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bonnybonnybooks 's review for:
Snowblind
by Ragnar Jónasson
I went to Iceland in 2021 for my honeymoon. One of my favorite stops was the absolutely charming town of Siglufjörður, where this book is set (it's in northern Iceland, slightly off the Ring Road, north of Iceland's second largest city of Akureyri). It is truly worth a visit if you can make it and I believe less murdery than in this book (if I read the stats right, then there were only 5 homicides in Iceland in all of 2020).
That slightly unnecessary background is to say that I was especially intrigued to read a detective novel set in Iceland written by an Icelander. For instance, I didn't appreciate how tied in Iceland is with the other Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway). Most of the characters were born in another Nordic country, or had a parent who was from there, or had lived there recently.
This is the story of Ari Thor, a brand new police officer who accepts a job in the small northern Icelandic town of Siglufjörður, back when the tunnels had not yet been built and therefore it was more isolated. He accepts the job without talking with his medical student girlfriend first. Of course, this does not go over well. Especially since neither of them are good communicators. Ari Thor leaves for Siglufjörður and it's not clear to either party if they are breaking up or not, but they refuse to discuss it. I read a review naming Ari Thor as a literary crush type and I must be old, because all his sharp intellect and his natural detective instincts cannot make up for his utter lack of ability to communicate and his continual blaming of his girlfriend for his own bad choices (he keeps griping that she is upset that he accepted a job far away from her without discussion that he was even applying for it, instead of being happy for him that he got a job. He thinks it's unfair that she's mad at him. He doesn't appreciate that this is an understandable outcome of his choice to not talk to her about what applying for a job in a remote town means for their relationship). Ari Thor then compounds his relationship problems by developing a crush on a woman in Siglufjörður and never telling her that he has a girlfriend. He of course blames her as well for her actions while he is hiding information. Ari Thor cannot take responsibility for his own actions.
Ari Thor is, however, a very good detective. And the mystery of a young woman found bleeding in the snow rolls along at a strong pace, and introduces the reader to a variety of local characters (and their biographies, of course, as Ragnar Jonasson is one of those mystery writers who gives detailed backgrounds on all the major players).
P.S. The English language publisher made a strange decision in the "order" of the six books in this series. The chronological order (which is what I'm following, to avoid learning spoilers and confusion from jumping around in time):
1) Snowblind
2) [b:Blackout|29562395|Blackout (Dark Iceland #3)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458513755l/29562395._SY75_.jpg|49873860]
3)[b:Rupture|33257659|Rupture (Dark Iceland #4)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480949184l/33257659._SY75_.jpg|53978242]
4)[b:Whiteout|35006235|Whiteout (Dark Iceland #5)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493408314l/35006235._SY75_.jpg|26224459]
5) [b:Nightblind|27248849|Nightblind (Dark Iceland #2)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445431789l/27248849._SY75_.jpg|43168376]
6)[b:Winterkill|54465690|Winterkill (Dark Iceland #6)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594414825l/54465690._SY75_.jpg|84999176]
That slightly unnecessary background is to say that I was especially intrigued to read a detective novel set in Iceland written by an Icelander. For instance, I didn't appreciate how tied in Iceland is with the other Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway). Most of the characters were born in another Nordic country, or had a parent who was from there, or had lived there recently.
This is the story of Ari Thor, a brand new police officer who accepts a job in the small northern Icelandic town of Siglufjörður, back when the tunnels had not yet been built and therefore it was more isolated. He accepts the job without talking with his medical student girlfriend first. Of course, this does not go over well. Especially since neither of them are good communicators. Ari Thor leaves for Siglufjörður and it's not clear to either party if they are breaking up or not, but they refuse to discuss it. I read a review naming Ari Thor as a literary crush type and I must be old, because all his sharp intellect and his natural detective instincts cannot make up for his utter lack of ability to communicate and his continual blaming of his girlfriend for his own bad choices (he keeps griping that she is upset that he accepted a job far away from her without discussion that he was even applying for it, instead of being happy for him that he got a job. He thinks it's unfair that she's mad at him. He doesn't appreciate that this is an understandable outcome of his choice to not talk to her about what applying for a job in a remote town means for their relationship). Ari Thor then compounds his relationship problems by developing a crush on a woman in Siglufjörður and never telling her that he has a girlfriend. He of course blames her as well for her actions while he is hiding information. Ari Thor cannot take responsibility for his own actions.
Ari Thor is, however, a very good detective. And the mystery of a young woman found bleeding in the snow rolls along at a strong pace, and introduces the reader to a variety of local characters (and their biographies, of course, as Ragnar Jonasson is one of those mystery writers who gives detailed backgrounds on all the major players).
P.S. The English language publisher made a strange decision in the "order" of the six books in this series. The chronological order (which is what I'm following, to avoid learning spoilers and confusion from jumping around in time):
1) Snowblind
2) [b:Blackout|29562395|Blackout (Dark Iceland #3)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458513755l/29562395._SY75_.jpg|49873860]
3)[b:Rupture|33257659|Rupture (Dark Iceland #4)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480949184l/33257659._SY75_.jpg|53978242]
4)[b:Whiteout|35006235|Whiteout (Dark Iceland #5)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493408314l/35006235._SY75_.jpg|26224459]
5) [b:Nightblind|27248849|Nightblind (Dark Iceland #2)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445431789l/27248849._SY75_.jpg|43168376]
6)[b:Winterkill|54465690|Winterkill (Dark Iceland #6)|Ragnar Jónasson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594414825l/54465690._SY75_.jpg|84999176]