Loved this book and what an ending and not going to give much away .
Hulda Hermannsdottir is a detective nearing retirement. She is called into her boss who informs her that she will retire in two weeks and all her cases have been re-assigned . She is angry but he says she can pick up a cold case to keep her occupied. Hulda has a disturbed past and both her husband and daughter are dead. She has recently started a friendship with a fellow walker in her walking club.
She investigates the cold case which involves a murder or does it? She upsets several people and a decision she recently made will come back to haunt her. This book will have you guessing to the very end which then throws in another twist.

I picked the coldest and snowiest week of the winter so far this year to dip into the first of the Hidden Iceland series by this best selling Icelandic writer who is also a lawyer and has translated 14 Agatha Christie novels into Icelantic.
There is a touch of Miss Marple about the detective in The Darkness and as I might have been expecting a young blonde male/female with associated patterned jumpers Hulda Hermannsdottir comes as quite a surprise.
We meet her when her boss decides to hurry on her imminent retirement (she's 64) by letting her trawl through a cold case but get ready to clear her desk and leave space for the new brighter (often male) police officers biting at her heels.
Hulda decides to investigate the death of Elena, a Russian asylum seeker, whose body had been washed up in a deserted cove along the coast from Reykjavik. Staff at the hostel have vague memories about the young woman but recall that the detective at the time (Hulda's less than friendly colleague Alexander) had shown little interest in the case even though it transpires Elena had received a letter confirming her residency the day before she had died.
Hulda's life if slightly chaotic. She lives on her own, a widow, financially in debt and although enjoying a new friendship with fellow walker feels she's a bit out of control with all that goes on around her.
When the case starts to reveal more concerns about Elena's death and another young missing Russian girl, suspects close to the original case start to be included because of possible sexual motives.
The novel is set as Iceland is heading, albeit slowly, into spring but the hint of icy Icelandic wilderness and deep snow still prevails. Descriptions of the landscape, Hulda's love of the mountains and the region in general are excellent. It certainly might attract new tourists from reading this!
I liked Hulda as a character and there were further depths to her in her background and consequent dealings with criminals. There was a twist in the tale and I'd be interested to see if the author picks up on themes for the next book otherwise some readers might feel a bit cheated.
Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.

This is a Scandic story written along the lines of Camilla Lackberg or Jo Nesbo. It seems less complex to me but I quite enjoyed it and certainly the ending was a surprise. It gently probed into discrimination against the woman detective but did not really develop the theme in spite of the superior officer acknowledging her excellence. There is an interesting historical theme running alongside the investigation but I felt that it didn't really reveal insights into the main character. I would give it 3 stars and recommend it with reservations.

I love a good Scandinoir thriller. I think most I've enjoyed have been Swedish and have this gloriously dark feel to them, but in "The Darkness" I had a chance to try what I believe is my first Icelandic book. With a title like that surely I was in for another book of the same ilk? Not quite.

The first and most obvious deviation from darkness is that the story is set in spring, and the ever-lengthening hours of sunlight repeatedly highlight the lack of literal darkness. However, even in tone, it avoids that deep blackness. Yes, there is death and that isn't light, but it just doesn't have the same sense as a lot of the other work I know in this genre. That's not to say it's a problem, it's just not going down the clichéd route that would be easy to follow.

And avoiding clichés is something Jónasson does well, even with some intense flirtations with the idea. And that's what brings this book to life. Jónasson does a superb job of feints and misdirection, especially with easy targets. He takes an easy idea, plays with the reader a little, and then delivers a subtle, nuanced twist that had me chasing the next mini-chapter. So much of what is offered up appears paper thin at first glance but develops depths at just the right time. He can signal something important and then discard it just as easily, but more importantly, capably - these threads don't just flutter aimlessly waiting to be tied up, you look back and realise that they were just enticing enough that you added your own cliffhanger, and that really he left a neat and tidy story.

The book is divided into days, with each day broken down into short chapters often just a couple of pages long. It helps a lot with the tempo of the story, although I must admit I found the use of flashbacks within that structure a little odd and in the first half of the book while the different threads were too unconnected it did niggle slightly. However, they do come together so the small issue does pay off in the end.

And truly, you must stick around for the end of this book. It's a quick and light read for this type of book but the final pages deliver something memorable. So many subtle hints become clear, so many clever moves pull into focus, and the result is something special. A truly impressive conclusion to a good book, this should be a must-read for anyone who wants to feel some chills.

Iceland, an unusual female detective with a history on the verge of enforced retirement and a cold case in need of solving before she retires in a couple of days - what's not to like? I particularly enjoyed the fact that the writer has chosen a 64 year-old woman for his protagonist, who is dogged rather than dynamic, as befits the chilly setting, but which has the added pace of her retirement deadline. I also liked the fact that the story is led by the reader's need to be entertained, intrigued and involved in the gradually revealed evidence, rather than the common imperative to showcase a clever detective and wind up the investigation with a neat ending. An absorbing page turner with a different perspective.

