Snowblind: A Thriller (The Dark Iceland Series, 1)

In practically any Bronx or Brooklyn precinct PD you've ever seen on television, they always send the new guy out for coffee and doughnuts, half-expecting him to bring back bagels, lox, and cream cheese. Fortunately, for the most part, he blends in with the populace slightly better than Dennis Weaver playing "Marshall McCloud," who always seemed to have a couple of nefarious villains after him, shooters out, blasting and blazing. When you think about it, the situation is not too drastically different at the police HQ located on the big island northern Atlantic Ocean community which just so happens to be located directly on top of or in near proximity to a major fault line lying deep underneath the earth's surface, which also happens to be connected to a string of active volcanoes, any one of which could erupt violently on any given day with explosive devastation as the result. He's typically introduced to everyone at the station, efficiently organizes his desk and cubicle, works the rest of the day, and goes home with half a dozen red herrings from the fish market. Fresh fish and a warm loaf of baked bread. Bagels and lox. What's the difference? It's all good sustenance for the body. He actually needs time to familiarize, acclimatize, socialize, and make himself at home. What he needs is no-nonsense QT. Quiet time. Quality time. Whatever you call it. A walk in the park. Someone who understands and cares. Perhaps he should establish a meaningful relationship and find somebody to reciprocate his feelings. What he definitely does not need in his life at the present moment is to become friendly, intimate, or personally involved with violent, deceptive, pathological pariahs, "Pac-man" piranhas, or otherwise deranged deviates, who engage in covert, risky, thrill-seeking behavior, some of whom may be prone to abuse pain-killing medication. How that works out for him remains to be seen at this early stage in his career. One good thing for certain, he is neither a socialite nor a lone wolf. A happy medium, perhaps, somewhere in between. Mountain climber or social climber? It's too early to tell. Priorities have been known to change, however. Longing for the simple life? He has found himself in a cozy, little scenic Christmas-card setting, well off the beaten path. A quaint, romantic fishing village up north out of "harm's way." A quiet, idyllic little get-away similar to what he's always dreamed about . Sandy beaches. Ocean waves. Plenty of sunshine. Romance. Or, so you'd love to believe. The setting for Ragnar Jonasson's novel, Snowblind, published in 2010 appears to be bright, unpretentious, and promising. The English translation by Quentin Bates was published in 2015. What really should fascinate the average, impressionable, young reader, are the inhabitants who live there. You're curious about these "real people" and their enviable, untroubled lives. They could be the professionals who work in your own office or business. They could be your new neighbors. They are the people you meet everyday who make a good first impression on you. After all, you do have a tendency to make friends quickly enough to form a good foundation for building a fruitful relationship. Occurring just as suddenly as an inspiration or a flash of lightning, however, he quickly realizes that outward appearances can be deceiving. He's just an ordinary passenger on the "Orient Express," in a manner of speaking. A non-suspect observer of the foibles of mankind. Initially, he might ask himself, "Who am I to judge humanity?" Then, he remembers quite clearly that he has a specific job with specific duties to perform: he has to discover what went wrong? Who committed the offense? Who should do the time? "There's no glamour in the slammer!" Once upon a time they sent him out for refreshments, a "constable on patrol," the new cop on the beat. The next thing he knows, he's returned and finds himself performing the duties of a seasoned criminal investigator. He's become the "Chief of Detectives," if only in function, and certainly not with any such official title. Or, is he a regular Dick? But he's good at what he does. He gets results. Before very long he begins to learn the unsavory truth of the matter, the crux of the biscuit. The characters he's met begin telling tales. They reveal the complicated personal histories of their colorful, intriguing pasts, which would form the complete history of the town, were the puzzle pieces all joined together. He begins to learn what really motivates some of the suspects he has in mind. What makes them click and tick. The suspense mounts with each succeeding chapter of the book. The pressure builds like the powerful forces of unvented gases beneath a volcano about to erupt. He files a load of cases, solving some, adding some. Thus, the Icelandic detective saga continues, culminating in sudden, shocking, revolting, and unexpected revelations which may impact him personally someday and rock his world to the core. You conclude that it's no small price you have to pay for the benefits of civilization, security, and stability in an otherwise uncertain world. You wonder if some of the perplexing people he encounters were descended from pagan or barbarian tribes. You consider the Vikings of the past, and their reputation for "raid, pillage, plunder" first and "ask questions" later. It must have penetrated through their thick skulls somehow and become deeply ingrained into their DNA processing machinery. In today's world, be that as it may, the average modern-day professional in his office has been severely restricted as to his actions and the outlets for his inadequacies and frustrations. After a particularly stressful and tiring day at the office, he may determine that the only compelling option open to him which he could faithfully exercise on a daily basis is to go home, kick the dog, booze it up, punch the wife, and send the kids to bed without allowing them play video games. Indeed, life has become a vicious circle for him with no plan of escape. He should get counseling. After carefully studying and appraising the situation, he determines that some people are just too emotional, hot-blooded, and temperamental to settle down. A former elementary teacher might have said, in his defense, "He was such a nice little boy. He must have picked up those bad habits after he grew up and moved away to Denmark in order to find work. It wasn't really his fault." A high school science teacher might have expressed