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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
I do love Scandinavian crime. But our MC, Ari Thor, was… aggravating to say the least. He’s young, immature, and kind of adorably dumb in some capacities. He also threw himself headlong into a love triangle and didn’t have the courage to tell his fiancée that he was cheating on her for some months.
The mystery was enjoyable though. I do think I’ll read further in this series in time, as it was well written, atmospheric, and entertaining. I just hope Ari matured as the series continues…
The mystery was enjoyable though. I do think I’ll read further in this series in time, as it was well written, atmospheric, and entertaining. I just hope Ari matured as the series continues…
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The main character had some major flaws- immaturity probably being the most significant. I strongly dislike in a detective novel when an investigator is supposed to be so talented and promising but then seems to react incredibly emotionally and based on his “gut.” The mystery itself was intriguing and well written, but I really was annoyed with the main character. The ending seemed rather abrupt with no clear description of what happened to his relationship.
Maybe it was the translation but it just didn’t do it for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a confession – the whole Nordic Noir, Scandi crime thing has passed me by. I kept seeing fabulous reviews of Snowblind though (translated so well by Quentin Bates) and the sequel Nightblind by Ragnar Jonasson so when I heard there was a third book due out and that he was coming to the Edinburgh Book Festival, I thought now was the time to try some Nordic Noir. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I enjoyed reading about Ari Thor as he carried out his investigations. He put me in mind of Hercule Poirot, albeit a younger and more handsome version (at least in my mind!). This was a case of good old fashioned detective work with Ari Thor doggedly working his way through the evidence and systematically interviewing all the witnesses, beginning to come to conclusions. There were lots of clues leading the reader develop their suspicions about what had happened and who was responsible. What Ragnar Jonasson has done brilliantly in this book is bring the town of Siglufjorour to life – even if I have no idea how to pronounce it! I was reading this over Midsummer, with light in the sky past eleven at night, yet I could sense the darkness and chill of the Icelandic winter. The oppressiveness of the snow and cold was ever present and the feeling of the claustrophobia, especially when the town was cut off by an avalanche, was almost tangible.
Snowblind was a steady paced novel with a very likeable protagonist who I’m sure I will enjoy getting to know more in the other Dark Iceland novels. I’m looking forward to reading Nightblind and the soon to be released Blackout, the third in the Dark Iceland series. And I’m very much looking forward to hearing Ragnar Jonasson at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August.
I enjoyed reading about Ari Thor as he carried out his investigations. He put me in mind of Hercule Poirot, albeit a younger and more handsome version (at least in my mind!). This was a case of good old fashioned detective work with Ari Thor doggedly working his way through the evidence and systematically interviewing all the witnesses, beginning to come to conclusions. There were lots of clues leading the reader develop their suspicions about what had happened and who was responsible. What Ragnar Jonasson has done brilliantly in this book is bring the town of Siglufjorour to life – even if I have no idea how to pronounce it! I was reading this over Midsummer, with light in the sky past eleven at night, yet I could sense the darkness and chill of the Icelandic winter. The oppressiveness of the snow and cold was ever present and the feeling of the claustrophobia, especially when the town was cut off by an avalanche, was almost tangible.
Snowblind was a steady paced novel with a very likeable protagonist who I’m sure I will enjoy getting to know more in the other Dark Iceland novels. I’m looking forward to reading Nightblind and the soon to be released Blackout, the third in the Dark Iceland series. And I’m very much looking forward to hearing Ragnar Jonasson at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I love mysteries and thrillers, but this one was quite different from what I have read before. It was slower than I expected a thriller to be, but as I read it felt myself getting more tense and sucked into the book. The setting was perfect to set up a dark crime drama in a small town. I felt even myself get claustrophobic as times (like the MC) as the snow fell, the routes out were obstructed, and it seemed dark all the time. This was due to the very skillfully constructed and described setting in northern Iceland. It comforted me that the MC was not used to the weather either and I felt like we were learning to cope with it together. The plot was interested and timed very well, but the gold stars were the characters. Each as mysterious and intricately pieced together as the next. It's been a long time since I read such interesting characters with the perfect balance of details and mystique. I just loved how this story was put together into the perfect crime novel and I cannot wait to return to this snowy dark Icelandic town for more crime drama. I can't believe this was a translated book because the prose and the flow of the story were spot on.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The author does a good job with the mystery, but I'm not sure how much I care about Ari Thor yet. Will move on to the next in the series and see.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes