The Mist is the final instalment in Ragnar Jónasson's Hidden Iceland trilogy, but technically it is also the first, as this is a trilogy with a difference as it is in reverse order.

I have had the pleasure of reading all three books in the trilogy, but this could be read as a standalone. I'd recommend reading the previous books in the series if you able to you though, as they are all brilliantly written.

The Hidden Iceland trilogy follows the career of Icelandic Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir from personal tragedy to near retirement (in reverse of course).

In the late 1980's, Hulda is recovering from a life changing event when she is called upon to investigate a potential murder at an isolated farmhouse in the East of the country.

The novel switches back and forth between Hulda's world, and the farmhouse where snow has made the already isolated house inaccessible. Yet somehow a stranger is able to knock on the door seeking shelter.

The couple of live there are wary but accommodating. Will they regret the decision to allow a stranger into their home?

Like the other books in the trilogy, the Mist is a quick read, but that does not make it any less thrilling.

The Mist completes – or starts, depending on how you read it – Ragnar Jonasson’s Hidden Iceland series. The first in the series, The Darkness, introduced us to Hulda Hermansdottir, a police detective on the verge of retiring from the Reykjavik police force. It provided the background and revealed large parts of the story of Hulda’s life and was followed by book two, The Island.

Full review on my blog and Crime Fiction Lover:
https://wanderingwestswords.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/the-mist-ragnar-jonasson/
https://crimefictionlover.com/2020/05/the-mist-by-ragnar-jonasson/

This is the third and final installment in the Hidden Iceland series with the main character being Hulda Hermansdottir. She's not your normal detective (if parallels are to be drawn she's more like Vera than anyone). It's unusual for the third in the series because in the timeline it comes first and gives the reader an insight into what has happened in Hulda's life and why she's like she is. There are two things going on in the book, Hulda's story, and the murder of two people in a remote farmhouse, which Hulda is sent to investigate. I thought the book was good, though perhaps didn't enjoy it as much as the previous two in the series.

Fabulous conclusion to the Iceland trilogy - dark, atmospheric, intense, wonderfully written and plotted.
If you liked the first two you will love this one. If you haven’t read the others yet I’d suggest to start with the first one and read them in order.

Ragnar Jónasson to tell his story in reverse order, starting with the bitter end of Hulda Hermannsdóttir’s career as a police detective in The Darkness.

And you should certainly start there, rather than here. The Mist works just fine as a standalone story but you’d be deprived of the escalating sense of impending doom which swirls around Hulda, as her own personal implosion crawls ever closer. This volume is a masterful manipulation of three distinct plots which combine into a single, immensely affecting narrative.

Murder mystery and family tragedy are skilfully intertwined – a missing girl on her gap year; a bizarre home invasion which leaves death in its wake – set against the intense atmosphere of an insular Icelandic farmstead. While we’re transported to a stifling world of ice and isolation, every menacing moment is amplified by the rising awfulness of what’s about to happen in Hulda’s personal life.

I was utterly absorbed as events unfolded, and slightly surprised to be more involved in The Mist’s self-contained story than in the conclusion / beginning of Hulda’s ongoing arc. Jónasson expertly develops the tension across multiple timelines, swapping between scenarios in alternating, adrenalin-enhanced segments. We’re with Hulda as she gradually pieces together her investigation – we’re with the headstrong young woman as she hitchhikes around Iceland’s remote interior – we’re with the older couple, alone in their home, threatened by the stranger who is obviously lying about why and how he’s arrived at their door in the middle of a snowstorm…

Against all that, Hulda’s story receded somewhat and had less impact than I expected. It seemed to me that Jónasson downplayed the crucial moment, leaving us to draw conclusion from inference rather than explicitly exploring the pivotal moment of her adult life. But that was the only aspect of The Mist which didn’t quite live up to my expectations – which were very high indeed!

In fact, it was so good that I intend to wait a couple of months and then read the whole trilogy again – but this time in chronological order. Because in the end, everything goes back to the beginning.

9/10

Wow! The final book in the in Ragnar Jonasson’s Hidden Iceland Trilogy is in many ways the best of the three books. This trilogy has followed the path of Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir and unusually, started with her final case and has worked backwards, so that The Mist concentrates on Hulda, wife, mother and Detective in 1987.

