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There has been a lot of talk on Twitter about the Dark Iceland series, of which Snowblind is the first instalment, and not one for missing out, I had to get stuck in to this series. Prior to starting this blog in February, I hadn’t heard of Jónasson but I am so pleased that I came across his books!
Ari Thór is a long way from home, the city of Reykjavik, and his girlfriend Kristin. Ari seems a little lost, not really knowing what he wants from life, which is in complete contrast to Kristin who has a plan and is exceptionally dedicated to her career and associated studies. Ari takes a job, it seems on a whim, in a remote village in the north of Iceland without much consideration as to what it would do to his relationship with Kristin. Siglufjörður is a quiet little fishing village where everyone knows everyone else and not particularly welcoming of newcomers – basically if you were not born in Siglufjörður then you are an outsider, regardless as to how long you have lived there!
When Ari first moves up to Siglufjörður, the detective work is scarce and it’s hard trying to uphold the law with the locals who are very set in their ways. However, the apparent suicide of a writer in the theatre changes things. The story is well woven, due to the oppressive and remote Siglufjörður, there is a definitive list of possible perpetrators who are all known to one another. Snowblind focuses on Ari’s detective skills to see past what appears to be the obvious and go against the opinion of the ‘old-school’ police who just want to tie up the loose ends and close the case as they are very wary of attracting publicity and therefore a scandal.
There is a strong cast of characters, each of them are well thought out and their backstory providing real perspective as to who they are. Iceland and it’s wintery landscape is as much of a character as the people themselves, the weather is a constant in the story and acts as a backdrop to the events as well as giving Ari a bit of cabin fever as the days never get light and the mountain pass is blocked by snow.
This is a slower pace of crime novel that I am used to however it was still had me gripped from the first pages due to it’s beautiful narrative and slow build up of tension.
A fantastic debut novel and I look forward to reading more from Jónasson. Also, Snowblind is well translated, as I was reading it I completely forgot that it wasn’t actually written in English.
Ari Thór is a long way from home, the city of Reykjavik, and his girlfriend Kristin. Ari seems a little lost, not really knowing what he wants from life, which is in complete contrast to Kristin who has a plan and is exceptionally dedicated to her career and associated studies. Ari takes a job, it seems on a whim, in a remote village in the north of Iceland without much consideration as to what it would do to his relationship with Kristin. Siglufjörður is a quiet little fishing village where everyone knows everyone else and not particularly welcoming of newcomers – basically if you were not born in Siglufjörður then you are an outsider, regardless as to how long you have lived there!
When Ari first moves up to Siglufjörður, the detective work is scarce and it’s hard trying to uphold the law with the locals who are very set in their ways. However, the apparent suicide of a writer in the theatre changes things. The story is well woven, due to the oppressive and remote Siglufjörður, there is a definitive list of possible perpetrators who are all known to one another. Snowblind focuses on Ari’s detective skills to see past what appears to be the obvious and go against the opinion of the ‘old-school’ police who just want to tie up the loose ends and close the case as they are very wary of attracting publicity and therefore a scandal.
There is a strong cast of characters, each of them are well thought out and their backstory providing real perspective as to who they are. Iceland and it’s wintery landscape is as much of a character as the people themselves, the weather is a constant in the story and acts as a backdrop to the events as well as giving Ari a bit of cabin fever as the days never get light and the mountain pass is blocked by snow.
This is a slower pace of crime novel that I am used to however it was still had me gripped from the first pages due to it’s beautiful narrative and slow build up of tension.
A fantastic debut novel and I look forward to reading more from Jónasson. Also, Snowblind is well translated, as I was reading it I completely forgot that it wasn’t actually written in English.