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A review by clair_82
Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson
5.0
Ari Thór Arason is back in the final instalment of the Dark Iceland series - whilst I’m pleased that there is another story to read, I’m very disappointed to be saying goodbye!
In Whiteout, Ari Thór is reunited with Tómas to investigate the death of a young woman in a remote area of Iceland just before Christmas. Ari Thór is preparing for Christmas with his girlfriend Kristin who is 8 months pregnant with their first child when he receives a call out of the blue from his old boss Tómas asking for his assistance. Given the time of year and the impending birth of his child, Ari Thór agrees to help as long as Kristin can join them....so off they all head to Kalfshamarsvik to commence their investigation into the death of Asta.
Whiteout is broken down into distinct parts and what I particularly enjoyed was learning about Asta from her own perspective, for the first few chapters we are privy to Asta’s thoughts and feelings about being back in the place where her mother and sister died when she was a young girl. We are also introduced to the main characters through Asta’s interactions with them. We are only then in the company of Ari Thór and Tómas once Asta has died.
As is synonymous with Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series, this is a gentle investigation to begin with. Please don’t misunderstand me, by gentle I do not mean in anyway boring! Jónasson has a wonderful writing style that slowly draws you in bit by bit until you are completely immersed into the investigation - then, only when he is ready, do the strands start to unravel and the pace ramp up creating bags of tension to find out the reality of the circumstances, a classic whodunnit Icelandic style - just fantastic!!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series; I’m so pleased that this final instalment reunites Ari Thór and Tómas as I really like their dynamic and how they work together - it’s like they have never been apart! I look forward to where Jónasson’s writing takes us next!
If you’ve not read any of this series then you must - I highly recommend all of the books!
Whiteout is broken down into distinct parts and what I particularly enjoyed was learning about Asta from her own perspective, for the first few chapters we are privy to Asta’s thoughts and feelings about being back in the place where her mother and sister died when she was a young girl. We are also introduced to the main characters through Asta’s interactions with them. We are only then in the company of Ari Thór and Tómas once Asta has died.
As is synonymous with Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series, this is a gentle investigation to begin with. Please don’t misunderstand me, by gentle I do not mean in anyway boring! Jónasson has a wonderful writing style that slowly draws you in bit by bit until you are completely immersed into the investigation - then, only when he is ready, do the strands start to unravel and the pace ramp up creating bags of tension to find out the reality of the circumstances, a classic whodunnit Icelandic style - just fantastic!!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series; I’m so pleased that this final instalment reunites Ari Thór and Tómas as I really like their dynamic and how they work together - it’s like they have never been apart! I look forward to where Jónasson’s writing takes us next!
If you’ve not read any of this series then you must - I highly recommend all of the books!