The Mist is the book that explains to us just why Hulda carries so much darkness within her. For this reason, although these books can be read as stand-alones, I’d really urge the reader to start with The Darkness and follow Hulda’s path as Jónasson has written it. That way you will get so much more from these books.

The Mist may be the best of the trilogy but it is certainly the darkest, imbued with a sadness that is so tangible it permeates every page of this fascinating read. I don’t know whether it is entirely the excellent writing, because I kept thinking that somehow, being in lockdown made me appreciate the isolation that this book portrays so keenly and I found myself empathising with at least one of the characters.

It is Christmas,1987 and Erla, a farmer’s wife is preparing to spend Christmas with her husband Einar and their daughter. The farmhouse is in an isolated part of Eastern Iceland and Erla hates that, wishing all the time that she was in Reyjavik where she could access more books, entertainment and the company of other people.

Yet when a stranger knocks on their door seeking help Erla is suspicious of him. Einar though sees only a man in need of help and invites him in to take shelter from the snow storm that is starting to make an impact.

Einar is a good host and invites the man to stay overnight until the snow storm has subsided and can’t understand why Erla is being so snappy with the man, questioning him over what he was doing in the area and finding something to concern her in his answers.

Back in Reykjavik, Hulda is not feeling the Christmas spirit at all. Things at home are not good and that’s exacerbated by a big workload in her job as a police detective, not to mention the feeling that she has to work twice as hard to show her male colleagues that she is as able as they are.

When she is called to investigate multiple deaths at the remote farmhouse, the call could not have come at a worse time for her, and she leaves behind a disintegrating marriage.

The Mist is essentially a locked room mystery and with so few characters, it’s not really a book about who did it; rather it is about the personalities and the reasons behind such a shocking case, as well as shedding light on why Hulda’s personality developed as it did in the earlier books.

The Mist is beautifully wrought and absolutely fascinating, peeling back the layers of Hulda’s life until we finally understand what has brought Hulda to be the woman she was. Added to that, the case she is investigating is dark and very sad, revealing a lifetime of heartache and hidden secrets for one of the characters.

It is Jónasson’s grasp of characterisation, his clever use of the looking back device in this trilogy coupled with his wholly engrossing atmospheric writing that drives this book forward and makes it o compelling. I understood Hulda so much better by the end of The Mist and may go back and read the first two books to see how that understanding informs them; though I’m glad they first come in the order that they are published. As ever, an excellent translation from Victoria Cribb.

Verdict: Clever, atmospheric, dark and beautifully structured, The Mist is an impactful and emotional study of the impact of loss and how grief can drive the human spirit. I loved it.

The Mist is the third and final book in the wonderfully evocative, Nordic noir, Hidden Iceland series.  The trilogy started with our main character Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir about to retire and working on what could be her last case.  The books then travel back in time to the 1990's and further back again to the 1980's.  A great device, allowing the reader to slowly understand some of Hulda's personality and the troubles that she carries on her shoulders.

I've read another book recently that borrows the Kierkegaard quote, 'Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards'.  I thought this was very appropriate here too!

This book is set in a very remote location in the Christmas of 1987.  Snow has cut off a farm house, even from a walk to the local village and the weather and dark, dark days are superbly described.  A stranger knocks on the door, claiming he is lost in the storm and the couple who live at the farm offer him shelter, the done thing, but the wife soon becomes suspicious.

We also follow the backstory to Hulda's home life and 'meet' her husband, daughter and mother, and read as Hulda becomes more and more impatient and concerned with their behaviour.  With work taking up a lot of her time, she is called in to a case of a discovery at a remote farmhouse........... thus, as in book 2, the two threads of the novel come together.

I found this quite a slow moving and subtle read, but at the same time still full of the author's dark, chilling and remote setting, atmosphere and events.  I thought it gave a quieter conclusion to the series which for me felt fitting, with something more shocking ending the first book and this book confirming answers to questions that I had built up over reading the other 2 books. 

I enjoyed this series very much and found reading them backwards was a clever idea.  They can be read as standalone and I guess in the other direction. But I would recommend you read them as the author intended.  If you like Nordic Noir you should definitely give these a try.

My thanks to Penguin U.K. Michael Joseph for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Mist’ by Ragnar Jónasson in exchange for an honest review. It was translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.

This is the third and final book in Jónasson’s Hidden Iceland trilogy. Last April I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of the second book, ‘The Island’ and found it a superb example of Nordic Noir.

