A good thriller set in a captivating location in Iceland. I enjoyed the landscape of this story and it was a very engaging read, although I did find the end a bit rushed.

Thanks for allowing me to review this book.

This is a hard review to write because although I thoroughly enjoyed the first threee quarters of the book the ending completely let it down.
I liked the writing style and the characters were reasonably well drawn. The conclusion was too tidy as far as the crime was concerned and the part of the story about the personal history of Hulda seemed an odd distraction.
However I would still read another book by this author as there is so much I enjoyed. I appreciate this review is confused but that’s how the book left me.

I'd love to visit Iceland and I love reading books set in this mysterious land. I also like murder mysteries. So what could be better than a murder mystery set in Iceland? It did not disappoint. Perfectly plotted, wonderfully described locations and interesting characters. A very good book.

We meet Hulda again. This time ten years in Hulda’s past. A young woman has fallen to her death on a far-flung island. But as her investigation progresses, Hulda realises there are worrying similarities to another death in a remote holiday cabin some years before.

As Hulda begins to unpick the half-truths and lies, she finds her trail bringing her back uncomfortably close to home.

For anyone wanting a good old-fashioned whodunnit resonating with a classic Agatha Christie, but with the savage, raw backdrop that Iceland has to offer, along with dark undertones, then the Hidden Iceland series is for you.

Hulda’s methodology consists largely of taking a look around at the crime scene, then interviewing witnesses and suspects. Forensics does form a part of her investigation but takes a refreshing backseat to solid face-to-face detective work.

We get a bit more of Hulda’s backstory on this outing. We learn about her husband and her daughter, as well as going with Hulda to America on her search for her father who was stationed in Iceland after the war.

As with the first Hulda book, expect all kinds of human frailties to emerge as Hulda drags them out into the light of day with her no nonsense, methodical investigation. At the same time the sense of tension in the various suspects and the nature of the crime itself is always peddling away beneath the seemingly innocuous lives of everyone involved.

The Island is the first book I have read in this series. I had wanted to read book one first but never had the time.

It is a three book series and unusually they go back in time rather than forward. In book one Hulda is close to retirement, and her involvement in this book is 15 years earlier, just before she turns 50. This book is set firstly in 1987, Hulda becomes involved in 1997 and there are suspicious deaths in each.

The book starts with a slightly creepy opening chapter. It was one where I couldn’t really work out why it unsettled me or who it concerned. I spent much of the novel trying to work out who the child was, and her connection to the main storyline. It was revealed towards the end and was more upsetting than I thought it would be.

The group of friends are all connected to both deaths and I didn’t have a clue who was responsible. Hulda is convinced that what happened in 1987 wasn’t as straightforward as it seems. It is evident that she wasn’t a person to accept everything she is told, and had always had her suspicions about one of the people concerned. And she wasn’t prepared to stay quiet.

It isn’t just the investigation that makes this novel so good to read. There is Hulda, the tragic events that destroyed her family and her attempts to trace her father. There is the Icelandic countryside that sounds fascinating and is somewhere I would love to visit. And there are the events from history that are mentioned briefly, execution for witchcraft.

Wow what a brilliant read.This book grabs your attention from the beginning and carries on until the last .I have not read this series before but this is a good standalone book .It is set in the 90's but goes back and forth a decade earlier .It is such a compelling story very atmospheric ,the main character is DI Hulda, who has lost her husband and daughter and is now 50 never having had the chance to shine but now she is handed a crime to solve that seems just an accidental death but when she investigates it turns into so much more .I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more about Hulga .Many thanks to the Publishers and the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

I enjoy reading Scandi stories covering Iceland, Sweden and Norway, sometimes have problems with the names but watching some of the TV programmes.

A young woman's body is found, on a remote island where her and her friends have gone to stay for a weekend. She is dead. Was it murder or suicide? After some investigation, the police learn the friends were there for a reunion. They hadn't seen each other for 10 years since an incident with another friend of theirs. She lost her life as well.

This is an intriguing case of the friends not revealing all to the police and the police having to work hard to solve the case....if there is a case to solve. It could just be suicide. One police officer is like a dog with a bone and will not let the case drop. She dredges up the history and will leave no stone unturned to get to the truth, no matter the consequences.

The book is well written and we got to travel around a bit of Iceland. Very descriptive with plenty of details embedded in the story. Hulda is a very strong character and is determined to do a good job. I quite liked her. I think I may have to look at reading book 1 in the series.

The Island is a beautifully written, addictive detective story which gripped me from the start. It’s a unique concept – this series actually goes backwards, so we started the series on book 1 (The Darkness - read my review here) where something dramatic and shocking happens to one of its main characters, and from there we move back in time with this book (book 2), to 10 years before. Because of this, the reader is aware of what will happen to certain people which certainly changes how you read and process the story – but for me, this was definitely for the better. The reader can pick up on certain parts which might not be obvious otherwise, because you’re more aware of the potential significance.

