This a great stand alone crime thriller by an Icelandic Noir master. I love that the coauthor is the female prime minister of Iceland.
I totally enjoyed the book and its story, it reads like a true crime reveal.
The story is that of Lara, a young girl who disappeared in 1956. She was a teen working for a politically connected couple on an isolated island off Iceland. The couple said she quit the job and left the island. She was never seen again. We meet the original investigator Kristjan and follow his efforts to solve the case. He was limited by his superiors in investigating and the case is never solved. He comments again on the case 20 years later with no real revelation.
30 years later the case is reinvestigated by a journalist and his sister. The story then really comes alive and is very compelling. It feels as though the reader is discovering the solution along with them. The finale is a real stunner.
The setting is of course a major character in the book, fun for those who have been lucky enough to visit Iceland.
The story does comment on corruption in government.
I think that it is very difficult to do translation from Icelandic, the writing felt a little odd due to this.
4.5 stars and thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for a chance to read the ARC and review!

This is an author I dearly love to read and this book ranks up there with his best.

Trying to solve the disappearance of a young girl in 1956, whom seemed to vanish off the face of the earth, an eager, aspiring journalist decides he is going to solve this mystery when no one else has been able to. His investigation will open a Pandora’s box of hidden secrets, influential men and puts his life in jeopardy.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this one and an ending that I hope will surprise you as a grieving sister is determined to get to the truth.

Highly recommended!

this book was so so good.

i normally wouldn't pick up a crime story that spanned 30 years but it was ragnar jonasson so i decided to give it a shot and so glad i did!! the ending of part one... oof.

there were so many good characters in this book as well, starting with valur and kristjian.

i absolutely devoured this book, i read the entire thing in one day, i just had to know how it ended.

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to love this book!

Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson; Katrín Jakobsdóttir is another phenomenal Icelandic mystery.
Ragnar Jonasson has written one hell of a story here once again!
The character development was really well done and his descriptive world was great.
An intricate plot and intersecting characters, I was so excited to see where this mystery took me.
This book was a page turner! I loved the plot, loved the characters, and his writing as usual was on point.
Highly atmospheric and incredibly exciting this book has an eerie setting, compelling characters, well crafted mystery, and is an action packed story.
I can’t wait to see what he creates next!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of Reykjavik.

I am a big fan of Ragnar Jonasson and have read a number of his Iceland Noir books. I am not sure if the same translator is used for every book. Victoria Cribb is the translator of Reykjavik. It doesn't seem to be as well done as his other books. There are often extremely awkward sentences that a reader knows an excellent writer, such as Jonasson, would not write. I mention that only to say that I really enjoyed this book and the translation should not hold someone back from reading the book. I do hope the editors and publisher will read this and consider a different translator for his next book.

He wrote Reykjavik with another author, Katrin Jakobsdottir. At the end of the story, there is an afterward written by her telling how this book came to be written--during the Pandemic--and how much fun they had together writing it. they clearly must be good friends and respect each others writing. It is not at all obvious that two authors wrote together.

The premise is simple. A 15 year old girl goes to work for a couple on an island right off of Reykjavik. One day she just disappears, luggage and all. The policeman in charge is stonewalled from interviewing important people, the couple who hired her, being two of them. The book begins with the policeman telling us of the immediate investigation, 10 years later, 20 years later, and, at 30 years later, he has given up although it haunts him. However, a journalist, for one of the papers decides to take it up as a cold case and do his own investigation. He uncovers enough that most of Iceland is once more captivated by this unsolved disappearance. Did she ever leave the island? is she alive and doesn't want to be found? There are a number of possible outcomes. The reader, however, is led to believe in one outcome but how it happened we don't find out until a surprise ending.

Even with the sometimes choppy translation, it is well-written. There is a lot of tension as more people who weren't even around in the begining get involved and the list of possible people who know what happened encompasses very powerful, influential people. I recommend this book for mystery readers and all of you who like Scandinavian Noir. It's not a thriller but it is a true mystery.

What an exciting story! Many of you are familiar with the Icelandic writer Ragnar Jónasson, In Reykjavik, he co-writes with the ICELANDIC PRIME MINISTER (since 2017) Katrín Jakobsdóttir!!


The book juggles between the loss of 14 year old Lára who was working on an island in 1956 to 10, 20, even 30 years later when a journalist seems to have uncovered information about the case and sets to publish on the 30 year anniversary.

The settings are fabulous and the plot is surprising and engaging. A fantastic addition to the Icelandic Noir collection and sure to keep you up all night. #RagnarJonasson #StMartinsPress #Netgalley #REykjavikNovel

This is an interesting Icelandic mystery. It moves slowly with lots of characters and details. A 15 yr old girl disappears on a small island, investigated by a newish police officer and haunted by it. thirty years later, a journalist tries to find out what happened to her and his pursuit is taken up by his sister after he is murdered. It took me awhile to get into this but did enjoy it overall once i got used to the pace

This book is a mystery set in Iceland. It involves a cold case from 30 yrs before and the police officer that originally investigated it and the reporter who gets too close to the truth. His sister takes over after his investigation results in his murder. It moves pretty slowly, so it might be not great for my students who aren't so patient, but for those who are willing to take on a slow burn, they would probably enjoy it

I kept reading this mystery nonstop. I was interested in the policeman/detective who was plagued throughout his life by this cold case of Lára. One scene seemed unnecessary. Leave out the domestic violence graphic scene. It felt out of place and the plot moved forward without it. I read these mysteries because of learning about Iceland and its people, and its amazingly magical landscapes. I also love these books because they are character-based, not plot based. Great characters in this book.

A 15 year old girl disappears off the coast of a remote area and is never found again.

30 years later a journalist becomes obsessed with the story and reopens the cold case.

As he gets closer people in upper places do what it takes to stop him. Including killing him.

It is up to his sister to come in and solve his murder and the disappearance of a young woman.

Very well written, atmospheric, and the plot captures you and keeps going. I was sorry when the book ended.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

As a return reader of Ragnar Jónasson I can say his writing just gets better and better. This book from cover to cover was edge of your seat holding your breath mystery. The twists and turns and intentional confusion by the authors put you through exactly what the characters were feeling and dealing with. The characters are lovable and relatable, you’ll root for them, grumble at them and want to scream at them all at once. The settings are beautiful and I found myself taking to Google maps to see the locations (though the book is fiction the settings are very real) and getting to see pictures of some of the scenes really enhanced the book. The plot was fantastic and unlike most books where you know who did it before the halfway line this book keeps you guessing until the very. Huge thank you to the authors for the story and the translator for translation from the original Icelandic to English and giving us an opportunity to enjoy this masterpiece as well.

I had a hard time getting into this book. This is because not much happens at the start of the novel; it seems like the time jumps serve only to rehash what happened in chapter one.

Valur works for a struggling newspaper in Reykjavik, Iceland. He’s been obsessed with the disappearance of a 15 year old girl, Lara, on a small island nearby some 30 years ago. As Valur gets closer to the killer, people get nervous. When, Valur is killed, his sister Sunna decides she must finish the investigation to honor her brother and hopefully find his killer. In doing so she must face down men in high places who will do what it takes to let the dead lie.