his circumstances best in an amusing anecdote about the sailors on a sleek, speedy Viking ship from yesteryear. "Men, I have good new and bad news for you. The good news is we're rowing into the harbor of a fabulous city, with an abundance of wine, women, and food; a proliferation of music, dancing, frolicking, and feasting." "The bad news is, the Captain wants to water ski." Sitting on a park bench, R. Royce searched the moonless night sky above him and contemplated the universe all around him. It was too early for joggers. His future great-grandson should be able to retire comfortably someday on Mars, he thinks, after the dust settles and the way is paved. All a flourishing community really needs on the red-orange planet is a well-stocked lake, abundant vegetation, and a viable, oxygen-rich atmosphere. Plans and preparations should already have been made for the completion of thickly insulated suburban condominiums and townhouses, connected by a sub-way to the ultra-modern underground city and industrial complex. City Planner. That's what he would call "job security." Along about that time an unidentified man strolled up and sat down beside him on the weathered wooden bench, which had been painted a dark shade of green some months ago. He sat quietly in the shadows, away from the distant street lamp and appeared to reflect on the events of the coming day. He wore a long, warm, trendy, tan "London Fog" all-weather jacket, one with a plaid liner. It was all zipped up and buttoned. A warm woolen scarf was wrapped around his neck and draped over the shoulders. He wore black gloves that matched his distinctive leather boots. They had a dull-brushed finish to them. The stylish "Beaver" fedora hat that he wore, with its dashingly debonair, rakish, curved brim, shaped crown, and shiny band would have been all the rage in Wyoming had it been a taller and broader "Stetson." He gently placed a small tape-recording device on the seating space between the two of them. Next, he set down a dossier which had been bound into the certain format of an old rare-edition library book. It could just as well have contained someone's personal hand-written diary. He stood up abruptly, but nonchalantly remained standing, as if he were ready, but reluctant to leave. "As I was crossing a bridge one day, I met a man. He tipped his hat, and drew his cane," he said, according to the words of an obscure poem. "And in this riddle, I told his name," said Royce, as if in reply. Afterwards, the man simply walked away. He vanished into the night. Royce flicked a switch on the recorder and the tape began to play. "Good evening, Mr. Phillips! I trust that you've had a thoroughly relaxing and refreshing, if uneventful vacation in the tropics. It is so cordial and gracious of you to meet here on such short notice. A dreadfully catastrophic event is about to take place within the next several days. MI-7 needs you to find out the nature of the event, and put an immediate stop to it, before it occurs. The supplementary library material placed beside you contains a miniature thumb-drive with all of the pertinent background information you will require in order to become fully successful in your efforts, given the current level of your technical expertise, based on past experience. Should you choose to accept this assignment you must bear in mind that in the unfortunate event of your compromise, capture, or demise, our government will not acknowledge, recognize, condone, or approve of any of your actions, or any subsequent actions that you deem necessary. In other words, you are completely on your own on this mission. For your own safety and security, please step away from the bench at this time to avoid serious burns or otherwise severe injuries. As a further word of caution, you should be aware that the resulting smoke and fumes poses an inhalation hazard that may prove detrimental to your overall good health and general well-being. One final warning: the electronic device, the book, and all remaining contents will ignite, immediately catch fire, and completely melt down into ashes and oblivion within five seconds. Good luck and God-speed." Royce extracted the tiny thumb-drive from the book and left the scene without any hesitation on his part or comment. A few hours later, when he felt that he had attained a safe distance, far away from the rendezvous premises, having run through a series of maneuvers, a pattern of mazes, around and over numerous obstacles, he retrieved an anonymous cellular telephone and a stack of debit cards from their hiding place. He called his good friend and business associate, Cornelius Korn. "I thought I was supposed to be 'Mr. Phelps,'" said Royce. "How closely did you check the device?" asked Korn. "There should have been a 'manufactured in Japan' data plate on it," said Royce. "Good thing, Meghan decided to track the dapper gentleman with whom you met," said Korn. "Has she developed any leads?" asked Royce. "Not yet. The good news is, Alexis found the true messenger unconscious but alive, about a mile away among some shrubbery and bushes. He didn't pass all of the check points. She revived him, and re-routed him to DC for de-briefing. He had already destroyed the original, genuine tape-recorder before it could have been stolen," said Korn. "He has the burn marks to prove it. His attackers have been apprehended and appeared cooperative." "Looks like we've had a serious breech of security. Any ideas?" asked Royce "I guess we'd better open up a channel and contact HQ. The mission has changed for the worse," said Korn. "It's definitely gone side-ways. The information we have been given may be fraudulent, but not completely worthless. We'd better forward the thumb-drive to counter-intelligence, asap," said Royce. "We also need to advise them of any Intel we acquire from 'Dapper Dan.' We're completely out of the loop now. Mission aborted," said Korn. "Back to the old salt mines," said Royce, with an obvious sense of relief, but contented nonetheless. He'd followed protocol to the letter with amazing results. "Have you ever noticed that you have a calming effect on some people?" asked Meghan. "They must trust you implicitly." "The eyeglasses and disquise fooled them," said Royce. "They'll trust you as far as they can throw you," retorted Alexis Sue. "Present company excepted." "It bowls me over how we get into these SNAFU's," added Korn. "The good news is the check is in the mail." "Are you suggesting that we planned it that way all along?" asked Alexis.

