It’s been my pleasure to read Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson and I’d like to thank Anne Cater on behalf of Orenda Books for inviting me to join the blog tour to review this, the sixth book in the Dark Iceland series.
THE STUNNING FINAL INSTALMENT OF THE MILLION- COPY BESTSELLING DARK ICELAND SERIES
Easter weekend is approaching, and snow is gently falling in Siglufjörður, the
northernmost town in Iceland, as crowds of tourists arrive to visit the majestic ski slopes.
Ari Thór Arason is now a police inspector, but he’s separated from his girlfriend, who lives in Sweden with their three-year-old son. A family reunion is planned for the holiday, but a violent blizzard is threatening and there is an unsettling chill in the air.
Three days before Easter, a nineteen-year-old local girl falls to her death from the balcony of a house on the main street. A perplexing entry in her diary suggests that this may not be an accident, and when an old man in a local nursing home writes ‘She was murdered’ again and again on the wall of his room, there is every suggestion that something more sinister lies at the heart of her death…
As the extreme weather closes in, cutting the power and access
to Siglufjörður, Ari Thór must piece together the puzzle to reveal a horrible truth … one that will leave no one unscathed.
Chilling, claustrophobic and disturbing, Winterkill marks the startling conclusion to the million-copy bestselling Dark Iceland series and cements Ragnar Jónasson as one of the most exciting authors in crime fiction.
Our Author – Ragnar Jónasson
Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavík, and currently works asa lawyer, while teacher copyright law at the Reykjavík University Law School. In the past, he’s worked in TV and radio, including as a news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. Before embarking on a writing career, Ragnar translated fourteen Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, and has had several short stories published in German, English and Icelandic literary magazines. Ragnar set up the first overseas chapter of the CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) in Reykjavík, and is co-founder of the International crime-writing festival Iceland Noir.
Ragnar’s debut thriller, Snowblind became an almost instant bestseller when it was published in June 2015n with Nightblind (winner of the Dead Good Reads Most Captivating Crime in Translation Award) and then Blackout, Rupture and Whiteout following soon after. To date, Ragnar Jónasson has written five novels in the Dark Iceland series, which has been optioned for TV by On the Corner. He lives in Reykjavík with his wife and two daughters.
My Review – Winterkill
This book is literally chilling – the cold of the snow and ice of Siglufjörður, can not help but get into your bones. I’m lucky enough to have previously read part of the Dark Iceland series, and recommend everyone else to read them too. And even though Winterkill is part of a series, there is enough background information to get to grips with the town of Siglufjörður, and the life of Ari Thór. He moved to the town 7 year ago, striving to prove himself and desperate to make the right impressions. He’d been given the post of rookie policeman to Thomas, who’s now retired.
Ari Thór is now inspector and was hoping for a quiet Easter weekend, with Kirstin – I want to call her his partner, but they both seem to have moved on – so we will just call her Kirstin and that she is the mother of his Son Stefnir, who’s now 3. They moved to Sweden for Kirstin to study a masters degree. And are visiting, they had a weekend planned. But when a local girl, aged only 19 plummets to the ground, her death means Ari Thór’s quiet weekend, is quite the opposite.
Unnur, the victim, after investigation Ari Thór finds out that she was a quiet, reserved, studious young girl, who was heading to university and though clever, was a touch naive and innocent to the world around her. Her friends and parents struggle to understand why she would commit suicide and Ari Thór doesn’t seem convinced either.
But he’s desperate to spend time with his son and not neglect his job so has to juggle both. Ugla – his one time love interest is back too, working in a care home he’s called to visit after a residents actions make this even more of a suspicious case.
After a winter storm conspires to stop Ari Thór investigating fully and sending Kirstin and Stefnir home early, he gives the investigation his all and concludes that there really is more to this case than it seems, and solves another crime to boot.
As I have come to expect with anything to do with Orenda Books, this is an outstanding trip into nordic noir. Ragnar Jónasson has managed to set a scene that throws even the most cosy of readers at the mercy of the blizzard he conjures up for his readers.
Sharp, compelling and taut to the bitter end.
To Buy Winterkill –https://bertsbooks.co.uk/product/winterkill-dark-iceland-6/
Don’t forget to keep following the rest of the blog tour and read what other have to this of this stunning book.
@ragnarjo @OrendaBooks @anncater #winterkill #DarkIceland
