Blog Tour: The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson

Friday, March 23, 2018
My reading so far for 2018 has been amazing and I'm already well ahead of where I should be to be on track for my goal of reading 100 books this year. However, one genre that I love and devour almost instantly is Scandinavian or Nordic noir crime thrillers but I haven't read too many over the past year or so. In comes The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson which is an Icelandic crime thriller, something I haven't read before and *spoiler alert* I loved it!

*The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson ★★★ (3.5)
The Darkness is set in Iceland, in and around Reykjavik which is a city that's been on my travel wish list for years! It's categorised on Amazon under the following categories: crime, mystery, police procedural and women sleuths. I was very kindly sent an arc of the book which is 312 pages but due to the large text, blank pages and the large paperback size, it read so incredibly quickly. It's published by Michael Jospeh, an imprint of Penguin.

We follow Hulda Hermannsdottir, a seasoned detective with the Reykjavik police department as she finishes her last case before her reluctant retirement when she starts to look into an old case file concerning a Russian immigrant who was found washed up in a cave a year ago. The old case brings up secrets as well as long buried ghosts from Hulda's past that she'd rather forget.

Firstly, the atmosphere of the book is incredible, I adored the bleak, wind swept and chilling feel of the book which adds so much to the foreboding and sinister tone of the book. I liked the character of Hulda and her fellow detectives, it felt like a classic crime series I've watched or read before and I liked the mysteries involved. The overall story as well as the atmospheric setting made for a classic Scandi/Nordic noir crime thriller in the vein of the Shetland which is one of my favourite TV series.

While this book for me was very close to a four star read, it wasn't quite there but I can't put my finger on why! Possibly it was because there wasn't any action/fast paced drama or maybe because it was a little slow paced at times or perhaps because of the age of the main character as she is in her sixties which potentially gave the book a slower pace. However, I found the book to be a very quick and entertaining read that I can definitely see being made into a TV mini series.

Overall, I loved the writing, the author seems to be able to convey the bleak, atmospheric setting and sense of foreboding within very few words which made for a very quick and easily devourable read  with a few twists and turns along the way. The mysteries were compelling and I adored the setting; however this book is the first in a series and I'm not quite sure where it's going to go after the ending of this first book but I'm definitely interested to find out! The Darkness is a fantastic piece of quick, entertaining Nordic noir that will keep you turning the pages to uncover the mysteries ahead.

Will you be picking up The Darkness? Do you like to watch or read Scandinavian or Nordic crime thrillers?

17 comments

  1. This one sounds like a really interesting read to me x

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  2. I've seen a fair few people talk about Nordic Crime Thriller's recently. It seems to be a genre that's on the up. I'd be really interested in reading one. This looks fab.

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

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  3. This sounds like an interesting book. Scandi thrillers have been recommended to me a lot. The only one I ever read was The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. I thought that to be rather slow too and wondered could it have been because of how it was translated.

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  4. I haven't heard of this one, but it sounds really good. I wish there was some more action for you.

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  5. I'm not too sure if this is a book I'd be interested in. x

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  6. I’m a chick flick kinda girl hahaha

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  7. Hmmm now I dunno whether or not I would like this. I love my crime thrillers x

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  8. I've not heard of this book before. Thanks for sharing! 🌸✨

    With love, Alisha Valerie x | www.alishavalerie.com

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  9. Crime thrillers give me nightmares lol, but funnily enough im hppy to read fantasy crimes, just cannot handle realistic ones lol

    Erin || MakeErinOver

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  10. well done on reading so many books this year!

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  11. I can't believe you've got through so many books! This book sounds fab! xx

    http://www.coleoftheball.com

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  12. Definitely sounds like a great read. I love thrillers.

    http://littlemissmelanie.com

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  13. Fab review! This book sounds super interesting :) xo

    Char | www.charslittleblog.co.uk

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  14. This sounds really interesting! x

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  15. This sounds like an interesting read!

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  16. Oh I love the sound of this, especially where it's set too!
    Chantelle x
    The Girl In The Tartan Scarf

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  17. I've never read a book in this genre before but I very much like the sound of it! xx
    www.imjustagirl16.co.uk

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