Newly trained police officer Ari Thor Arason struggles to find his way in the tiny town of Siglufjörður, near the Arctic Circle. The oppressive winter darkness gives Ari insomnia. A series of snowstorms and avalanches trap the residents in the village.Although his boss Police Chief Tómas tells him nothing ever happens in the town, he's wrong. Soon after Ari's arrival the towns most famous resident, internationally known writer Hrólfur Kristjánsson tumbles to his death in the theater where the local drama society is rehearsing a play. Not long after a woman's half-naked and bloody body is found in the snow.Despite his inexperience, Ari's newness to the community gives him perspective that his boss and more seasoned colleagues don't have. In the background, Ari is grappling with his relationship with a medical student he left behind in Reykjavick.This is a great start to a long-running series. Personally, I prefer THE DARKNESS featuring Dectective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir.

If you want fistfights and gunfire and babes in bikinis etc... and all the stuff you get in an American action movie, don't bother with this one.This book is character and atmosphere heavy. It is more a traditional novel than a thriller. It is a mystery, for sure. There is murder afoot! But the focus is on the main character as he attempts to adapt to the claustrophobia of the town and his own complex short comings, all the while trying to uncover a murderer.In some senses the book is more modern than contemporary, as the author spends lots of time carefully crafting in-depth characters and the oppressive beauty of the surroundings. For some modern readers raised on movies and action fiction, this will be unbearably slow.I enjoyed the book and the writing.

I wasn’t thrilled with this book but nonetheless found I couldn’t put it down. Decent read. A lot of characters a bit difficult to sort out.

