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The Darkness: If you like Saga Noren from The Bridge, then you´ll love Hulda Hermannsdottir
Ragnar Jónasson
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Description for The Darkness: If you like Saga Noren from The Bridge, then you´ll love Hulda Hermannsdottir
Paperback.
FEATURED IN THE TIMES TOP 100 CRIME NOVELS SINCE 1945 One of Ian Rankin's favourite books of the year - 'An intelligent, provocative whodunit with a killer twist' ____________ A body is found off the coast of Iceland. A young Russian woman, Elena, hoped to find a fresh start. Instead she found death. A cursory police investigation calls it suicide. Another statistic, she's soon forgotten . . . But ... Read morenot by Reykjavik Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir. Difficult and unconventional, Hulda is being forced into early retirement. Offered one last cold case to investigate she chooses Elena's. On discovering another woman has vanished, she believes a killer roams free. Her colleagues, however, think she's out to cause trouble. With days before she's stripped of her badge, can Hulda catch the killer alone? ____________ 'The ending really took my breath away and that's hard for writers to do to me these days . . . It was a complete surprise and I should have seen it coming and I didn't. [Hulda] is a fantastic, complex 3D character and I want to see more of her, so hurray, this is the first of a three book series' Ian Rankin on Simon Mayo 'Superb . . . chilling . . . one of the greatest tragic heroines of contemporary detective fiction' Sunday Times 'Outstanding' Daily Mail 'The perfect territory for mystery [writers]' New York Times 'Expertly plotted, with an ending that's a true shocker' Guardian 'Magnificently dark and twisted and that ending - blimey!' C. J. Tudor, bestselling author of The Chalk Man Pick of the Paperbacks, Sunday Times 'Outstanding series debut . . . builds to its stunning conclusion, one of the more remarkable in recent crime fiction' Publishers Weekly 'The Darkness melds an insightful character study with a solid plot for an outstanding novel' Washington Post Show Less
Product Details
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Signed by the author
;Yes
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 2 to 4 working days
About Ragnar Jónasson
Ragnar Jonasson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he works as a writer and a lawyer and teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University. He has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, and, from the age of seventeen has translated fourteen of Agatha Christie's novels. He is an international ... Read moreNumber One bestseller. Victoria Cribb studied and worked in Iceland for many years. She has translated more than 25 novels from the Icelandic and, in 2017, she received the Ordstir honorary translation award for services to Icelandic literature. Victoria Cribb studied and worked in Iceland for many years. She has translated more than 25 novels from the Icelandic and, in 2017, she received the Ordstir honorary translation award for services to Icelandic literature. Show Less
Reviews for The Darkness: If you like Saga Noren from The Bridge, then you´ll love Hulda Hermannsdottir
A very good book, gripping and interesting, with all the threads carefully managed. Hopefully the author will publish as many books as possible with lead character Hulda
Vikan Magazine, on The Island
The threads lie in various places, the plot is well woven and the pieces in the puzzle come together well in the end. The structure is ... Read moregood, the main characters are believable, the story flows well, everyone is a suspect a la Agatha Christie and the solution unveils the mystery and leads the readers to the truth. But not all the truth, as some things are better left hidden
Morgunbladid (Icelandic newspaper)
Out of all of Ragnar's books, this is the one I like the most . . . The book of his which reminds me most of Agatha Christie
Kiljan, on The Island
Hulda Hermannsdottir is a welcome addition to the selection of Icelandic crime fiction protagonists . . . It is almost impossible to put the book down until the last word has been read
Frettabladid
Jonasson's books have breathed new life into Nordic noir ...all the skilful plotting of an old-fashioned whodunit although it feels bitingly contemporary in setting and tone
Sunday Express
The ending hits the reader like a kick in the stomach
FRETTATIMINN
Seductive ... an old-fashioned murder mystery with a strong central character and the fascinating background of a small Icelandic town cut off by snow. Ragnar does claustrophobia beautifully
Ann Cleeves Distinctive blend of Nordic noir and golden age detective fiction...atmospheric...economical and evocative prose
The Guardian on Nightblind
Ragnar Jonasson writes with a chilling, poetic beauty - a must-read addition to the growing canon of Iceland Noir
Peter James A modern take on Agatha Christie
-style mystery, as twisty as any slalom . . .
Ian Rankin, on
Snowblind
A classic crime story seen through a uniquely Icelandic lens... first rate and highly recommended
Lee Child, on
Snowblind
No country associated with the label Nordic noir is as bleak, cold, snowy and empty as Iceland. And no crime writer portrays those elements as evocatively and scarily as Ragnar Jonasson
The Times
Praise for Ragnar Jonasson
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The Darkness is a true masterpiece of a crime novel, introducing an original protagonist, a plot full of twists and turns and an ending that leaves you gasping for air
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
author of the bestselling Thora Gudmundsdottir crime series
Unbearably sinister
Helen Callaghan, bestselling author of Dear Amy
Another masterpiece from the King of Icelandic Noir
Thomas Enger
bestselling author of the Henning Juul series
Page-turning stuff with an unexpected ending!
James Swallow
The Darkness is Ragnar Jonasson at the top of his game - deft plotting, a great central character and a story as chilling as the Icelandic winter. I couldn't put it down
William Ryan
author of The Holy Thief
Was gripped from the start of this brilliantly told story. And left wide-eyed with shock at the ending
Fiona Barton, bestselling author of The Widow
The Darkness is a bullet train of a novel, at once blazingly contemporary and Agatha-Christie old-fashioned. With prose as pure and crisp as Reykjavik snowcrust, Ragnar Jonasson navigates the treacherous narrative with a veteran's hand. I reached the end with adrenalized anticipation, the final twist hitting me in the face. I dare you not to be shocked
Gregg Hurwitz
Sunday Times bestselling author of Orphan X
Crime fiction has never seen a character quite like Hulda Hermannsdoittir; nor a series launch so entirely willing to take risks and obliterate long-standing tropes . . . There is no doubt that The Darkness will rank as one of the most popular and powerful reading experiences of the year.
