Snowblind - Anniversary Edition

I'm very pleased to share the official news of a tenth anniversary edition of Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson. Snowblind was first published by Orenda Books in 2015 with a translation by Quentin Bates and was the first of Ragnar's crime novels to be translated into English. I reviewed it on the blog

Ten years on, not only do we have this gorgeous sprayed edge hardback edition, but it also contains a newly translated prequel novella, Fadeout (tr. Larissa Kyzer). It's published on 10 October 2025 and you can pre-order a copy here.

And without further ado...the cover:

You can watch a teaser video on Instagram

 

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And here's the blurb:

Snowblind – 10th Anniversary edition, including NEW Dark Iceland series prequel, Fadeout.

Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors – accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik – with a past that he's unable to leave behind. When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theatre, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life.

An avalanche and unremitting snowstorms close the mountain pass, and the 24-hour darkness threatens to push Ari over the edge, as curtains begin to twitch, and his investigation becomes increasingly complex, chilling and personal. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness – blinded by snow, and with a killer on the loose.

Taut and terrifying, Snowblind is a startling debut from an extraordinary new talent, taking Nordic Noir to soaring new heights.

Review: The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson, tr. Victoria Cribb

I recently posted my review of THE MIST by Ragnar Jónasson, translated by Victoria Cribb, on my library's Facebook page.

My latest #bookreview is for the chilling (in more than one sense) Icelandic thriller, that is THE MIST by Ragnar Jónasson, translated by Victoria Cribb.

THE MIST is the final (or first?) part of the Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir trilogy set in Iceland. This trilogy is unusual in that the first book published, THE DARKNESS, is set in more recent times and at the end of Hulda’s career; the middle book, THE ISLAND, is set in 1997 and THE MIST is set in 1987/8.

Taking place at Christmastime the first half of THE MIST revolves around a remote farmhouse in East Iceland. The middle-aged couple who live there are cut-off from the nearest village for several months each snowy winter and so it is most unexpected when they receive a knock on the door. Their visitor claims to be a hunter, separated from his friends. The sense of isolation increases when first the telephone fails and then there is a power cut.

Alongside an increasingly fraught situation at the farmhouse we have Hulda and her family life. Her thirteen-year-old daughter has become moody and withdrawn and when she doesn’t take part in the Christmas festivities things come to a head.

Flash forward two months and the two narratives entwine with Hulda sent from Reykjavik to investigate the discovery of several bodies in a remote farmhouse…

THE MIST is not a long book and makes for a very quick read. The farmhouse-visitor episode is quite nail-biting and lasts quite a while, before there is at least a partial resolution. Readers of the earlier books will be familiar with what’s happening with Hulda’s family but even so, or perhaps because of, it also makes for a tense read. There’s a clever resolution to several mysteries and the wintry, forbidding, claustrophobic setting is well portrayed.

If this is your first outing with Hulda, you’ll be inclined to read more. If it’s your final, you’ll wish it had been a longer series.

Also included is a bonus short story which features policeman Ari Thor from Ragnar Jónasson’s other series, the first of which, SNOWBLIND, also has a wintry setting.

Review: The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson tr. Victoria Cribb

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson translated by Victoria Cribb, March 2018, 336 pages, Michael Joseph, ISBN: 0718187245

Reviewed by Michelle Peckham.
(Read more of Michelle's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir is a short time away from retirement. One of the few women on the detective team, she feels she has worked hard, and is one of the best detectives, dedicating her life to the force. And yet she feels isolated and undervalued. Not looking forward to her retirement, suddenly she is called into her bosses' office to be told that she can leave now, taking her last couple of months as 'leave', and at the very least she has to leave within two weeks, as a new young hotshot male detective is arriving and needs her office.

All her cases have been re-assigned and there is nothing left for her to do. In shock, Hulda asks for something to occupy her time for a few more days until she has to leave, and is allowed to choose a cold case. She chooses a case of a Russian girl, a 27 year-old called Elena, found dead on some rocks near the beach a few miles away. Her death has been dismissed as probably an accident or suicide. She was a girl no-one really seemed to care about. A mere asylum seeker. Moreover, the investigation into her death was handled by one of her colleagues, Alexander, someone she thinks does sloppy work. A last chance perhaps to show her skills as a good detective, before her inevitable lonely retirement.

As the investigation unfolds, two different stories are told side-by-side. One is the story of a single mother and her attempts to bring up her young daughter, someone we quickly realise is Hulda. This works well to provide some lovely background insight into Hulda's character. The other story, which starts later on in the book, relates to Elena and her disappearance. There is also Hulda’s burgeoning relationship with Petur, a friend from the walking club. Both Hulda and Petur lost their partners some time ago, and Peter is clearly interested in developing his relationship with Hulda, and in finding out more about her.

Hulda's character, the way in which she responds to her shock at her enforced early retirement and the subsequent choices she makes, drive this story. She could just relax, spend time with her friend Petur and simply stop and start to enjoy her retirement. Or, she could carry on with her one last case: a decision that will have a critical consequence for Hulda. This is a fascinating story, touched with an underlying sadness that skilfully unveils Hulda’s life as she carries out her last investigation.

Michelle Peckham, March 2018

Review Roundup: Carson, Dahl, Jonasson, Kestin, Millar, Siger

Here are six reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, all have appeared on the blog since last time.

You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page and follow on Twitter, @eurocrime.