I really had a high hopes for this one but, sadly, not even my lowest hopes were met as far as enjoyment went with Snowblind.I have seen so many reviews for this praising how Ari Thor was a wonderful character (some even claimed he would be the perfect book boyfriend) and others praising the cleverness of the plot and the dark, oppressive feel of the locale. Neither of those things could be further from the truth. Ari is not a wonderful man and he would be the most despicable relationship material were he flesh and blood. Most of the novel is spent with him moaning about how selfish his girlfriend was for not moving with him when he took a new job hundreds of miles away in a near-inaccessible part of the country. Maybe he's got a point. Why didn't she move if she valued their relationship? Could it be that, not only was she putting herself through medical school but was also working a job at the hospital? Yes, yes it could. It doesn't help that Ari is a bit of a wastrel who has, by his own admission, given up at everything he's ever done in his life. So why would she want to uproot her stable career and her bright future so this man child could play at being a policeman?He does worse things, in my opinion, that make him scum of the earth as far as 'relationship material' goes, but I'll not go into that as I don't want to spoil anything. Other than if he was my daughter's boyfriend he'd need to live in fear. I've had girlfriends like this guy. Trust me, to any woman that thinks he's boyfriend material ... you kind of deserve what you get with guys like this. I mean his whole reasoning for not calling at Xmas was laughable. Pennywise the clown lived in the gutter and even he thinks the gutter is too good a place for Ari Thor.On to the plot. The novel starts off with a vivid image of a woman, naked from the waist up, bleeding out on a bed of freshly falling snow. It's a stunning image to start a thriller and my hopes soared to heights they hadn't previously hit. My hopes then realised they couldn't fly and promptly fell back down to Earth. What we get after that, for the first half of the book at least, is the slow, plodding introduction of Ari Thor and his miserable love life with that oh so selfish girlfriend (that was sarcasm, I don't want any hint of my being on this guy's side to come through). Each chapter is handily dated so we know where we are. Except for the strange chapters in between the main chapters that aren't dated. And are inexplicably done in italics. The timeline is further shaken about later on when a crime is committed and, in a strange way, all different chapters/timelines etc actually start to make sense and you feel like you're on the right page. Just a shame it took so long for that to happen.I felt the characters in this book were all a bit samey. They either had very similar physical descriptions or near-identical back stories. Nothing about them stood out. And I know this because, for some strange reason, we get the odd chapter from their POVs which is basically just a way for the author to give you ALL of their backstory only for them to give it ALL again when Ari Thor comes and asks them questions.I know you're probably thinking 'why did you give this a 2 if it has no redeeming qualities' and, I agree, I do make it seem that way, but it wasn't all bad. The first half of the book is very slow and ponderous and, at points confusing. After the halfway points things start to happen a bit quicker, however. It's not a fluid quickness that leads up to a rip-roaring ending. It's more a stop-start quickness, as though the plot is afraid of picking up too much speed, that leads into a juddering halt at a pretty bland and uninspired ending that's pretty much full of misery for all involved.I think it was done in such a way to make you want to see what happened next. Sadly, the ending, nor the story that preceded it, has made me want to see where things go from here.Still, despite that, and despite the reveals that are hidden from the reader, it got quite interesting. Reveals such as big parts of the investigation being given in conversation only for those facts to be done in ways such as 'And what she told Ari, shocked him to his core', so you have no way of trying to guess who dunnit ... which is the main reason I read thrillers. I'm ok with that kind of storytelling to a degree, but I just felt it was too forced considering it switches from free-flowing conversation to 'I'm going to hide this from you, mwhahaha'. It almost felt like being given a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle with 999 pieces, solely because the person who gave it to you wanted to put the last piece in themselves to look clever.I think Snowblind suffered slightly through translation as, much of the speech elements didn't read like actual speech that people had with one another (I assume in the original Icelandic such flaws do not exist). The sentences were also quite short and snappy and didn't carry much in the way of beauty about them which often went against parts where the author was trying to settle the scene. I also am a big believer that, if you are trying to convey a sense of darkness and claustrophobia to your reading audience, simply repeating, ad nauseum, that it is dark and claustrophobic is not the way to do it.I feel that, even with the flaws listed above, this would have been a way more enjoyable read if the main character was likeable. Seeing as how he was the most unlikeable main character I had experienced for a long period of time, I just never felt invested in his story or ever really felt like I was behind him at any point. I just wanted him to fail and be miserable, and that is not how I like to feel about a character that is supposed to be the driving force behind a good book.

I have seen this authors books on various book bloggers sites, and thought it was about time I gave the Dark Iceland series a go.  I have had this book a couple months now and have finally got to read it.  So did I like it?This is billed as a Nordic Noir, so I automatically expect certain things, and I admit to not being disappointed.  Ari Thor is the main protagonist and the reader is taken on his journey from Reykjavik and his police training to a new two year post in the old fishing village of Siglufjorour at the north of the island.  He leaves behind his girlfriend who is training to be a nurse. On arrival he finds that everyone knows of him, a village where most residents have been born and bred there.Ari Thor's story in the village begins in November 2008 through to the end of January 2009, though the Icelandic winter.  The descriptions Ragnar has given of the village, residents and setting were good, but for me I really liked the way he used Ari Thor's character to  express how the dark, claustrophobia enveloped him.  From these descriptions I could imagine what he was describing, from the long dark winter months in a snow locked village, Ari Thor is used to a city setting and has not experienced the isolation like this before.The plot of the story itself feels basic but at the same time has quite a complex layout.  As Ari Thor hunts for answers as well as getting to know the locals, he amasses his knowledge but the reader is not made aware of this until he starts putting the pieces together.  He then shares his thoughts more completely through conversations with others. Along the way there are a couple of red-herrings (no pun intended), these provided the reader with a chance to think up the wrong route.There are quite a few characters, and given my complete lack of knowledge regarding Icelandic names I found that I quickly got to know the characters and soon recognised them, though I did have a notebook to hand to make a note of them and their roles.  I took my time with this book, I was not a book I sat and read in one go, I did occasionally get books like this, it is almost like I need to read for a couple of hours and stop to digest.  I didn't find the book to be fast paced, some wonderful narrative regarding the area and the people made it a slower read, but I think this is more a setting up book.  Setting up for the series that follows and I am expecting the next ones to be easier to read as I have a prior knowledge  of cast and setting.I would recommend this book for readers who like or are looking to read Nordic Noir, Crime, Mystery and Thriller genres.  The atmospheric feel of the book has been very well done, with a really good story that hits all the right notes.  After reading this first in the series, I have now ordered the next three, so this is my testament to how much I enjoyed this book, but I am also intrigued as to what comes next.