The characters are interesting, particularly Detective Hulda who is a deep and many layered character. She’s blunt and a little spiky at times but she’s been through a lot, so I found her ultimately really likable despite this.

The main plot is really interesting as it follows Hulda’s investigation into the death of a women who seemed to fall of the edge of a cliff in a remote area of Iceland. The group of friends had been holidaying there, commemorating 10 years since the death of another of their friends, and so the first third of the novel focuses on their experiences, building up the tension as we wonder what’s going to happen. The plot moves at just the right pace to keep the suspense high without being over the top.

The setting of this novel is, like in The Darkness, atmospheric and a times quite eerie, and I love the claustrophobic feel of this book. I don’t feel like you need to read this as part of the series if you don’t want to, although you’ll undoubtedly pick up more if you do read the first novel before. It’s a tightly plotted, enjoyable read which I’d really recommend.

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir is sent to the remote island of Ellioaey to investigate the reported death of a woman.  As Hulda begins to look into the case she begins to investigate if there is a connection to a previous murder, where another young woman was found dead at a summer house in another isolated location.  This previous case is the second 'ghostly' introduction we read at the opening of the book which begins this novel of 2 murder investigations 10 years apart.

Time is a very key element to this book, as it not only is a dual time line story, but is also the 2nd novel in a 3 part series featuring Hulda.  Having read the first novel, The Darkness, I was very interested when I heard that there were to be two more books in a series, and the interesting approach being that the novels go backwards in time in the life of the main character.  The Darkness being present day and The Island taking place in the 90's as present day for this Hulda and 10 years previously in another case.  I also felt this story had a very strong link to parenting and in the case of each character, including Hulda, touches on the way our personalities are shaped by the people that raise us.

Ragnar Jonasson has a wonderful way of writing these Icelandic crime novels.  Wonderfully atmospheric with the landscape and Iceland taking centre stage but also of the wonderful character formation he allows for.  This is not a fast paced, graphic murder mystery, but a character driven crime novel where each character is described meaningfully within their own story line, leading to many a wrong turn in trying to figure out the ending!

I enjoyed the way it portrays Hulda 15+ years younger and therefore now with some extra highlights into the reasons for her lonely and some what depressing lifestyle.  It left me even more intrigued into the story behind the deaths of her husband and daughter and wonder if this will be the darkest tale of them all.  I particularly liked parts such as about 10% from the end where she wonders herself what she will be like in 20-25 years time.  Still alone? she asks herself......  Because of these moments of connection to the first book I think they would make a great read back to back.

In a minor masterstroke, Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson is telling his ‘Hidden Iceland’ series in reverse order. That’s not obvious when you read the first book to feature detective Hulda Hermannsdottir, The Darkness, which gets the ball rolling in the twilight of her career.

But then all becomes obvious with The Island, set fifteen years earlier when Hulda is fifty-something and feeling it. She’s already survived the worst imaginable personal circumstances, and is a long way down her slide into bitter emotional isolation. But this version of Hulda is flinty and stubborn, still determined to succeed in the police department. She’s committed and methodical, and desperate not to be out-flanked by younger detectives with glossy qualifications and good connections.

Hulda’s opportunity arises with a sudden death on a remote island – possibly linked to a murder case from a decade ago. Back then, a young woman was murdered in a summer cabin. When the suspect committed suicide, the case was closed. Still haunted by those events, the victim’s closest friends gather for a remembrance reunion ten years later… and another of them dies in suspicious circumstances.

In many ways this book is like Iceland itself; slow to reveal its secrets, a place where the barren becomes the beautiful. Jónasson portrays the remote region around Ísafjörður and the storm-lashed island perfectly, evoking the genuine wonder of the wilderness and the powerful pull of natural seclusion.

I struggled with other aspects of The Island however. Can’t say I like Hulda, even though she clings on grimly despite monstrous emotional upheaval and a stagnant career. She’s a significant literary creation who feels completely credible, but not someone who inspires empathy.

I was also frustrated by the mystery in this book, the actual whodunit. The revelations come thick and fast in the closing stages but there’s little scope to solve the puzzle as you go along. Jónasson only supplies incomplete snapshots of the two deaths from awkward angles, obscuring the eventual outcome beyond my abilities of prediction.

But perhaps that’s because the real story is all about Hulda and, in effect, this is her ‘difficult middle’ episode. I found myself far more intrigued by the references to her past – knowing what’s to come in her future – than I was by the main murder-mystery plot.