BOLO Books Review
It will get your pulse racing and keep you hooked to the last page
Simon Kernick of The Bone Field series
A sympathetic yet entirely unsentimental portrait of a flawed but decent detective seeking justice for a murdered Russian asylum seeker
Sunday Times Crime Club
Magnificently dark and twisted! That ending - blimey!
C. J. Tudor, bestselling author of The Chalk Man
Expertly plotted, with an ending that's a true shocker, The Darkness is the first book in a trilogy featuring this engaging investigator, which is good news
The Guardian
Superb. . . chilling . . . This is the first volume in Jonasson's Hidden Iceland trilogy, which tells Hulda's story in reverse chronological order and establishes her as one of the great tragic heroines of contemporary detective fiction
Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
As chilling as the nip in the Icelandic air
Choice Magazine
Magnificently dark and twisted and that ending - blimey!
C. J. Tudor, bestselling author of The Chalk Man
It will get your pulse racing, and keep you hooked to the last page
Simon Kernick of The Bone Field series
It had an intense, visceral sense of place and the connection between the emotional lives of the character and the landscape was evoked beautifully
Helen Callaghan, bestselling author of Dear Amy
The Darkness is Ragnar Jonasson at the top of his game - deft plotting, a great central character and a story as chilling as the Icelandic winter. I couldn't put it down
William Ryan, author of The Holy Thief
The Darkness is a bullet train of a novel, at once blazingly contemporary and Agatha-Christie old-fashioned. With prose as pure and crisp as Reykjavik snowcrust, Ragnar Jonasson navigates the treacherous narrative with a veteran's hand. I reached the end with adrenalized anticipation, the final twist hitting me in the face. I dare you not to be shocked.
Gregg Hurwitz
Breathtaking. Read it in two sittings. Yet another instant Ragnar Jonasson classic
Thomas Enger, bestselling author of the Henning Juul series
Crime fiction has never seen a character quite like Hulda Hermannsdoittir; nor a series launch so entirely willing to take risks and obliterate long-standing tropes . . . There is no doubt that The Darkness will rank as one of the most popular and powerful reading experiences of the year
Bolo Books Review
As chilling as the nip in the Icelandic air
Choice Magazine
A true masterpiece . . . a plot full of twists and turns and an ending that leaves you gasping for air
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Was gripped from the start of this brilliantly told story. And left wide-eyed with shock at the ending
Fiona Barton, bestselling author of The Widow
Page-turning stuff with an unexpected ending!
James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad
Chilling - a must-read
Peter James
Expertly plotted, with an ending that's a true shocker, The Darkness is the first book in a trilogy featuring this engaging investigator, which is good news
Book of the Month, Guardian
The Darkness will have you burning the midnight oil till 2:00am. It's a gloriously compelling yarn, whose spell continues to hold even when you've turned its final page thanks to its unexpected ending. I can't wait for his next
Reader review
The ending really took my breath away and that's hard for writers to do to me these days . . . It was a complete surprise and I should have seen it coming and I didn't. [Hulda] is a fantastic, complex 3D character and I want to see more of her, so hurray, this is the first of a three book series
Ian Rankin on the Simon Mayo Podcast
It's shockingly sinister and has an ending that will leave you, literally, gasping for breath
Crimesquad
The perfect territory for mystery [writers]
New York Times
The Darkness melds an insightful character study with a solid plot for an outstanding novel
Washington Post
Outstanding series debut . . . builds to its stunning conclusion, one of the more remarkable in recent crime fiction
Publishers Weekly
Superb . . . Chilling . . . and establishes her as a great tragic heroine of modern detective fiction
Joan Smith
Crime Book of the Month, Sunday Times
To read Ragnar Jonasson is to plunge into snowy Iceland . . . much of its atmosphere and subtle pacing to the traditional 'golden age' detective fiction as the mystery unfolds and builds to a startling climax, elegantly handled.
The Witness
The wait was worthwhile and The Darkness first in the new trilogy, is a very efficient piece of work. Jonasson has the full measure of the Nordic noir genre, and pushes all the requisite buttons
Barry Forshaw, Financial Times
If you have ever doubted the appropriateness of the phrase 'Nordic noir', The Darkness will dispel any hesitation . . . in what way this happens (and how badly) is the strength of the book. There are ever-darker surprises, culminating in a finish that leaves one with a highly disturbing image.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
The Press
I've ONLY recently discovered the extraordinary Icelandic writer who adds several shades of darkness to Nordic noir . . . it builds to a deeply shocking climax
Anthony Horowitz
Daily Mail, Ten Thrillers to Die For
A complex, fascinating mix of Icelandic community and alienation, atmospheric tension, and timely issues (immigrant exploitation and vigilante justice), Jonasson's latest series is another must-read for crime fans who follow the work of Arnaldur Indridason and Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Booklist
A superb thriller
Summer Reads, The Sunday Times
Icelandic detective Hulda Hermannsdottir is the best tragic heroine our reviewer has read for years
The Times, Must Read List
Superb
100 Best Crime Novels since 1945, The Times
An intelligent, provocative whodunit with a killer twist
Ian Rankin
Show Less
