Category: Nordic noir

Recent Reads: The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson is set in Iceland.  Four friends go to an island, and one of them dies.  DI Hulda comes to investigate, and starts to find links to a previous death 10 years before.

This is a dark, descriptive book, with landscape that sounds so different, but beautiful.  It’s a good nordic noir, with liars and deception twisting the path to the truth.

I enjoyed the story, and learning more about DI Hulda.  There are hints about her life with her husband and daughter, and the grief of their deaths, along with that of her mother more recently.  

Interestingly, this is the second book in a trilogy about DI Hulda, with the first book, The Darkness, being set 10 years after this book.  Reading around, I’ve found that the trilogy is written in reverse time order.  I haven’t read The Darkness, but this is such an unusual idea!

The Island was published on 4th April 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Ragnar Jónasson through his website.

If you’re interested in nordic noir crime books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:
The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin UK – Michael Joseph (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Nordic noir is a genre that I think of as being present day, but Niklas Natt och Dag has shaken that for me with The Wolf and the Watchman.  

Set mostly in 1793 in Stockholm, this is the investigation into a hideous discovery of a mutilated body in the water that sets watchman Mickel Cardell reluctantly off on an investigation with Cecile Winge, a lawyer and now a consultant for the police, dying of consumption.

We get flashes of the French revolution, and of Cardell’s career in battle, when he lost his hand and his friends.  We are shown the seedy underside of Stockholm, and of the people who prey off of each other.

This is quite a graphic book, and looks at how Cardell deals with his life after battle through alcohol and violence.  It shows Winge’s choices about how he is going to die, not in his home with his wife, but in a boarding house.  It also looks at what lengths people can go to for revenge, and the joy of hurting others.

Definitely not a cosy crime novel, but, yes, nordic noir with a horror edge.  It is a book that will make you keep turning the pages, and you’ll be taken for a great ride!

The Wolf and the Watchman was published on 7th February this year, and is available on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Chestnut Man is a serial killer, who leaves these seemingly innocent chestnut men dolls at the scene of the crime, with the fingerprint of a girl who went missing a year ago!

This is a well written thriller, with imperfect characters in a race against time to try to find the killer, whilst trying to work out what the fingerprint means!

This is the debut novel by the writer of the TV program, The Killing, and what a great debut!

If you enjoy crime novels, nordic noir or thrillers, then you’ll find this gripping!

The Chestnut Man is out now, and is available on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK and Micheal Joseph (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!