Huldur is 64 and is being forced into early retirement by the Police force she has served for over forty years. She lives alone following the death of her husband and daughter and life is lonely. On the positive side she has a new relationship starting with Petur, a comfortably well-off retired doctor, and she is allowed to take one cold case to work on before she leaves. When Huldur picks up a case about a Russian asylum seeker found drowned in a remote cove near the airport she realises that what was dismissed as a suicide is actually a murder and she determines to solve it. However Huldur holds secrets of her own and some of those are about to surface.

On the face of it this is a standard Scant-Crime police procedural. The idea of having an older female protagonist is a good one as it opens up lots of avenues around the changes in policing, sexism, ageism etc. The plot around the death of an asylum seeker is also a clever one as it allows for an examination of racism, human trafficking etc. There are some nice twists in the story as Huldur's actions come to light, she is not the simple heroine depicted in the first half of the book. However for some reason the plot never really caught fire and I found the ending predictable and somewhat lacklustre.

I haven't read any of this author's previous books so wasn't sure what to expect. The story was quite slow to get going but easy to read. The ending was very strong and not what I anticipated.

The Darkness is a real page-turner, albeit one with at times quite simplistic use of language (whether the original author or the translation is attributable I can’t say). I got a real sense of place from the descriptions, and the lead character is well drawn (lesser characters perhaps less so).
There are a few overlapping narratives taking place; these are well drawn together in such a way that whilst I thought I knew where it was going I was wrongfooted, which is always a positive in a thriller. The tone of the whole piece is somewhat fatalistic, perhaps reflecting both the age and position of the lead (approaching retirement) and the bleakness of the landscape.

I loved this thriller - a fabulous central character and a dark and totally involving story. As the first novel in a trilogy, this book has made me desperate to read the next book. Highly recommended for a dark and gripping read.

A gripping tale full of twists and turns. The landscape and characters are both expertly drawn. I was gripped from start to finish. The landscape is as bleak as the characters.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so descriptive and atmospheric that I felt that I was in Iceland. Now I want to go there, such is the power of this book. The characters were so very well drawn and Hulda will remain in my head for a long time. What a story she had to tell.
Really enjoyed it and would love to read more.
Thank you

This was a great read, I could hardly put it down. That character of Hulda was excellent I could easily picture her image and experience her frustrations in being sidelined into retirement from the police force long before she was ready. The story flew by and by the time I was heading for the conclusion I couldn't wait to see who the culprit was. It was also a lovely introduction into Iceland's beautiful landscapes, at numerous times I could feel the snow, the icy wind, see the view from the top of a mountain. The end was disappointing for me only in that I was hoping for more Hulda books, perhaps with her as a retired detective now working as a private investigator. I shall certainly look for more publication by this author.

I really enjoyed reading this book. A good storyline that moved along nicely and with some twists and turns that you didn't really see coming.

An excellently written novel that quickly draws you in to a fast paced "cold case " investigation being carried out by DI Hulda Hermannsdottir. Hulda, due to retire within a year, is shattered to be given the news that her retiral has been cut to only 2 weeks due to her replacement having been successfully recruited. All her caseload is to be passed over with immediate effect to her colleagues. She is told, to fill her last weeks, that she can choose a cold case and try to solve it. She immediately grabs this chance to solve one last case but little knows the problems and tragedies that shall arise as a result of her investigation. If I have a criticism at all it is, that by running 4 separate stories in parallel with only chapter breaks serving as the tool to move the reader between scenarios, the narrative occasionally lacks flow. But make no mistake, this is a piece of vividly descriptive writing allied to a truly gripping plot which together provide an excellent read.

I enjoyed the twists and turns within the story and would definitely recommend it.

I really enjoyed Ragnar’s previous series, the brilliant Dark Iceland, so I was very excited to receive a copy of The Darkness the first book in his new series, Hidden Iceland.

The pace in this book felt a little different from his previous ones. For me it was faster and I felt drawn into the story a lot quicker. My interest was piqued from the start not only by the murder investigation but by Hulda’s personal back story and struggles. I thought it was great that the author was able to make this story stand out by being different from his previous books.

I wasn’t expecting the story to be as though provoking as it was as it does raise a lot of interesting questions regarding how we treat people in the work force, particularly women and the older members, and the techniques people can use to get ahead in work. I found myself thinking about this story quite a lot when I wasn’t reading it wondering how I would react in such a situation.

Hulda is a brilliant main character that I found highly likeable. I enjoyed following her investigation and learning more about her. I felt so sorry for her and the way she was treated by her colleagues that at times I wished I could reach into the book and give her a hug. We’ve all been been there and felt under appreciated so I really emphasised with how she was feeling. I wanted her to succeed and solve the cold case she was working on so she could show her colleagues how capable she was!

As with his other books Ragnar provides some great descriptions of the stunning Icelandic scenery. I felt I could really imagine the setting of the novel and even looked up some of the places on the internet. I’d never heard of the lava fields and I did enjoy looking at pictures of them as they are so unlike anything we have in England.

This is the third book I have read by this author and it definitely won’t be my last as I really enjoy his books. I’m very interested to read the other books in the Hidden Iceland series, especially as the story is being told in reverse order and the other books are set in an earlier time.

Huge thanks to Laura Icnol and Michael St Joseph for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

This was a pretty lacklustre thriller for me. It tells the story of Hulda, a detective coming up to retirement in Iceland who takes on one last cold case before she leaves. The basic premise is sound, but I thought that the execution was not good. Hulda is suitably prickly, but some of her decision making is really questionable and I worry that she is just not a realistic representation of a successful police officer. The prose seemed quite stilted, whether that's the translation or not I'm not sure, but it just didn't scan that well. Having said that, I did read the book quite quickly and find the idea of a trilogy in reverse (of which this is the first instalment) quite an original concept. I'm just not entirely convinced by this offering.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wowsers – I have just finished The Darkness and 😮 !

