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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
So often, I reach the end of a whodunnit, and I can't actually remember what the crime was. That wasn't the case here, but I was still a bit bewildered by who was what and where and why. I think I'm just not very good at reading crime novels.
Anyway, it was an interesting read although it took a while to get started. I think the author is trying to set up a series, but I still think we could have done without the first few chapters.
Ari Thor is an okay main character, although a bit weak-spined. I found myself calling him a jerk or an idiot a few times. I did apologise later. There was some nice imagery and I did feel I got to know the town - but I also feel like I knew the town better than Ari Thor knew it. Idiot.
An enjoyable read. Three snowflakes.
Anyway, it was an interesting read although it took a while to get started. I think the author is trying to set up a series, but I still think we could have done without the first few chapters.
Ari Thor is an okay main character, although a bit weak-spined. I found myself calling him a jerk or an idiot a few times. I did apologise later. There was some nice imagery and I did feel I got to know the town - but I also feel like I knew the town better than Ari Thor knew it. Idiot.
An enjoyable read. Three snowflakes.
This is the first volume of the Dark Iceland series.
Rookie policeman Ari Thór Arason takes a posting in Siglufjörður, a remote, isolated village in northern Iceland, just south of the Arctic Circle. Soon, in the place where “nothing ever happens”, Ari Thór is involved in investigating two cases: the death of a celebrated author and an assault on a woman found half-naked in her garden.
This is very much a type of closed-room mystery. An avalanche blocks the only tunnel leading through the mountains to the rest of the country. That event and the oppressive, unrelenting snow create an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia.
Ari Thór is developed as an interesting protagonist. He is young and keen to prove himself. Thus far he has been rather directionless; he dropped out of philosophy and theology studies to become a policeman. His boss describes him as “inclined to be temperamental and impulsive [but] his intentions were always good.” He is intelligent, except when it comes to women; for instance, he takes the policing job without discussing it beforehand with his live-in girlfriend whom he knows will not be able to leave Reykjavik.
The book is not especially fast-paced. A great deal of time is devoted to giving the background of various characters. Keeping everyone straight can be difficult, but providing so much information does make the reader feel like Ari Thór, a newcomer to a close-knit community in which everyone knows everyone. We get to know the villagers as Ari Thór gets to know them. And, of course, these various people often have motives that make them possible suspects.
I appreciated that clues are not withheld. All the information is there; it just needs to be pieced together into an intelligible whole. The only technique that is artificial and feels awkward is the intentional omission of specific details as Ari Thór gets close to solving the cases: “It was the name that she mentioned that took Ari Thór by surprise” (without revealing the name) and “Ari Thór asked his question” (without indicating the actual question).
I am planning a trip to Iceland so I must admit that part of the appeal is the setting of the novel. I may not quite make it to Siglufjörður, but I have come across it in my itinerary research. Certainly, the book interested me enough that I’m off to read Blackout; the events in it supposedly follow those of Snowblind.
Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
Rookie policeman Ari Thór Arason takes a posting in Siglufjörður, a remote, isolated village in northern Iceland, just south of the Arctic Circle. Soon, in the place where “nothing ever happens”, Ari Thór is involved in investigating two cases: the death of a celebrated author and an assault on a woman found half-naked in her garden.
This is very much a type of closed-room mystery. An avalanche blocks the only tunnel leading through the mountains to the rest of the country. That event and the oppressive, unrelenting snow create an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia.
Ari Thór is developed as an interesting protagonist. He is young and keen to prove himself. Thus far he has been rather directionless; he dropped out of philosophy and theology studies to become a policeman. His boss describes him as “inclined to be temperamental and impulsive [but] his intentions were always good.” He is intelligent, except when it comes to women; for instance, he takes the policing job without discussing it beforehand with his live-in girlfriend whom he knows will not be able to leave Reykjavik.
The book is not especially fast-paced. A great deal of time is devoted to giving the background of various characters. Keeping everyone straight can be difficult, but providing so much information does make the reader feel like Ari Thór, a newcomer to a close-knit community in which everyone knows everyone. We get to know the villagers as Ari Thór gets to know them. And, of course, these various people often have motives that make them possible suspects.
I appreciated that clues are not withheld. All the information is there; it just needs to be pieced together into an intelligible whole. The only technique that is artificial and feels awkward is the intentional omission of specific details as Ari Thór gets close to solving the cases: “It was the name that she mentioned that took Ari Thór by surprise” (without revealing the name) and “Ari Thór asked his question” (without indicating the actual question).
I am planning a trip to Iceland so I must admit that part of the appeal is the setting of the novel. I may not quite make it to Siglufjörður, but I have come across it in my itinerary research. Certainly, the book interested me enough that I’m off to read Blackout; the events in it supposedly follow those of Snowblind.
Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ari Thor is a young policeman, on his first posting in a small Icelandic town. It is winter, and the town is snowed in, when two mysterious events turn the community upside down.
I have been wanting to read this for ages. I really liked the idea of it, and I had pretty much persuaded myself I was going to love it before I picked it up.
Unfortunately, that's not the case. This is a very slow thriller, and I found that I had to force myself to care about what happened. I didn't particularly like any of the characters - I didn't feel like anyone had much personality. At one point, I wondered when the crime and mystery would actually happen.
I was disappointed with this, and unless I can be persuaded otherwise, I won't continue reading the series.
I have been wanting to read this for ages. I really liked the idea of it, and I had pretty much persuaded myself I was going to love it before I picked it up.
Unfortunately, that's not the case. This is a very slow thriller, and I found that I had to force myself to care about what happened. I didn't particularly like any of the characters - I didn't feel like anyone had much personality. At one point, I wondered when the crime and mystery would actually happen.
I was disappointed with this, and unless I can be persuaded otherwise, I won't continue reading the series.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Definitely will read the rest of this series. I liked the characters and the way the story was told through multiple POVs. The setting is unique and fascinating. Just look up the real life location-it is beautiful and also daunting. My only frustration was one that I have with Christie stories, who Jonasson mentions specifically being inspired by: facts are withheld from the reader which keep you from figuring out what the main character does. Still, a good start to a series I think I will really enjoy.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I enjoyed this, but I had the feeling that it could be better with just a few tweaks? I'm not sure if this was due to losses in translation, but this comes so close to being a cozy mystery in the in-the-isolated -community sense, in which the suspect pool is limited to the small population, and we learn about everyone's yearnings and secrets while the environment itself seems to reflect the mood. But it doesn't quite get there.