On the cover it says "Is King Arnaldur Indridason looking to his laurels? There is a young pretender beavering away, his eye on the crown: Ragnar Jonasson"This really set me up for a first class read, as Indridason is master of Nordic Noir and indeed a very gifted and facetted writer. But rest assured - Ragnar doesn't stand a chance here. I find Snow Blind dull. The comparison to Indridason made me expect more than a fairly simpe whodunnit. Ari Thor comes across as a one dimensional charater, not one thing about him whets my appetite for more. He is boringly average. Also I don't see why his love life takes up any space in this novel at all, as it is thoroughly dull and seems to be more along the lines of a high school puberty crush. The claustrophobia creeping in on you, when winters dark only gives you few hours daylight and on top of that you're snowed in I find ill described in this novel. I don't feel it - it's word on paper. Again maybe my fault for comparing Ragnar Jonasson to Arnaldur Indridason. For me this book is very putdownable, but as it is the first in a series I'll give the sequel a chance.

I saw the latest in this series reviewed and decided to start at the beginning. A strange book, probably suffering in translation; I suspect it is very difficult to accurately translate with all the nuances of language. The style is quite prosaic, with rather basic statements of the unfolding plot. I failed to find any humour whatsoever in this and I do enjoy a little leavening in my crime fiction. There was little sign of anyone anywhere cracking a smile, let alone a witticism. I finished it, but very much out of dogged persistence. There was something that didn’t gel for me, possibly a rather old fashioned approach? I read other reviews after I had finished the book and saw a number of comparisons with Agatha Christie whose books I have not (and am very unlikely to) read so perhaps that was it. I think I prefer the wonderful Henning Mankel for my Scandi -noir, so this might be the first and last in this series. OK but little more.

Being an avid fan of Nordic crime dramas, Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series was high on my reading list. Having now read the first book, ‘Snowblind’, I can honestly say I was not disappointed.Having made several unsuccessful applications to join the police force, Ari Thór Arason soon realises becoming a police officer is going to be harder than he anticipated. So, when he is unexpectedly offered a post at a police station in the small, remote village of Siglufjördur, in the north of Iceland, he immediately accepts – much to the annoyance of his girlfriend, Kristín, given that he had not discussed the matter with her beforehand.Unfortunately, Siglufjördur is not like the busy Reykjavik Ari Thór is used to. Finding it difficult to adjust to life in a small community, where everyone knows each other, he soon begins to feel isolated and far from home. Treated like an outsider, his growing anxiety and claustrophobia is further intensified by the relentless and ever-deepening snow.Just as he begins to wonder if it was a mistake to accept the job, local celebrity author, Hrólfur Kristjánsson, is found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Although everyone, including his boss, thinks it was an accident, Ari Thór is not so sure and, when another body is found, he takes it upon himself to follow up his suspicions. However, the more he delves into the lives of the seemingly tight-knit inhabitants of the village, the more secrets he discovers … secrets which go even deeper than the snow.Beautifully written by Ragnar Jónasson, and translated into English from the original Icelandic by Quentin Bates, ‘Snowblind’ is a compelling novel set against a harsh Icelandic winter – a world in which ever-present snow and long hours of darkness are all consuming.With his dramatic and descriptive text, Jónasson paints a vivid picture of life in this remote village, where growing tensions and longstanding grievances suggest no lack of potential motive for murder. Together with his talent for breathing life into his characters, the result is an intriguing storyline which quickly draws the reader into the tangled lives of its main protagonists.The only difficulty I had was remembering all the characters’ names, let alone trying to pronounce them. However, the story is so gripping and immersive, this proved to be a minor obstacle. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Snowblind’ and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.