After a slight introduction the main story takes place thirty years after Lara Marteinsdottir went missing on the small Icelandic island of Videy, never to be seen or heard from again. There are few crimes in Iceland and one that has remained a cold case for so long has haunted many. The story takes place in the 1980’s and with their painstaking research Jakobsdottir and Jonasson have remained true to the Icelandic history and culture of the times. An intriguing mystery that had me hooked from start to finish and left me wanting to see more of Sunna in the future! Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

3.5/5!

I absolutely love Ragnar Jónasson’s writing and was thrilled to see that he was co-authoring a new book. I’m consistently blown away by people who can write books together and Reykjavík proved to live up to that expectation.

Reykjavík takes a unique approach to the timeline progress, by allowing readers to experience glimpses into the past 30 years, including part of the original investigation in 1956. The majority of the book takes place in 1986, but these past chapters helped to create a solid timeline of events in my mind that then allowed me to feel like an active participant in trying to solve the case in the book’s present day.

If you’re familiar with Jónasson’s writing from his previous work, you will be excited to find out that Reykjavík follows the same atmospheric and immersive story style as his other books. The pacing of the story is a bit slower, but there are some twists and turns that help to keep the reader’s attention captivated. There were a few parts of Reykjavík that left me with questions, particularly the motivation behind the disappearance.

I really enjoyed the way this one was written. The atmosphere was on point for the crime story! It was a fun ride as we try to figure out where this miss young girl went! There were a lot of people involved but it was easy to keep track. The twisits made the book for me! How things kept happening and didn’t stop till the very end.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and netgalley for my gifted copy.

While I enjoyed watching the mystery unfold, this felt a little more clunky compared to Jónasson's previous releases. I'm not sure if that's because of the second author (which what a cool second author) or because it needed a little tighter of an edit. I felt like there were a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them.

I'll still recommend this one, but it's not my favorite by the author.

Unfortunately I had to dnf this. I couldn't stay interested. It was fine at the start, but then started to drag.

This wasn't the most gripping Icelandic noir mystery. I enjoyed the characters and the ending was fairly satisfying, but it wasn't anything special.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ragnar Jonasson and Katrin Jakobsdottir and St Martin’s Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a slower paced novel than I am used to from this author, but it was very enjoyable. I really enjoyed the throwback to the 80’s and to see what was happening in different countries. I also loved the main character so much. Love that she was solving a cold case essentially.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Reykjavik.

Narrators: Bert Seymour; Tamaryn Payne

I was sold on Bert Seymour. Just as I was settled in and ready for an all nighter, the female narrator took over. At this point, the story lost momentum for me and I actually put the book down for a couple days.

The synopsis summarized the book. There is no need to read repeat it. The story went downhill once the second mystery began. At this point, the story was too long and repetitive.

The author/authors have the potential to write a good book, this unfortunately wasn't it.

A thrilling book about a 30 year old cold case. The author thoughtfully included a cast of characters and a pronunciation guide for the Icelandic names. The author opens the book the weekend the girl is missing and then updates every 10 years until 30 years later. I really enjoyed that approach because it showed how the case developed over time. I loved this book because of the unique setting and the detective work.

In this terrific cold case mystery, Jonsson has teamed up with the Prime Minister of Iceland to provide readers with a good thriller. Teenage Lára disappears from an island in 1056. Police are unable to find any trace of her. Thirty years later, a journalist begins to write a series of articles on the missing girl with serious repercussions.

2 stars

I typically enjoy books about cold cases and was looking forward to reading this because I have liked other Northern European set mysteries. Unfoertunately it felt very slow paced and just kind of blah and bland. There werent a lot of surprises though the mystery was an interesting one. I didn't find that there was a lot of charracter development probably cause there were too many characters to do any in depth development. The only exciting part was the reveal and even then it wasnt super exciting.

Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing about this book worked for me.

Initially I was intrigued by the setting and the cold case. Sadly, I quickly grew bored, and it went downhill from there.

We have a lot of characters, none well developed. They felt wooden, one-dimensional, and dull.

Pacing was incredibly slow. I fell asleep a couple of times with my Kindle in my hands.

The case itself wasn’t all that complex, and the investigation was drawn out. No surprises, especially for avid readers of this genre.

*Thanks to Minotaur books and NetGalley for the eARC.*

Dark and atmospheric involving a cold case about a missing fourteen-year-old girl. Moves slow but well-written.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
I have always loved this author's books and this one is no exception. It's a fast paced reading that takes an unexpected turn, one I did not expect and I was way off with the ending and who the culprit was. Great job spanning the book over the 30 years and not forgetting any details, also allowing the same detective to be included throughout his investigation and how it is moving along.
This book gripped me and I wanted to keep on reading as I needed and wanted to know what was happening next.
Great job and it's most definitely a 5 🌟 read!
Please also read the afterword as it gives some more details.

This book is a bit odd because of its setting. Who among us was in Reykajvik in 1986s? Terra incognita. It's odd in another way because I am not sure I find the resolution of the mystery to be believable. But it's an interesting read for the setting.

Thirty years ago, Lara disappeared from a tiny island off the coast of Reykjavik. Now, in 1986, a young reporter, Valur, is close to cracking the case that has captivated the nation for so long. Is Lara dead or alive and to what lengths will someone go to keep Valur from finding out?
Great story. I found the translation a bit stiff.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

This book was too slow for me. A missing girl and an investigation that goes on for years. I hope others enjoy it more.

An excellent thriller set against a carefully built unsolved mystery. When this young teen disappears without a trace, the police and her family are left wondering if she's alive or dead. Thirty years later, the cold case will come into focus when a journalist decides to use the story as a serial for his paper. But the police met resistance during their short investigation and the journalist will meet even more resistance now.
I enjoy reading thrillers set in countries other than the US. The differences in the policies and procedures along with the diverse characters and backgrounds can add to the mystery. I've read several of Ragnar Jonasson's titles and find them interesting and educational along with very good thrillers.

I had Ragnar on my panel at Bouchercon 2023. The novel was my first exposure to him. So impressive. The audience loved him. I didn't realize he was so BIG. What a great addition to the panel.

Reykjavik: A Crime Stor by Ragnr Jonasson follows a young policeman who is in charge of a missing person's report. This is Officer Christainson's and 30 years later it is still an unsloved case. Lara wen missing in the 50's and now it is 1986, Valur Robertsson a reporter is now looking into what happened to Lara and why she has never been found. As Valur gets closer to the truth about Lara, an accident occurs and his sister Sunna soon picks up the trail to finish the story that Valur has started. This is a fast read that the first 1/2 of the book is from Valur's point of view and the second 1/2 is from Sunna's point of view. This is the first novel that Ihave read by Ragnar Jonasson and was quite suprised by how good this book was.