Fuck. That ending. That revelation.

Wow. I've never really known a book to end in such a dark, surprising way. I knew i was hurtling towards the end, and was anticipating the finish that i would expect. But Ragnar Jonasson well and truly whipped the rug from beneath my feet, rolled me up in it, and buried me.

The book itself is as I've come to expect from the author. It has that dark, chilling Nordic feel to it. I actually felt that unlike his Dark Iceland series, this book was slightly lacking something. Quite possibly it was the main character who i was struggling to connect with. However having read the ending, it all makes sense. So brilliantly written. Its definitely a book that could do with a re-read, just so i can fully appreciate where its leading.

There were a couple of subtle hints towards the end that the rest of the series will travel back into Hulda's past, something I'm extremely excited to do.

A fantastic read!

This was an excellent Scandinavian detective thriller. The main character was very different to others and this brought a different aspect to the novel. I enjoyed the setting which was very descriptive. I don't want to give away the plot and ending but again I hadn't anticipated it. Highly recommended

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advance copy of The Darkness, the first novel in a projected trilogy of the Hidden Iceland series.

Hulda Hermannsdóttir is in her last year of work as a police inspector when her boss tells her that she will be retiring that day to make way for a young, hotshot detective the department is lucky to get. She negotiates a two week extension and the chance to work a cold case of her choice. She chooses the death of asylum seeker, Elina, a year earlier. Her disinterested colleague had written it off as suicide, Hulda thinks murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Darkness which is a short, deceptively simple novel. It has three main voices, Hulda's investigation, the upbringing of an illegitimate child and a young woman's trip to the icy wastes. Initially it is puzzling as to how these various strands fit together but I was soon looking forward to finding out as they are intriguing.

The crime element of the novel is fairly simple with Hulda blundering about on her own until she finds a solution but it is well paced and absorbing. The real joy of the novel lies in the gradual revelation of Hulda's character and secrets. At 64 she is lonely and not looking forward to her retirement so it's a bitter blow to have to go early but a budding romance maybe takes the edge off. She hasn't had an easy life and her working conditions haven't been a bed of roses either as she's not one of the lads but the suggestion is there that her own personality, self contained, could be at the root of this. I am in total awe of Mr Jónasson's skill in drawing Hulda, who is one of the best characters I have read in a long time, from her apparent meekness to her venting at her boss and all faults in between. The way he teases out her secrets is equally masterful and I found my jaw dropping at some points.

The Darkness has an unusual ending which I love but will not be to all readers' taste. I think it is quite daring and rather ironic given previous events. It is a clever novel which I have no hesitation in recommending as a good read.

I was transfixed by the narrative, alternating between  Hulda's last few days before retirement and the story of the missing women on their last day. It all comes together in a shocking ending that reveals Hulda and the murderer's secrets, although nobody else will ever know what those are. Hulda's struggle to find the answer while under pressure to give up the case, made compelling reading.

I love this Author, so when given a chance to read (thanks to NetGalley) and review his latest novel, I jumped at the chance.

A quick read, a great plot with the main character due to retire and one last case to solve, It did not disappoint, and whilst the story line was predictable It never took away the enjoyment of the book

I am looking forward to the next book in the series, I just hope it is a little bit longer.....

An easy quick read. Strange ending considering there is another book to follow.

I have read and enjoyed Ragnar Jonasson’s Dark Iceland series and this is the first in a new series – Hidden Iceland. The landscape of Iceland has the same prominence, part of the pleasure for me is the setting for the novels, a culture that is similar but in many ways very different and a landscape more like the moon.
Hulda Hermansdottir is in her final few days in the police force before taking compulsory retirement. She takes up a cold case, where a young Russian woman was found dead on the beach two years previously. This takes her into the world of asylum seekers, and her suspicions that the original detective didn’t put much effort into investigating the apparent suicide are slowly confirmed.
It is a pleasure to read a novel with an older (64) female detective, there is a lot of reflection on the state of someone with a lot of energy, committed to her work, who faces an unwelcome retirement. Her colleagues either patronise or ignore her. I enjoyed her single-handed moves to solve the case, which aren’t totally successful; she makes a lot of gaffes along the way.
The ending didn’t entirely work for me, but it didn’t matter. I enjoyed this novel very much.

I’m a big fan of this author. He knows how to write.
As with his other series this has a wonderful atmospheric feel and the pacing was spot on.
I was interested in the story and I enjoyed that the main character was an older woman, not something we see too much of in crime series.

However this fell a bit flat for me. I was a bit underwhelmed by the conclusion and ending .
Once the “villain” is revealed the character changes and it reminded me of something out of scooby doo. “I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you pesky cops!”
.
All in all an okay read and it’s hard not to compare series but I definitely feel like the Ari Thor series feels more fleshed out and accomplished but then again this is the first in a series. As I said, I’m a fan of the author so I’ll definitely pick future books up.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the copy.

This is disappointingly straightforward as an about-to-retire female detective gets to pick a cold case in return for leaving the police force early. If you like a police procedural with lots of family back-story this might appeal more than it did to me. Very simple writing style, and an obvious plot.