The Island, then, is a solid morality tale, in which various sins of the past demand recompense in the present. You could read it as a standalone, but you’ll understand far more about the central character if you read The Darkness first. This book felt like a stepping stone along the way – and I find myself awaiting the arrival of The Mist (out next year, I understand) with considerable anticipation.

7/10

This is the second book in the Hidden Iceland series with Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir. I have not read the first one in the series and did not find that a problem as this is a stand alone murder mystery. On the strength of reading this one I shall read the previous title and look out for the third one in the trilogy. I shall recommend the author, Ragnar Jonasson to my European Crime Book Club. The main character is a strong, independent and ambitious woman with tragedy and uncertainty in her past and probable gender discrimination in her career. Further development of these issues is one of the reasons I will read the other books in the series but also because the narrative is well written and keeps the reader guessing. I have visited Iceland and certainly did get a feel for the geography of the country in this writing, particularly noting the way in which the tunnel about to be built would shorten the road journey considerably. This particular tale covers two murders ten years apart which Hulda is certain are linked. She investigates the group of young people who were best friends in their school days and uncovers their secrets, lies and nightmares. Fears, anxieties, traumas and sadness are very well written with Hulda as a thorough but sympathetic observer of, and listener to, what is discovered. Thank you to the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

My thanks to Penguin U.K./Michael Joseph for an eARC via NetGalley of Ragnar Jónasson’s ‘The Island’, translated by Victoria Cribb, in exchange for an honest review.

In 1987 a young couple’s romantic getaway in Westfjords ends in a murder. Ten years later four friends visit the remote island of Elliðaey to reconnect and remember their murdered friend. However, when the trip ends in another death, Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavik Police is assigned to the case and is determined to uncover the truth. Initially she is unaware of the earlier case, which is technically closed, but soon realises there is a connection.

I was a little concerned when I discovered that this was the second in Jónasson’s ‘Hidden Iceland’ series but it turns out that the first in the series, ‘The Darkness’, is actually set later in time at the end of Hulda’s career where here she is just about to turn fifty.

Hulda has experienced a great deal of loss in those same ten years as both her daughter and husband died. More recently her mother has died after a long illness. In addition, Hulda’s career seems to be stalled while her male colleagues have risen up the ranks. So not a great deal of laughs here.

Like many works of Nordic Noir, this is a melancholic tale with a strong emphasis upon character and its dramatic Icelandic setting.

This is a slow burn of a police procedural, which is what I expect from Nordic Noir. I had heard good things about Jónasson’s work and found that once I started reading I was fully engaged and read it in a single sitting.

I already have a copy of ‘The Darkness’ at hand and will be interested in reading the final part of this trilogy, ‘The Mist’, which is set even earlier in Hulda’s career and due in 2020.

Perhaps I would have benefitted from reading the first in this series of Icelandic thrillers but possibly not, as they appear to be published in reverse chronological order which in itself is an interesting concept. The Island concerns the death of one of a group of friends on an island south of the Icelandic main island, exactly ten years after the murder of another of their number. This second death is investigated by Hulda Hermannsdóttir, a somewhat tragic detective, previously passed over for promotion in favour of a seemingly less talented colleague, partially due to his successful closure of the first case. Hulda is an interesting character and the Icelandic landscape, particularly the island itself, is atmospheric and haunting. The plot, however, is a little too straightforward yet Hulda makes progress by chance rather than through her investigative skills. That said, it is perhaps her downbeat doggedness that makes her interesting and I will read the other books in the series.

What I really love about Ragnar Jonasson's writing is that way that in a few short paragraphs he is able to completely transport you to the heart of the action, uprooting you from your nice comfortable sofa and plonking you from and centre into the world you are reading about, be it a cityscape of the more remote areas of Iceland. You can feel the cold envelop you, picture the scene the surrounds you and hear all that the characters hear. His writing is so evocative that you are totally absorbed by both story and setting and every book is an all consuming experience. The Island is no different, and I was drawn into the story from the very first page, kept on tenterhooks until the very end.

Now if you are looking for high-octane action, then this clearly won't be the book for you. There is more a gentle unveiling of the mystery which weaves its way through the chapter of this book. Not one murder in fact, but two, separated by a number of years but undoubtedly connected by the characters that inhabit the pages. Two young women, once best friends, both found dead in isolated locations. An almost perfect mystery, but one which Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is determined to solve.

Ragnar Jonasson is so adept at creating tension and mystery, diverting attention and suspicion from one character to the next. There is also an emotional quality to his writing, and you can feel the doubts, insecurities and anger of the characters emanating from the narrative. Add into this the very personal quest of the lead character, Hulda, and you have a very captivating story. So many secrets are being kept, so many half truths being spoken, that you will struggle to know who to trust and the book certainly had me second guessing myself throughout.

