White Out by Ragnar Jonasson

 "It was a sight Asta Karadottir would never forget, even though she had only been a child when she saw it--or maybe for that very reason. She had been in her room in the attic when it happened...But what she saw--the terrible event she witnessed--would never leave her. She had never told a soul about it. And now she had returned after a long exile."

The plot:  

When Asta is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs below the Kalfshamarsvik lighthouse on the northern coast of Iceland, Ari Thor Arason is called in to help his former boss, Tomas, investigate. Ari Thor brings his girlfriend, Kristin, along because it's almost Christmas Eve and she's eight months pregnant. Not many people live at Kalfshamarsvik, which narrows their list of suspects to just four people. It should be an easy investigation, until someone else ends up dead. 

Kalfshamarsvik Lighthouse in Iceland

My thoughts:

The Icelandic setting in White Out is so alluring! And I thought Asta's story, and Ari Thor's investigation into her death, was very compelling. It's fast-paced and there are several good twists. If I had to describe this mystery in one word it would be riveting. And even though I haven't read any of Jonasson's other books, and this is the fifth book in the Dark Iceland series, I never felt lost. Ari Thor is a great character. I look forward to checking out Jonasson's other books. 

Happy Reading!

Another excellent Icelandic mystery:  My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Bookish thrills and chills...

Title:  1222 by Anne Holt
First line:  As it was only the train driver who died, you couldn't call it a disaster.
Summary from the blurb:  "A train on its way to the northern reaches of Norway derails during a massive blizzard, 1222 meters above sea level. The passengers abandon the train for a nearby hotel, centuries-old and practically empty, except for the staff. With plenty of food and shelter from the storm, the passengers think they are safe, until one of them is found dead the next morning."  Paralyzed by a bullet, retired police inspector Hanne Wilhemsen is among the rescued passengers. And when old instincts kick in, she can't help investigating her fellow passengers. But time is running out. "Trapped in her wheelchair, trapped by the storm, and now trapped with a killer, Hanne must fit the pieces of the puzzle together before the killer strikes again."

My thoughts:  It was the whole trapped-in-a-snowstorm setting that drew me to this Norwegian mystery. I blame my fascination with bookish blizzards on having read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder so many times as a child. And this locked-room murder mystery is a pretty good read. At times, especially when the murderer is revealed at the end, it reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel. Holt creates some great characters. although it took me several pages before I started to warm up to Hanne, who's a very distant and guarded woman. Adrian, a fifteen-year-old teenage runaway with a sullen disposition and a penchant for angry outbursts was my favorite character; he reluctantly helps Hanne with her investigation. My only real complaint is that for a supposed thriller, 1222 is actually a pretty slow read. I blame that on the first-person narrative. Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting mystery, but I wouldn't call it a fast-paced page turner. Personally, I prefer the mysteries of Kristina Ohlsson and Yrsa Sigurdardottir to this one.

Happy Reading!

A bookish thriller...

"Books. I've never heard of anyone who killed because of books."

It begins with a gruesome murder in the Edgar Allen Poe Museum--the victim's torso is flayed, his head cut off. Felicia Stone, the lead detective on the case, discovers something else strange: a book bound in centuries-old parchment made from human skin. Then there's another murder. This time the victim is discovered in the rare book vault of the Gunnerus Library in Trondheim, Norway. She, too, has been flayed, her head cut off. Trondheim police inspector Odd Singsaker (Isn't that a great name?) is assigned the case. It looks like the two murders have something to do with the Johannes Book, a mysterious manuscript written by a sixteenth century monk. A book that is rumored to be cursed. A book written on parchment made from skin.

What I loved most about Where Monsters Dwell  is how skillfully Jorgen Brekke weaves together the different characters, the puzzling murders, the enigmatic Johannes Book and the past with the present. This mystery is so well-written you move seamlessly from Richmond to Trondheim, from Felicia to Odd, and from the present to the sixteenth century and back again without ever getting lost. All of Brekke's characters are flawed and complicated, yet likeable, too, especially Odd Singsaker and his main murder suspect, Jon Vatten. I also really enjoyed the Norwegian setting. Having never been to Norway it was fun getting a glimpse of that distant, northern land. And, after all the murders are solved, there's one last unexpected twist at the end that I liked best of all. This is a well-crafted, engrossing and suspenseful thriller! A definite must-read for fans of this genre.

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

     The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi