4.5 stars
I love a good detective story and this series does not disappoint. Not only is it atmospheric, but it's gripping and an easy read. Set in Iceland we follow Detective Hildur Rúnarsdottir and her trainee Jakob and we jump right in, a few months after the ending of the first book. Not only are they dealing with the death of a local politician but they are each facing their own demons and we really get to see more of them in this book.

Hildur's story is one that stuck with me after reading the first book so I was incredibly eager to know what happened to her sisters. We get to see more of her childhood in this one and even get to see things from her mother's perspective which I found so interesting. Honestly I had an inkling of where this storyline was going to take us but it still hit hard when it happened.

I also felt my heart breaking for Jakob as he really does struggle and find himself having to get legal help in order to see his child. Another thing I liked is that in this book we got to learn a bit more about Beta, their boss. While her story was incredibly sad, I liked getting to know more about her.

Once again, I really enjoyed how this story all came together and thought it was well plotted and written. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Set in north-west rural Iceland this is a welcome addition to Scandi Noir. A local, but very unpopular, politician is found dead on a ski-run, shortly after an aircraft crashes, for seemingly no reason, into the sea. Hildur, and her trainee Jacob, investigate both these incidents, whilst also trying to
solve the mystery of her sisters' disappearance years before. It's an easy read, and recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for an ARC.

I hadn’t heard of Satu Ramo before, but as I’m a fan of Icelandic thrillers, I was excited to read The Grave in the Ice. 
 
I initially struggled getting into the book with the different timelines.  That said, I did settle into the rhythm of the book and the characters and threads became established.
 
I really loved the protagonist, Detective Hildur Rúnarsdottir, a somewhat aloof detective who drives a car called Betty? and surfs in the freezing Atlantic Ocean!  I also really like her trainee Jakob, who originally hails from Finland and is on a Police internship in Iceland. 
 
I liked the gentle rapport and mutual respect these characters had for one another and the support they showed one another through the trying times that they were both going through. 
 
This is the second book in the series, I hadn’t read the first book but felt that it could stand alone.  I will however read the first book now as I believe that I have found a new Icelandic detective series for me to read.
 
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bonnier Books, for making this e-ARC available to me to read in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DNF. Could not get into this at all. Disappointed. Didn't enjoy the writing style. .

I enjoyed The grave in the ice ,a slow moving dark thriller ,you can almost feel the cold reading through this one .Love the story line of their personal lives and history as well .

I had just read the first in this series - The Clues in the Fjord - and enjoyed it a lot so was very pleased to be given a review copy of this, the second in the series, (thanks to the publisher and Netgalley).

I like a detective story with a strong sense of place, and this has just that, being set in the far north west of Iceland, quite cut off from the rest of the country in winter with a tight knit rural community which includes the detective, Hildur. As is often the case with detective series there are ongoing relationships and issues which continue from book to book alongside the standalone mystery - this is no exception. The murder of a local businessman is the standalone and is well-plotted and engaging. Alongside this is the obsession Hildur has with the disappearance years ago of her two small sisters as well as her growing friendship with her Finnish intern - Jakob, whose hobby is knitting intricate jumpers.

This isn't great literature but it's a very readable and enjoyable detective series, and the north west of Iceland definitely gives the strong sense of place I enjoy.