I love Iceland, its rugged beauty and volcanic terrain. I have visited several times. My thanks then to NetGalley and Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this ARC of The Darkness, an Icelandic thriller set mainly in Reykjavik.

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is facing retirement at the age of 64. She is being pushed aside by her boss to make way for a fast-track younger officer to take over her case load. The fact that she is a woman does not go unnoticed and Hulda resents the attitude of her fellow officers. Told she can review cold cases during her remaining tenure she choses the mysterious death of a young Russian woman that occurred more than 12 months ago, that essentially has been closed as a probable suicide. Hulda’s investigation soon leads her to think otherwise. She unwittingly puts herself in harm’s way….

This is a well written piece of Nordic noir as details from Hulda’s past are slowly revealed. She is a woman alone and has sought companionship with a widower of similar age. You want this to work.

As Hulda unravels the background to this crime one fears for her safety. The pace quickens but the conclusion left me blind-sided, as new readers will find out for themselves. It sets this book apart from others in the same genre.

Ragnar Jónasson has written a classic crime story, one to be recommended.

A good specimen of Scandi crime, I liked especially the choice of older female protagonist, Hulda, I want to congratulate the writer for bringing in a much needed character for crime fiction (Enough of the smoking, good type of bastard old men detectives)
Although I felt like somethings might be lost in translation, I liked the story and the constant dark mood. I would like to read Jonasson again.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

struggled a little bit with the names of places and some of the characters...but on the whole a brilliant story based in Reykjavik, very picturesque but a murder mystery at its best with a bit of history thrown in.....

several stories that merge to give you an idea of the life and times that people led back in the day and certain stigmas from those times back then that add to the storyline

the detective inspector is due to retire and is being pushed out for younger though not better people but on the eve eve of her leaving she can have any case and she picks a cold case to review, as she investigates she uncovers how incompetent the previous officer had been...but she isnt part of the boys club and it goes down hill from there...

a clever story that keeps you reading till the end, what a surprising ending though

A detective story with a difference. Just let Jonasson lead you and let it happen. You might think you know ... but do you? Really?

This is good,really good. It is exceedingly well crafted and well translated. The characters all have an element of sadness as they struggle with complex problems in their lives. The lead character, an unwilling retiree from the police force,is very well portrayed as she tries to end her career on a high note. There are many unexpected twists to the story which keep the reader hooked. The setting in Iceland is convincing too and surely provides the background for a television program based on the book.

DI Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavik Police is being forced into dreaded retirement at the age of 64.

In her final two weeks on the force, she decides to investigate a cold case - the death of a young Russian immigrant, Elena.

The case was not thoroughly investigated and Hulda sets out to find out the truth behind the young woman's death.

The detective soon finds herself with new leads and no back-up as she presses towards uncovering Elena's killer.

From the moment I met Hulda I liked her: firm, fair and keeps a tight rein on her emotions.  A bit of an outsider in the department these days, Hulda's not 'one of the boys' but it's still a shock to her to find herself suddenly side-lined into retirement.  As a woman of 54 myself, I was indignant at her treatment - she could be so many of us - a woman of a certain age, no longer seen, no longer useful.

The book is written in three strands - the main one where Hulda investigates Elena's death and two others.  One tells the story of a young woman who is reluctantly out in the freezing Icelandic wilds with a man she doesn't know very well.  The other tells of a young mother who is forcibly separated from her child. In these other two strands, we are given no names, but we care desperately about what happens to the women and so we have to keep those stories spinning until we know for sure who we're reading about.  And this mystery gives us a lot to think about as we accompany Hulda on her journey through the stark beauty of the Icelandic landscape.

I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, but there are red herrings enough keep you on the back foot all the way through.  And WHAT an ending Jónasson gives us in The Darkness!  You'll be on the edge of your seat, I promise you!

This is book number one in the Hidden Iceland series from Ragnar Jónasson (The book's Icelandic title is 'Dimma', which means 'Darkness') and there are another two novels to follow.  I'll be reading them all!

Wow. This was…unusual. I’m still trying to work out how I feel about it to be honest. I am wondering if it somehow loses something in translation.

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is facing an unwanted early retirement after her long service with the Reykjavík police. To fill her last days before her departure, she re-opens a cold case of an apparent suicide of a young Russian refugee. It quickly becomes clear that there is perhaps more to the story than was ever investigated and she embarks on a race against time to solve a mystery that no one else wants to know about. Interwoven into the tale are flashbacks from various viewpoints revealing a strange dark history and leading up to an unexpected conclusion.