There is a kind of folk lore, or urban legend kind of element to the book too, fed by the overwhelmingly atmospheric and claustrophobic setting of the remote Island on which the second murder takes place. With the heavy clouds drawing in and no way to escape the island it adds a layer of tension to an already fractious situation, and with an ever present sense of foreboding you just know that it's not going to end well for some if not all of the characters.

This is another brilliant novel by the author which just makes me want to read more. I can't wait for book three next March. And yes - it is already on preorder. Has been since last year ;) Bring it on.

I love this series of books with Hulda the policewoman and this was superb. Atmospheric and thrilling, a fantastic read. Thankfully Ragnar is now releasing books from periods in the earlier parts of Hulda's life so the enjoyment of his fabulous books will continue.

This Thriller starts with getting to know the cast and four friends that use to be five but one was murdered ten years prior and they meet up for a weekend on the tenth anniversary. O it's set in Iceland (the country not the store).
Hulda is the Cop from CID who is assigned to look into the events of the weekend and possibly their history, the friends meet up and spent the weekend on a lonely Island normally used by 🐦 birdwatchers but for this weekend it's just the 4 of them all by theirselves. But by Sunday morning everything changes for them again and I will let you read why for yourselves.
Hulda has volunteered to step in and cover the weekend shift as everyone else has a life which has been stolen from Her.
The characters are believable but if meet out of context may be baffling however the events of the past effect everyone and I don't think anyone who loses a close friend or sister in their teens can not be effected by the even as is reflected here And Hulda our heroine could hardly be the same having lost her teenage daughter to suicide and her husband a few years later leaving here in dept so that she has to sell up and move back in with her Mum who well that's not easy for any adult who has experienced life as she has.
So as in life they all carry something but hopefully this will make for a more believable story which I definitely say it does.
I really enjoyed this thriller and an looking forward to the next installment which you can get a tiny peep at at the end of the book "The Mist" but first I hope you enjoy this one and I'm sure you will.

This was the first book written by the author I'd read and although I did enjoy it in the end I found the jumping between the various timelines very confusing and because of this I felt the story didn't flow as well as it should have. Despite this I stuck with it as it did come to a satisfying end, tying up loose ends and I will definitely be trying another by the author. The scenic descriptions the author gives of Iceland does make me want to visit this mysterious country - maybe one day!

The story has a good plot but there is so much jumping around in time establish the plot that I almost lost interest. I’m not sure that a detailed description of Hulda’s past was necessary. Suffice to say she felt overlooked for promotion and didn’t trust her boss.
I like the way Hulda works, slow, methodical and thorough but it takes a long time for the 3 plot lines to be drawn together through pages of tedious dialogue.
I enjoyed the first novel introducing Hulda – The Darkness but this book does not have the same pull.
That being said I will look for and read any further Hidden Iceland novels.

Absolutely entranced by this novel. A little unclear at first as to how the pieces fit together, but when it does... wow!! Beautifully written and very atmospheric;with an incredibly believable female DI with a great back story. If this is a series I await the next instalment.

The Island by Ragnar Jonasson is the second in his "Hidden Iceland" series featuring Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir. Unusually,and confusingly until the penny drops,this series is a trilogy told in reverse order and finding Hulda quite a bit younger than she was in the previous book threw me completely at the start.
The story involves 4 friends ,2 male,2 female,who have a reunion on the island of the title 10 years after the murder of the 3rd girl in their group. During the reunion there's another death,initially thought to be an accident,later shown to be murder. and Hulda finds herself investigating. During this investigation it seems all was not as it seemed in the 10 year-old murder case.
That's the bare bones with parts of Hulda's personal life as a backstory,something which might seem a little odd if you read this as a standalone but is very much the basis of the trilogy as a whole.
Hulda reminded me very much of Ann Cleeve's Vera Stanhope. There are no car chases here,no shoot outs or fist fights, Hulda deduces and reasons Miss Marple-like to get her case solved. Given that the author is a fan of Agatha Christie and translated her books into Icelandic at an early age I suppose that shouldn't come as any surprise. I enjoyed it,others might find it slow going.
It's an easy read and would appeal to fans of the Midsummer Murders and Vera.. Hulda is an interesting character and I look forward to the final instalment in this series.
One thing that made me smile after reading several Icelandic murder mysteries was one of the characters in The Island saying more than once that murder is very rare in Iceland , so thankfully the ongoing carnage seems mainly in the minds of it's plethora of crime writers.
Big thanks for an enjoyable read go to Netgalley,Ragnar Jonnasson and Penguin UK for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Review Submitted to Amazon 4/4/19