interesting and the ending was very unexpected. The subject matter however was not to my liking.
Having read one of the author's previous novels, which I thought was fantastic, atmospheric and haunting it immediately gave me the desire to visit Iceland immediately. However, I felt the descriptions of Iceland in this book were drab, dreary, bleak and very unattractive and gave me no interest to visit at all.
The premise of the planned trilogy told backwards with the last story published first does make for an interesting scenario, however, sadly it's a series I may not be keen to pursue. I will though read more by this author but it will be his previous more intriguing and better written series.

2.5 stars

[Beata · Rating 2 out of 5]

An OK read for me, quick and with a good mystery behind it but noting in the book I would rave about. I came to like Hulda, and may choose to read Book 2.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m 3.5 stars

If you’ve read this author’s Dark Iceland series, take note. This has a decidedly darker, moodier tone with a completely different MC.

DI Hulda Hermannsdóttir has been dreading retirement but thought she had some time to get used to the idea. That changes when her boss announces he is replacing her with a shiny, young “high achiever”. In 2 weeks. She has a couple of choices. She can leave immediately or use her remaining time to take a fresh look at a cold case. The thought of endless days alone in her tiny flat holds no appeal so Hulda quickly picks up a shelved investigation into the death of a young Russian woman.

In alternate chapters, we follow a young woman who gives birth to a daughter in 1948. Shamed by her family, she has no choice but to temporarily relinquish custody while she struggles to build a life for herself. The story of her relationship with her daughter gradually unfolds to reveal its link to the present.

This is a quick, easy read with an interesting MC. There are not many 65 year old female detectives out there & I enjoyed the perspective her maturity & life experience brought to the story. She also has a potential love interest after being widowed for many years. With retirement looming, Hulda spends time reflecting on her life & we learn about her marriage & early years as a cop. That’s how her secret is revealed. And it’s a whopper.

Make no mistake, Hulda is not the fuzzy grandmotherly type. When she joined the force, women were scarce & despite her high clearance rate, she watched one man after another get the promotions she deserved. It’s left a bitter taste in her mouth & the ageism that’s developed in recent years hasn’t helped.

The cold case heads off in directions no one could have predicted & Hulda meets her fair share of dodgy characters. I was clipping along wondering how it would all play out & thinking this was a solid 3 star read. Then I reached the end. Wait…what? Well, that was not on my radar. So I added points for taking the road less travelled. It was an unexpected & risky finish for book #1 in a series.

[Paula K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hidden Iceland #1, The Darkness, is the 2nd series I have started reading by Icelandic author Ragnar Jonasson. His other series, Dark Iceland, is also quite enjoyable. Both series take place in the stark, unforgiving environment of Iceland and are very entertaining for those that like dark thrillers.

The Darkness introduces Hulda Hermannsdottir, a Detective Inspector with the Reykjavik police. Hulda is 64 years old and due for retirement that she is not looking forward to this year. Her life is all about work. Her family is gone, but she does have one friend she sees on occasion. Unfortunately, her idiot of a boss, Magnus, decides to tell her to pack it up early with a 2 week notice. Hulda is horrified. Magnus relents and allows her to stay for the 2 weeks and work a cold case. Hulda picks a 1 year old murder case of a young female asylum seeker that was botched by one of her incompetent male colleagues. The case, however, gets her in a lot of trouble from different angles. The ending is very shocking and leaves a lot open concerning Hulda’s past.

The Darkness is a good start to a new series and has all the makings of being as good as Jonasson’s other series. I plan on continuing to read about Hulda’s adventures.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Ragnar Jonasson for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date - October 16, 2018

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fabulous start to a series. I had never read anything by Ragnar Jonasson before, so I loved the idea of reading the first book in a brand new series.

I was taken by Hulda from the first page. One of the first things we learn about her is she has her own sense of ethics. She’s a competent DI who has been continually passed over for promotion just because she’s an older woman. As one of the invisible masses of older women, I totally understood. She is literally given her walking papers months before she’s due to retire because they've hired some young wunderkin. She fights for two more weeks and undertakes a cold case to fill that time as all her existing cases had been re-assigned.