The trilogy follows the career of Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir though is told in reverse, so ‘The Mist’ is the earliest of the three and is set over the winter of 1987/88.

In an isolated farm house in the east of Iceland, the couple who live there are preparing for a quiet Christmas. Outside a snowstorm is raging. No one should be out in it but then someone knocks at their door. They should not have let him in but they did.

As referenced in the earlier books, this period in Hulda’s life left her with wounds that continue to haunt her. As a result, I won’t mention details of these events in order to avoid spoilers for anyone yet to read the other books. This can be read as a stand-alone. However, my foreknowledge did bring an extra layer of melancholy to my experience of this novel.

Ragnar Jónasson is very skilful in creating a sense of claustrophobia and isolation using the combination of the stark Icelandic landscape and weather.

This was an intelligent and brilliantly plotted finale to an excellent trilogy. The very best of moody atmospheric Nordic Noir.

Really good, an atmospheric thriller set in Iceland. Dark and thrilling. Loved the writing and the plot.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Having read the previous two volumes of this reverse trilogy, based around the life of detective Hulda Hermannsdottir I was eagerly awaiting this first volume. Whilst it filled in some important gaps revealed in the first two volumes it struggled to live up to the high standards set in these earlier books. In many ways this first volume felt more like a standalone novel - in fairness, perfectly good when seen in this light, but raising more questions about the effectiveness of the novel approach of a reverse trilogy. Again, the writing, and translation, are excellent and give a highly realistic sense of the events occurring in the remote Icelandic hinterland. There are plenty of plot summaries available so I won’t repeat the plot here. Suffice to say, a very readable - if bleak - account of a series of interconnected murders. Recommended.

An amazing book concluding the trilogy.

The claustrophobic feeling in this book is palpable both within the settings and the characters. Having read all the books in this series this is the darkest where many of the events we know about from the earlier books are laid bare. Often books can be read in isolation from one another, but in this instance I would suggest it would spoil them so head off and find the first and get stuck in, they don't disappoint.

As a trilogy this series works in a reverse chronology, this technique is well crafted in the hands of a creative author, but also well handled by a skillful translation by Victoria Cribb which should not go unremarked. In the narrative the reader learns much about the Icelandic way of life and something of the nature of the people. Also across the series the Icelandic landscape is writ large as a character that permeates through everythnig, sometimes lurking as a foreboding element whilst at others it is a beautiful onlooker. The author draws characters well and the pacing of the reveals is good. This book is a fast read in fact I devoured it in two sittings such was the compelling nature of it. I look forward with pleasure to the next book Ragnar Jonasson writes as I like his style.

This is a book to be recommended to all.

#TheMist #NetGalley

I don't think the Icelandic tourist board will ever be using Ragnar Jonasson's books to promote visitors!. The setting are so dark and the writing so vivid you can feel the driving snow and eery isolation of the remote part of this Island as you read. A really fantastic ending (beginning?) to the Hidden Iceland series. Hulda is such a flawed but interesting character. Lots of twists and turns. I loved this series.

The Mist by Ragnar Jonasson

A claustrophobic story of two women under extreme stress, several murders and a country whose weather does not tolerate any weakness.

Iceland is wonderfully described and brought into its most unforgiving glory. An author whose talent is to bring his country to life has identified some of the horrors it also holds.

In the middle of Covid lockdown, I would be hard pressed to say I ‘enjoyed’ the book but that also speaks of the author’s ability to bring to life the terrors of isolation.

I’ve read all of the books by Ragnar Jónasson and this novel is my favourite in the Hulda series. Excellent mystery novel set in the freezing remote countryside of Iceland.
The twists were there but more importantly the characterisation was strong and the gloomy, claustrophobic atmosphere of a rural remote part of Iceland in winter was brought to life by the writing. Hulda from Reykjavík CID travels to a remote farmhouse where two bodies have been found in this moving story.
Highly recommended for all fans of Nordic Noir.

The Mist is the third book in the Hidden Iceland trilogy from Ragnar Jonasson and it is also the earliest in the timeline as each story predates the previous one.

The writing is excellent with the time of year and weather adding to the gripping atmosphere of this superb book.