On one hand, I loved the bleak Icelandic backdrop and the creeping sense of the sinister. The mystery itself is reasonably engaging with a nice bit of social commentary about the utter lack of interest in justice for a refugee woman. More problematic is Hulda herself. As a protagonist she’s far from likeable in many ways, alternating between prickly, whiny, mopey and just downright questionable in many of her choices. You wonder at some stages how she functioned for so long as a police officer. There’s an explanation for some of her behaviour but by that point I was pretty turned off as a character. I also simply didn’t buy some of the plot twists.

That ending was…well, it was certainly memorable and will no doubt get people talking. I am definitely left wondering where the series goes from here! I would recommend the title with 3.5 stars simply because it is quite different and overall an entertaining enough story.

This is the story of Hulda's final case. I really liked the style of writing and the fact that it is set in Iceland. I got totally immersed in the story and was totally surprised by the ending. I would definitely read more books by this author.

When I started reading I was expected a run of the middle Iceland noir story. I was wrong! What sets it apart is that the main character is a single 64 year old woman on the edge of retirement and that the story is less about the crime but more about the main characters. I loved it and cannot wait for the second volume

An easy seductive read. A standalone novel from Ragnor Jonasson. I have loved his Dark Iceland series so this was a slightly different read but just as good. His skill of setting the scene in Iceland's atmospheric scenery and weather makes you feel you are there in the remote landscape. I loved this also had a lot more city settings along with the midnight sun. A great mystery with a non-traditional detective - Hulda - a 64 year old lady solving her last case before retirement. A gripping story with a fantastic twist and truly clever ending.

The Darkness is an Icelandic mystery thriller.

The central character, Hulda, is written about and you get a sense of her character such that the final twist is a big surprise. The story is well written and uses Iceland as a key component ov the tale.

The book tells the tale of Hulda as she is, approaching retirement, alongside the story of a young girl and her mother from a time not that long ago that single mum's were a family's dirty secret. The two stories cross paths.

A very enjoyable read and one that I would recommend.

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Iceland police, is 64 years old and soon to retire, but as far as her boss is concerned she may as well go now - he's got a much younger person lined up for her job, and he's male, which just about sums up Hulda's career - never 'one of the boys' quite literally, she's always been treated with derision by her colleagues. So she'll be overjoyed with the prospect of retirement won't she? No, not in the least, it's what gets her out of bed in the morning, what gets her adrenalin going.

However, before she hands in her badge for good, her boss agrees to let her take on one more case - a cold case involving a young female Russian immigrant who was found dead a year ago. Hulda believes her colleague Alexander didn't put much effort into this case, preferring to dismiss it as suicide - Hulda believes there was more to it than that, and is determined to get justice for this girl.

I'd heard great things about this author, so I was excited to read The Darkness. Alas it didn't quite live up to expectations for me. It was an ok read, and I really liked Hulda, but I never felt gripped by the storyline, never felt excited to get back to it.

* Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for my ARC. I have given an honest review in exchange*

The descriptive passages in this book brought beautiful Iceland firmly to my mind and the characters were (mainly) true to the perceived Icelandic personality- dour. The lead character has little to endear her to the reader: so cold, so aloof, so isolated and with little or no humour either evidenced or perceived. The story is good but a background look of ‘a’ character then further background looks at others without any clue who one was reading about became confusing until nearly the end of the book..... The story itself was good and used the country as it’s greatest asset.. well written but sadly missed it’s mark for me

Unusual Icelandic detective novel sees the fairly inept detective Hulda Hermannsdottir given permission to investigate her choice of cold case to fill her last few days before a retirement she’s dreading. She chooses the death of a young asylum seeker which was originally dismissed as suicide. The novel switches between Hulda and 2 other unnamed female characters, one a young single mother forced to put her baby in some kind of institution and the other a young woman travelling into the country for an adventure in the snow with a man who’s obviously very dangerous. As the novel explains, premeditated murder is virtually unheard of in Iceland so Hulda doesn’t follow any of the police procedures we are used to in English detective fiction but she still manages to get much further with the case than the incompetent officer who first investigated it. I found the triple narrative a little confusing at first then guessed who the young mother was and where the novel was going but found the plot plodded along very slowly; even when she’s given just 24 hours to get to the bottom of it, after falling out with her boss, she still wasted half of that time getting drunk and oversleeping since she hadn’t even a semblance of urgency. Although the case is solved by the end of the novel, there’s no sense of achievement and I found it very unsatisfying.

A true Nordic murder story. The main character, Hulda is aged 64, this pleased me to see this as I am in this age bracket.
Tackling one last case, a cold case before her retirement. Good story with twists.