The writing here isn’t lush. It’s as pragmatic as Hulda is. The book moves at a fast clip. The current story is interlaced with chapters concerning Hilda’s childhood, which give you a good idea of why she turned out as prickly and hands off as she is.

This one keeps you engaged and then that ending!

My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

[Louise Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the age of sixty-four, Detective inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Reykjavik Police is about to take on her last case before she retires. A young woman, an asylum seeker from Russia, found murdered on the seaweed rocks of the Vatnsleysustrand in Iceland. When Hulda starts to ask questions, it isn't long before she realises that no one can be trusted, and that no one is telling the whole truth.

By the end of this book I felt I had been and seen the Islandic landscape. I do prefer a book that has a bit more twists and grit to it though. The ending I did not see coming and I was surprised to find I was finished the book. I did enjoy this story

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst. Ending. Ever! 2 of 10 stars

[Rachel L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I listened to this book as it was the Mystery Book Club choice at my library. I’m glad I read it, since I never would have picked it up on my own, but also I have some conflicted feelings on this book as a whole. I loved Hulda as a character, and she’s what drives the novel for sure. I was never super engaged by the mystery and kind of didn’t care about the whodunit, I liked Hulda’s process more instead. The ending was not to my tastes, and I can’t say anymore without spoilers, but it definitely killed the majority of the like I had for the book and ruined it a bit for me. I am debating reading the second book or stopping here. We shall see.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simplistic and obvious, this is a disappointing offering from Jonasson. Soon to be retired police detective, Hulda, is being ousted early to make way for the young, male new blood in the department. This cold case is her last moment of investigative glory, except it doesn't quite work out for her, or for the reader. If this is the start of a new series, it's a really bad one: both the writing and the plot are flat, while the whiny main character is hardly the type you want to spend time with. I certainly won't be reading any more.

ARC via Netgalley.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable quick read and excellently translated too as the story flowed really well. The central character was DI Hulda Hermannsdottir who was 64 and being forced to retire before she wished to do so. She was reluctantly given two weeks on cold cases before packing up her belongings and leaving HQ and chose to investigate the supposed suicide of Elena, a Russian asylum seeker. The original case was mishandled in Hulda’s opinion (and if spellcheck changes that to Hilda one more time ......🥴). I liked Hulda as she was dogged, determined and very human! She made mistakes but she made them because she had empathy and was kind. This stalled her career although part of the point was women and glass ceilings. Her life had not been easy either as we learn as the story progressed. I loved the Icelandic setting which having recently loved a series shown on BBC4 (Trapped) I was able to picture clearly! Although I guessed the perpetrator of the crimes under investigation it did not spoil the enjoyment and the end was certainly surprising. I didn’t see that one coming! I’ll definitely read the rest of the series.

[Margitte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Call it a revenge rating. I was never so magnificently angry with an ending than with this book. Excellent writing, gripping, Scandinavian noir. Alas, the first book in a series with a blunt cliffhanger ending. I will change my rating whenever I've read the second book - if ever.

[Phils Osophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich habe nicht erwartet, dass eine derart schnörkellose, einfache Kriminalgeschichte dahinter steckt. Tatsächlich ist die Hauptstory komplett uninspiriert und ohne eine Spur von Action... Doch der heimliche Star "Dunkel" ist ohne jede Frage die Protagonistin Hulda, die ich wirklich feier. Und das Ende lässt dann doch irgendwie nach mehr verlangen.... Aber über seine 370 Seiten hinweg (netto vermutlich nur 200 😅) war das Buch wirklich nichts Besonderes. Aber das Potenzial ist da.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really enjoyed this first book in a new series from Ragnar Jonasson, a tense mystery, the trademark chilly Iceland setting and a different way of doing things as the next two books will cover events from years earlier. So in a way The Darkness is an ending. A very good one!

Hulda was an intriguing character, I'm looking forward to reading about her younger years, I believe the cases we'll see in the future books may have been teased here - but The Darkness is complete in and of itself. Yep. Very good. Fuller review to follow.