The Mist can easily be read as a stand-alone but I would recommend the other 2 books in the series as well

Definitely recommended

It is coming up to Christmas in 1987 and we see a mysterious visitor turn up at a remote snowbound farmhouse but not everything is as it seems with either the visitor or the residents. We also follow Detective Hulda's Hermannsdottir personal life and the relationship with her teenage daughter Dimma and Jon her husband.

Detective Hulda, recovering from a family tragedy, is then called to the isolated farmhouse . Bodies await her along with a haunting mystery.

Having read the other two in this series I was certainly interested to see how it all started. This series of books - Hidden Iceland - are presented backwards with the ending being the first book that you read and this the last in the series - though you could read it as a standalone. I kind of like the idea reading this one last as there were little things to look out for - I won't say much more than that as don't want to give things away, but the thought at the end made me smile!

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

Well - this book is one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride. As you may be aware, this series follows the life and investigations of Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir, but not in chronological order. Much like the Dark Iceland series of books, Hidden Iceland plays out of sequence, so in some respects, part of what happens in this book you already know about. However, don't be fooled. Actually seeing it play out, watching Hulda as she moves ever closer to the fateful day at Christmas in 1988 that changes her life completely, is something else. It leads to a strange blend of apprehension and frustration as you read, wondering how Hulda could not know what was happening. How we can all see what is to be inevitable, but still manages to come as a shock to the system when it finally happens. If you really don't like to read your series out of order, then I recommend waiting a while and seeing how the series plays out as book one has some pretty major spoilers for book three. You have been warned.

Alongside the narrative of Hulda's homelife we see her investigating a double murder at a remote farmhouse in eastern Iceland, along with the disappearance of a young woman last seen hitchhiking around the country on a gap year. Hulda is distracted, for reasons that will become apparent as you read, but this is a key moment for her and being able to solve the murder means proving something to not just her peers, but herself. I loved the way this kind of turbulent backstory played out during the investigation, how Hulda kept withdrawing into herself and thinking over things she could have said and done differently. It made the book feel authentic. That coupled with a natural reaction to the death she saw all around her made for a gripping and heartbreaking read.

The story is set over two periods - the days leading up to Christmas, in which most of the action takes place, and a couple of months later in which Hulda is sent to complete the investigation. the distinction between the two stories is clear, even with action set between Hulda's home and that of the two victims. I love the way Ragnar Jonasson switches between the two, using two very different methods to create tension in both settings. One is based around a slow building sense of dread that is hard to define, but you can just feel that churning feeling as HUlda's story reaches its climax. The other is set off against the overwhelming feeling of isolation that is experienced by Erla and Einar, the two farm owners who meet a very unfortunate fate. There is that whole feeling of being cut off, not only by the remote nature of the farm, something captured perfectly in the narrative, but also by the weather, a particularly heavy snowstorm making sure that no one is able to get in, or out, of the farm. The author has a real skill when creating setting, making it feel so real that you want to bury yourself in a blanket just to avoid catching a chill as you read. He uses that to great effect in this book, making the story atmospheric and laced with a real sense of foreboding.

How all the individual stories pull together is a real thing of skill and very satisfying. I love that this is a series that doesn't need to be heavy on graphic detail to still make readers feel uncomfortable. And I found myself completely drawn into the story, finishing the book in a matter of hours, something which, at the moment, is very rate indeed. Another brilliant addition to the series and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Not one of the best Scandinavian crime noir books that I have read. However a very atmospheric look at an Icelandic winter. A strange crimes with an even stranger end.

Solid ending to the Hidden Iceland trilogy, tying up the loose ends in Hulda’s life (which of course we already know the conclusion of) whilst offering a proper “isolated house cut off from the outside world” mystery.
We know from the off that something terrible has happened, and assume that the stories will tie together, but the execution is grimly flawless and I admit to being slightly blindsided by developments (in the best way).

I do wish we were going to see more of Hulda though!

This author has done it yet again. The third in the Hidden Island series and boy what a read. If you haven't read this series WHY Not? You don't know what you are missing. As I said before the third book in the series, each one can be read as a stand alone. The plot in this one is intriguing and full of twists and turns. Misdirection and a lot of questions are finally answered. This book kept me glued to my seat as I was engrossed in the atmosphere and the characters. I am a great fan of Nordic noir and this series is one of the best. Another five star read and highly recommended.
Thanks to Penguin UK and Michael Joseph and Netgalley for the ARC.