The Darkness is a short and intense cold-case mystery which takes place at an ever-increasing pace over three days. It is lean and easy to read with mostly quick, short chapters and few frills or filler.

It starts with a great first chapter and maintains this standard throughout. There are some vivid descriptions of Iceland’s unique and brutal landscape. The story is told from several different viewpoints – not all immediately identifiable – and there is always something happening to get you guessing or to start your heart pumping.

I really liked Hulda. She is pragmatic and fierce, with a strong sense of justice and I really admired her throughout the book, although she did start to feel a little too sorry for herself at one or two points. I did work out some of where her story was headed but I had no idea where the main storyline was going.

The conclusion to the mystery was a surprise and the ending was frantically exciting and completely shocking!

I was chuffed to see there is a second book in the series already on Goodreads, and I have had Snowblind on my TBR for ages so I need to get to it soon as!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for the ARC of The Darkness.

I enjoyed a large part of this book. It is a well written police drama, centred on Hulga, a policewoman coming up to retirement who finds herself unwillingly pushed out to make way for a younger newcomer. Given only 2 weeks, she persuades her boss to let her look at cold cases for the remainder of her time.
The case she chooses is an intriguing one involving the supposed suicide/accidental death of a migrant woman. I was wrapped up in the case, wanting her to find out the truth but then came the ending.
I appreciate that authors have the right to finish a book any way they like but I was really disappointed with this one.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Ragnar Jonasson has introduced a new character into the world of Icelandic detective fiction, and what a novel way he has found of bringing the lead character, Hulda Hermansdottir, to our notice! To say more would provide a spoiler that would surely ruin the surprise in store for the reader, so I'll leave you with that tantalising prospect. The author manages to artfully weave multiple stories and timelines together to ensure the reader has a good understanding of key characters and their back stories where these are relevant. The timing of some of these revelations ensures that odd seemingly disconnected fragments fall into place as the story reaches its unexpected climax. Special praise must go to the translator who, almost without exception, manages to recreate the novel in good idiomatic English whilst remaining faithful to the Icelandic setting. Excellent!

Ooh I loved it, loved it, loved it! Very dark and clever. I thought the setting was brilliant and found myself immersed in imagining the scenery as the plot unfolded. It's a great read.

.fsntastic read, amazing series and under 300 pages so not too long ! Highly recommend

Did that ending actually happen? I had to read it a couple times to make certain I didn't miss something. As much of a surprise as it was, it may have been the best bit of the book. The Darkness, about Reykjavik Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir, about to retire at 64 and not too pleased about it, is a quick read. The story moves swiftly and seems to lack meat on the bone. I did like it but found it short on depth and, dare I say, too polite. Is everyone so polite in Iceland?

Hulda is the most frank character of the lot. She doesn't have time to waste as she works her last case, retirement looming large ahead of her. She is a delightful character with plenty of sarcasm, attitude and baggage, which is gradually revealed throughout the novel. I would have enjoyed getting to know Hulda better. She seemed a fascinating character who, likely, drove the superficial feel of the story as she was a tightly closed book, herself, for a number of fair reasons.

Really enjoyed this and read it over a day. Lots of twists and turns and I was very surprised at the ending! This is part of a series I think, but it did not matter that I hadn't read the previous installments. I would be keen to read more from this author.

From the beginning of 'The Darkness' I knew that my taste for noir was going to be well catered for. We have the weary police officer – a woman, as seems so often the case in Scandi-noir.

Our heroine, Hulda, reports to a barely competent boss. (Are there no competent senior male officers in Scandinavia? Not to judge from their detective fiction anyway.) She is coming up to retirement and her boss, anxious to sideline her, tells her to investigate an old case. So she ends up looking into the unexplained death of a woman found drowned by the shore more than a year earlier.

So far, so unremarkable. Hulda is a fully realised character with a complex back story which emerges as the book continues. You get quite a nice sense of Icelandic society – the long summer evenings, the isolation of everywhere outside Reykjavik, the continual worrying about money since the economic collapse, the beauty of the countryside and the ambivalent attitude to refugees. Much coffee is drunk.

As the story continues, though, the noir becomes rather dark, even for this genre. [SPOLERS IN NEXT TWO PARAGRAPHS]

There’s been some controversy lately about the Staunch award for fiction which does not feature any acts of violence against women. This book would not qualify, even if the initial murder victim did not count. By the end, there is only one incidental female character who is not dead or in prison for a long time. I won’t tell you who that is, just so as not to spoil the suspense. Men get off comparatively lightly, although one minor character is also murdered. People are hit with rocks, an ice axe, and a car, or buried alive. Iceland has one of the lowest murder rates in the world. Two murders in a year would usually be considered a lot but Hulda’s case is looking to bust every record.

Basically, in this story every time somebody receives good news, it seems a prelude to a nasty death. Although the pace is lively and the story is involving, it gets a bit depressing after a while. I quite enjoyed it, but it won’t be to everybody’s taste.

As a mystery, it is reasonably satisfying. There are clues (I missed them all, but they were definitely there) and you might be able to work out whodunnit before Hulda does.

The story was written in Icelandic and translated into English and this has led to the odd infelicitous choice of words. I’m not sure that I really approve of “pale white” whatever Procul Harum said, and “leafy suburbs” have very different connotations in England from in Iceland. Generally, though, the book reads well. But if this were a coffee, it would be a triple-shot espresso without sugar. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.