[Ellery Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Ragnar Jonasson, but it won't be my last. Loved reading about a mature (64) heroine. The Icelandic setting was fascinating, and while the mystery was slow to unravel, I didn't mind one bit. I enjoyed the process and was stunned, but not disappointed, by the shocker at the end.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a huge fan of Ragnar Jónasson’s writing, so when I heard we were finally going to meet Hulda Hermansdottir in The Darkness, I jumped at the chance to read it, and I was definitely not disappointed.

Hulda is a Detective in the Reykjavik Police, and at sixty-four, is almost ready to retire. When she takes on the last case of her career, Hulda finds out that all is not what it seems. The case, a cold case, involved a young woman seeking asylum from Russia, who was found murdered on an isolated beach in Vatnsleysuströnd. Hulda thinks that if she can solve this one last case, she’ll go out on a high as she finishes her career, but life is never really that easy.

The Darkness is another fine example of Ragnar Jónasson’s ability to transfer the chilling Icelandic landscape into a character in the book. Unforgiving, dark and more than a little unsettling, I found myself thinking it sounds like a very harsh place to live. But I could easily conjure up the images he created.

Speaking of character, I really enjoyed reading about Hulda. It seems she is a little misunderstood by her colleagues, but when you get a glimpse into her thought processes you see she is lovely, just a bit standoffish. Her gruff demeanour does little to endear her to many of the people around her, but I warmed to her immediately.

By the end of the book, I genuinely didn’t want to have to turn that last page, so I’m really glad this is only the beginning. Or the end, because the books are going in reverse order.

To sum up, for me, The Darkness was a haunting portrait of the Icelandic landscape, with brilliantly drawn characters and a thoroughly chilling plot. It takes the reader on an unexpected journey, and I loved every minute of it.

Highly recommended, as always!

[chan · Rating 1 out of 5]

CW: child abuse, pedophilia, rape and murder

Time was like a concertina: one minute compressed, the next stretching out interminably.

The synopsis was full of potential, unfortunatley The Darkness is just a clumsily written/translated mediocre mystery that besides being weirdly structured completely went off the rails in its last 12%.

The story follows Hulda Hermannsdóttir, a sixty-four-year-old Detective Inspector with the Reykjavik police. Altough she knows she will be due for retirement within the next year, she turns a blind eye to the fact and just keeps on working, because that's all she really has in her life. When her superior wants to force her into early retirement she fights back and reluctantly gets another two weeks to work on any cold case she wants to. She chooses the case with the female Russian immigrant who was found dead on rocky shores. Her death was declared a suicide, but Hulda suspects otherwise - not only because the case's lead Detective at the time has a reputation of investigating cursorily.

Two reasons drew me to this book:

01. An elderly policewoman as the main character, because I think it's a unique perspective in mysteries.
02. The cold case, because I thought it promised the story to delve into contemporary issues surrounding xenophobia or politics.

Honestly, the only redeeming quality about this story is the idea to tell it from the perspective of an elderly female investigator, because the character Hulda is.. tiring, constantly lamenting about how much she doesn't look forward to her retirement while telling us how sexist her predominantly younger male colleagues are, envisioning herself with this man she just knows superficially but who could be decent enough to settle with or reminiscing on her family she lost.

A couple of things really irritated me:

Firstly, there's the supposed sexism she experienced throughout her career. Hulda lets the reader know how impossible it was to get promoted, that younger male colleagues were favored or that they didn't even want to work with her. Of course I do believe that this is a reality for many female law enforcement officers around the world, but as we follow Hulda during her last couple of days as an Investigator I became convinced she must be really bad at her job. She decides not to press charges against a women who confessed to run over a man with her car, because the guy was a known pedophile, she doesn't communicate with anybody and because of that interferes with another division's undercover investigation, she draws incomprehensible consequences and doesn't immediately follow up on possible evidence neither.