New Reviews

Amanda Gillies reviews Clare Carson's debut, Orkney Twilight;

Lynn Harvey reviews Arne Dahl's To the Top of the Mountain tr. Alice Menzies;

I review Ragnar Jonasson's Snowblind tr. Quentin Bates the first in his Dark Iceland series;

Michelle Peckham reviews The Lie by Hesh Kestin;

Amanda also reviews Louise Millar's City of Strangers

and Terry Halligan reviews Jeffrey Siger's Devil of Delphi.



Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, along with releases by year.

Review: Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson tr. Quentin Bates

Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson, tr. Quentin Bates (June 2015, 300 pages, Orenda Books, ISBN: 1910633038)

If Arnaldur is the King and Yrsa the Queen of Icelandic crime fiction then Ragnar is surely the Crown Prince...more please!

SNOWBLIND is the first in the Ari Thor series set in Siglufjordur, a small fjord town on the north coast of Iceland. Ari Thor has dropped out of studying first philosophy and then theology but has just completed his police training in Reykjavik. It's 2008 and jobs are scarce so when he is offered a post in Siglufjordur he accepts without discussing it with his girlfriend Kristin.

Ari Thor moves to Siglufjordur, alone in the winter and is soon wondering what he's done. A townie and an outsider in a small place where everyone knows everyone else and there's no crime to speak of. And then the snow starts.

As well as Ari Thor's progression from Reykjavik to Siglufjordur, the narrative, via several points of view, includes the background to a number of the residents of Siglufjordur, most of whom are in the Dramatic Society.

Tragedy strikes the Dramatic Society with the death of one its main members. Ari Thor thinks it wasn't an accident but his boss, Tomas, disagrees and doesn't want to attract lurid stories from the press. A second incident however, leads to Tomas thinking that maybe Ari Thor was correct and that they have a murderer in their midst.

SNOWBLIND is a traditional crime novel with a confined set of suspects - trapped in Siglufjordur by the metres of snow that have fallen – all of whom have secrets. Most of the characters have suffered a loss of family, including Ari Thor, or have had a bleak childhood. Ari Thor does have the makings of a good detective though he appears rather naive and a bit clueless with regards to his girlfriend however is there more to his move to Siglufjordur than just getting a job? The setting of Siglufjordur adds a new dimension with the weather impacting so greatly on the inhabitants and makes a refreshing change from Reykjavik.

I raced through this very enjoyable debut from Ragnar Jonasson and I look forward to catching up with Ari Thor and his colleagues' lives in NIGHTBLIND.

Cover news: Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson

In case you missed this on Twitter, Orenda Books have unveiled the cover for Ragnar Jonasson's Snowblind. Snowblind is being translated by Quentin Bates (author of the Gunnhildur series) and will be published in June 2015. This will make it eligible for the 2016 Petrona Award (for publications in 2015) and eligible for the next CWA International Dagger (ie not the current one - list of eligibles coming soon I promise).

CrimeFest - Death in a Cold Climate

Barry Forshaw chairs the Death in a Cold Climate - Scandinavians panel at Crimefest 2012.
Guests: Asa Larsson (Swe), Thomas Enger (Nor), Ragnar Jonasson (Ice) and Gunnar Staalesen (Nor)

Here are my notes:

Stieg Larsson has opened the doors for other Scandinavian authors - light a candle for him - but he is from the north though he writes about Stockholm.

AL is often asked how can such a short person write such horrible things? She kills dogs and priest in her books but only gets letters about the dogs. (NB. No dogs (or priests) are harmed in Until Thy Wrath Be Past). Enjoyed writing her first book the most. Says to know an author, read their first book.

TE: Burned is the first of six books (originally was looking at eight or even twelve) about Henning Juul (sounds like yule), Pierced is out shortly in UK and he is working on Scarred. All six books about Juul finding out why his son died. HJ has "really pissed someone off". There is more information about the fire in Pierced and there is a teaser at the end, as there was at the end of Burned.

GS adapted one of books for theatre so the statue (of Varg Veum in Bergen) is a mixture of that actor and tv actor (though the tv actor is from East Norway and has the wrong accent)

RJ: Crime fiction in Iceland - until Arnaldur Indridason (1997) - was looked down on. There are two murders or less a year in Iceland.

AL comes from town 200km north of polar circle, 100 years old. Asked - why so much mutilations - is it typical for women?

Sjowall and Wahloo are the King and Queen, Henning Mankell is the crown prince, writing in same style.

GS showed Prince Charles and Camilla around Bergen for 27 minutes.

RJ: The plot and setting is the reason for popularity not the social issues, and strong chars (adds AL), especially in a series. And nature (GS) (ie open space, wildlife). If not having to speak in English the four authors could converse in slowly spoken Norwegian.

TE: [Translator] Charlotte Barslund nailed Henning Juul character and GS praising Don Bartlett's translations.

RJ: Started reading Agatha Christie when 12/13 and four years later approached the publisher about translating them.

GS: Writes 5 days a week, loves his job.

AL wrote 'Wrath' between 4-7am, goes to bed early and this is the quiet time when there are no demands from family or telephone. AL was a tax lawyer.

TE: Henning Juul is a real character, these online journalist do exist.

GS: Ambassador for the dark side of Bergen.

AL: No taboos on what to write. TE wouldn't write about paedophilia. RJ: As you write more your boundaries move. GS: not extreme violence, more about psychology.

TE: First draft of Burned was much more humorous but editors stick to conventions and took it out. TE wanted to give H Juul a weapon to deal with his situation.

GS borrows from Raymond Chandler.

Check out the bibliographies and reviews at the Euro Crime website:

Death in a Cold Climate by Barry Forshaw
Asa Larsson
Thomas Enger
Ragnar Jonasson - not yet translated into English
Gunnar Staalesen