Title: Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson
Dark Iceland Series Book Three
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 272 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Hailed for combining the darkness of Nordic Noir with classic mystery writing in the tradition of Agatha Christie, author Ragnar Jonasson’s books are haunting, atmospheric, and complex. Blackout, the latest Ari Thór thriller, delivers another dark mystery that is chillingly stunning with its complexity and fluidity.
On the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer’s night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves Reykajvik to investigate on her own, unaware that an innocent person’s life hangs in the balance. Ari Thor Arason and his colleagues on the tiny police force in Siglufjordur struggle with an increasingly perplexing case, while their own serious personal problems push them to the limit. What secrets does the dead man harbour, and what is the young reporter hiding? As silent, unspoken horrors from the past threaten them all, and the darkness deepens, it’s a race against time to find the killer before someone else dies.
Review:
Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson is a perplexing mystery that takes place during the summer months in Iceland. This third installment in the Dark Iceland series is a slow-burning police procedural that takes place in between the first two novels since the translated editions are slightly out of order.
Ari Thór Arason, his boss Tómas and co-worker Hlynur Ísaksson are all distracted by their personal life during the investigation into the murder of Elías Freysson. Ari Thór continues to lament his break up with the love of his life, Kristín, who has rebuffed his efforts to reunite. Tómas is reeling in the aftermath of his wife’s decision to go to college in Reykjavík. Hlynur is wracked with guilt and shame for his actions in the past.
Tómas and Ari Thór immediately begin looking into Elías’s life and on the surface, he appears to be an unlikely victim. He is a subcontractor working on a tunnel project and renovating a house in the country. He is also involved with a charitable project but an unexpected discovery by Ari Thór raises many questions about Freysson’s activities. The investigation also unearths shocking information about the victim, but will these findings lead to a breakthrough in the case?
Despite the twenty-four daylight, the setting is dark and oppressive due to the recent volcanic eruption. The city of Reykjavík is covered with ash clouds and psychologist turned reporter Ísrún jumps at the chance to cover the investigation into Freysson’s murder. Trying to outwit an ambitious co-worker, she employs some rather underhanded tactics to get witnesses to talk to her about the victim. As she pursues her story, flashbacks from Ísrún’s past indicate something traumatic has occurred, but is there any connection to the ongoing investigation in the present?
Narrated by multiple points of view and switching seamlessly back and forth in time, Blackout is a fascinating, albeit slower paced, mystery. The setting is once again quite atmospheric and despite the unrelenting sunshine, the overall feeling of the novel is heavy. The investigation into Elías Freysson’s yields many shocking bits of evidence and Ragnar Jónasson brings the novel to a twist-filled and completely unanticipated conclusion. Old and new fans of the Dark Iceland series are sure to enjoy this latest outing starring Ari Thór Arason.
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