Secondly, there's the whole mess with her family which would be enough material for another book entirely. You only learn of her husband's premature death and her daughter's suicde in a couple of mentionings, which wasn't enough for me to become suspicious of anything except maybe the circumstances surrounding a thirteen-year-old taking her own life - up until the very end, when within two chapters it's revealed that her husband not only sexually abused their daughter, Hulda also never suspected anything, until after her daughter's death when she saw her husband's face ("The moment Dimma died, the moment she saw Jón’s reaction, the truth had come crashing home to her. She didn’t even need to ask.") and because she didn't want to "drag the family through a public sexual-abuse inquiry", she - of course - killed him and got away with it. This reveal made me so angry. It felt like the sexual abuse of a child was just used as a tool to make Hulda's back story so much more tragic.

Thirdly, the cold case. It's boring and unimaginative. Once again the culprit is the forty-something guy who still lives in his parents' garage and did it, because one women didn't want to sleep with him and the other asked too many questions.

Contrary to others I would have actually liked the ending if the rest of the story would have been.. good. In the end I was just glad I could finally delete this eBook from my eReader which isn't as satisfactory as throwing the physical book across the room, but c'est la vie.
At least after two books I didn't (really) like, I can now say for sure I won't be picking up anything else by Ragnar Jónasson in the future; his stories and writing clearly aren't for me.

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley, all thoughts are my own!

T/W- Mentions of suicide, mentions of sexual abuse, corpses

The first book in a planned Nordic noir trilogy, The Darkness looked promising from the email I got sent promoting the novel. It follows a detective about to retire in Iceland and working on her final case: The unsolved murder of a young Russian girl, deemed first to be a suicide but now with suspicions of foul play. Hulda Hermannsdottir, the detective, finds her work cut out in her efforts to discover the truth. I loved the world-building throughout this novel however, I struggled with character connection. There was also a lot of back story that I felt dragged the pacing which I wasn't too keen on. The novel is translated from its original Icelandic to English for the first time which is always exciting. Personally, I was left disappointed even though the story didn't end on a cliffhanger. I still want to go to Iceland one day!

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved. Loved. Loved.

Full review to follow but I already bought the other two books in the series and can't wait for them to get there! New fave author too. I'm diving deep into Ragnar Jónasson's backlist.

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this as it has a female lead detective but also because of her age. I've read a lot of crime but there are many crime authors I've still to read so I'm not aware of too many older female detectives (Vera Stanhope is one that springs to mind) and by older I mean 55+. The age and imminent retirement gave me a little something different to read than your standard thrillers. I was intrigued as this is Book 1 by how the series would continue after Hulda's retirement. Now having read the shock twisty ending I really, really am intrigued by what will be the next story. 

This is a very fast read. the whole book takes place over three days and the short chapters add to the speed of everything that happens. There are 3 strands to the story; one of Hulda's as she takes on a cold case suicide and discovers a murder instead, the second the point of view of the killer and the third one is Hulda's relationships with her mother, new boyfriend (could you call a 70 year old man a boyfriend??) and her late husband. 

I just really enjoyed it and it was great to really get into a book and read it in 24 hours. I haven't done that in a while. I didn't skip any pages, the action is believable and it's jsut a really gripping thriller. 

Highly recommended
Free arc from netgalley

[Lucia Nieto Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela ambientada en Islandia, donde nuestra protagonista, Hulda, es la inspectora y viuda, que tiene 64 años y está a punto de jubilarse. Algo que de primeras me llamó mucho la atención.
El ultimo caso que investigara antes de la jubilación, es sobre una chica rusa, que fue encontrada muerta en una cala hace un año, un caso que se “cerró” como si fuera un suicidio…

El autor escribe una historia que comienza de forma lenta, un poco introductoria a lo que se avecina, sin demasiados giros, pero con elementos psicológicos que te van hacer reflexionar. Tendremos varios hilos en la historia, exactamente tres, pero que todos al final van a estar hilados de una forma que no te esperas….
Hay momentos en la historia en los que te vas a enfadar con la protagonista, pero según avanzas vas a entender su comportamiento… una novela que sin grandes giros te mantiene pegada a las páginas, con capítulos muy cortos para que devores la historia…
Del final… pues ha sido bastante sorprendente, para nada me esperaba como acaba, pero más me ha sorprendido el epílogo, que lo único que hace es querer que traduzcan la segunda parte…
Un libro recomendado para los amantes del thriller y que tiene pinta de que va a ser una saga que va a evolucionar con los libros.

[Janel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surely, you’ve all read a book that gives you a taste of the end at the beginning, and experienced that need to know what happened – how did these events come to be? Well, image that happening with an entire series. Actually, you don’t even have to imagine because that’s exactly what Jónasson has done with his Hidden Iceland series – The Darkness is the first book in this Nordic noir series, featuring Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir, and the next books in this series will take place decades earlier. So, while you are reading this novel getting to know Hulda, you’re also curious about her life before we meet her. While this intrigue is there, The Darkness is a great novel in itself, and you’re left wanting more – not because this novel isn’t wrapped up but because you can already foresee how clever this series is going to be.

We first meet Hulda as she’s reaching retirement – it was a nice change to meet a detective at the end of their career rather than at the beginning, the knowledge and expertise is already there; so, when Hulda chooses a cold case to investigate, you know she’s a one-woman team up to the task. The mystery in this case is simpler than in other crime novels I’ve read, but it made for engaging reading. You slowly warm to Hulda, even though her colleagues don’t appear to have, and you hope her last case is one she can solve, because no one wants to be haunted by an unsolved case when they’re retiring.

The Darkness is a quick read, a novel that can be read in one-sitting and would appeal to fans of classic crime fiction. All the Nordic Noir feels are there, the cold Icelandic landscape creating that eerie atmosphere. Jónasson has a fluid and easily accessible writing style, so while I could not pronounce Reykjavík (or any of the other areas mentioned), it didn’t matter because I was easily able to transport myself to the location and experience it first-hand. This is definitely a book that gets better with every page you turn, I won’t give anything away, I’ll just say, I thought the ending was brilliant!

I can’t wait to return to this series, book 2 is set a decade earlier, and I’m looking forward to seeing how those events feed into what we already know. And as always, I’m grateful to Victoria Cribb, for translating this novel from the Icelandic so I could read it and become Jónasson’s newest fan!

*My thanks to Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) for providing me with a copy of this novel*

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

audiobook. The appeal of the story is the unusual main character Hulda, a 64yo female detective who is approaching retirement. Not many of them kicking about.

I was absorbed in Hulda’s loneliness and her feeling of being unwanted by her chauvinistic employers. Glimpses into her backstory were interesting and provided a hint of what will follow in the series. However the storyline was a bit flat and unfortunately the author didn’t convey the same level of isolation and bleakness compared with his Dark Iceland series. The unexpected and interesting(ish) ending caught me a bit by surprise.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful crime mystery beautifully translated by the talented Victoria Cribb.
Ragnar Jónasson has turned a police procedural on its head by introducing us to Hulda Hermannsdóttir a strong female detective held back by her gender but no longer as she is due to retire.
Rather than jump as soon as her leaving is brought forward and offered without any loss of benefits. Ever the professional Hulda takes they last two weeks to look at a cold case.
The suicide of a young Russian asylum seeker does not sit comfortably with Hulda. She turns up a great deal of new evidence and feels she might re-open the enquiry as she feels it could have been a murder.
Trouble is she only has 3 days to solve the mystery.
Many authors in this genre write a series around an original character. Their last thought is retirement but others have tried to carry on never the less or gone back into their early police careers.
Here we have a whirlwind of a novel encompassing almost the whole life of Hulda as the author tries to take the new start retirement offers to reflect on a career and make new plans for hobbies and a less stressful life.
Jónasson in approaching a novel in this way informs his readers of a former way of life in Iceland and uses its topography and history to its full effect.
In presenting his detective with an opportunity to save a woman from jail and not uphold the law he brings into focus those things we sometimes are tempted with in our own lives. He challenges what is seen of a person, their public persona and suggests in this quite brilliant book that sometimes things are better unsaid and kept hidden. When a light is shone on darkness we might not like what we see.
How colleagues see Hulda at the end of her career can go two ways in this thrilling story. What is our private and public faces? Are they the same? Well I for one was drawn to this strong female character and after the final page is turned and left breathless wanting more and fully won over by all Hulda was in the various stages of her life. Her story is told in such an enthralling and gentle reveal I’m sure all readers will share my opinion of the star of this book.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first book in a new series from Ragnar Jonasson features Huldu Hermansdottir, a police inspector nearing mandatory retirement, and resenting that fact. As the story opens, Huldu is presented with a new, unwelcome “gift” from her boss. She no longer has one more year of work. Her replacement is available now and will need her office very soon. She can begin her retirement early, with pay of course. For a woman whose refuge has been work, who dreads time alone, this amounts to a curse. So Huldu works on one last case, a fairly cold case, the death of an asylum-seeker from Russia found on the shore a year ago.

As the novel advances, we learn about Huldu’s life, family, her feelings about her time with the police and her mostly male colleagues. There also are stories told in alternating chapters that fit into both Huldu’s and the crime story. (Those who dislike this device seen frequently in novels of late, be warned.) Huldu is an interesting woman; at 64, she is in a demographic not often used to lead such a novel. Her fears seemed realistic with an overlay specific to her situation.

To say much more is to risk spoiler territory which I want to avoid. The Darkness is the story of a woman at a turning point in her life, trying to right a case left unsolved, trying to decide what she wants and who she is after some major life disappointments.

My feelings are a bit mixed about this book, at times firmly in the 4* territory while others saw it more of a 3*. So probably a 3.5* rounded to 4 here. Not quite up to the standard of Jonasson's Dark Iceland series but I will give the next installment a try.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Meags · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

The story follows 64 year old Icelandic detective inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir, as she works on one final case before being forced into an unwanted early retirement.

With restricted time left to work the case, and with limited assistance and cooperation from the “boys club” of detectives she’s surrounded by in her workplace, Hulda throws herself into solving a year old cold case involving a young dead Russian immigrant named Elena. Everyone believes Elena took her own life, but the more Hulda digs, the more she believes foul play was likely at hand.

Determined to find out the truth and get some much deserved justice for Elena, Hulda reopens the investigation and pulls out all the stops to find out what really happened. Unfortunately, Hulda is met with hostility and contempt at every turn, not only from the people she re-interviews for the case, but also from her colleagues and superiors, who believe she’s on a wild goose chase.

In the end, Hulda is on her own as the final hours count down before she’s no longer in a position to solve the murder no one else even believes transpired.

As far as reading my first Nordic Noir story is concerned, this was a positive and enjoyable experience. I particularly loved the atmospheric and remarkable Icelandic landscape presented by Jónasson. I also appreciated the unpretentious twists and turns which unfolded throughout this story. It wasn’t a ground-breaking crime-mystery by any means, but it was well-written, with a cast of complex, if often disagreeable characters, and with an engaging plot that kept me glued to the page.

My only real issue with the story related to some of the behaviour and actions of the players involved. As professional investigators, I just felt these people were too pigheaded and unthoughtful at times, including Hulda herself, who often showed her age and her negative attitude through the tactless choices she made during her investigation. Thankfully, her heart was always in the right place so I never became too frustrated by her actions.

I must say, though, that it was the ending that ultimately made me rate higher than I maybe would have otherwise. Some readers will hate this ending, but the shock and surprise of it alone had me impressed.

I’ll certainly be keeping my eye out for the upcoming English translation of book two.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up.

This is a book that sits within the detective fiction genre but it is far from typical and surprised me by how much I liked it.
I have not read many books set in Iceland so this was really interesting and the main character is a woman facing retirement which is also unusual.

Out of a fairly standard premise came an exceptional story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I've upped my rating as several days later I'm thinking about the strengths of this book and I'm eager to read more from this author.

(On audible UK the book is called The Darkness aka Dimma in Icelandic)