Memorable setting, interesting main charcter, and some unexpected sidelines make this a fairly interesting book. I would definitely read something else that the writer has done.

RATING: 3.5 STARS
2017 (Originally published in Iceland 2009); Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press
(Review Not on Blog)

I enjoyed this book, but some of the names of people and places threw me off as I listened to the audiobook. This is the first book by Ragnar jonasson, and I am looking forward to reading more by Jonasson. Ari Thor is a flawed character which you know is one of my favourite things, especially when it is a suspense series - as you see them grow.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

I love “nordic noir” I love to read it and watch all the great series and movie, sublitles are like a good GPS in your car, it becomes a second nature.

i have read several “nordic noir”authors and was so dang excited to get this series for review, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review on Amazon, GoodReads, and Instagram. My reviews are not a technical literary synopsis’s or bombastically long review, I write as a reader, someone who loves to read. I like real stories, real or fiction, I know a good book when I read it.

I am currently at 39% of this book and The ONLY thing that comes to mind is discombobulated! I am so bored, I keep hitting myself in the face with my IPad everytime I doze off. I read some of the reviews left on this book, I can’t be reading the same book! I am confused, i need a dry erase board to track the town of characters, literally the entire town! I think a crime has been committed, or in progress, or ten years ago in the full background on each of the town members. I am not sure I can see this one through to the end. I will not give up! I will try again. But for now I am putting it aside.

One star requirement 👎🏻
#disappointed
#dnf39%

“There’s something about a murder in a small community that’s disturbing, especially at a time like this-the middle of winter.”

Ragnar Jónasson’s novel Snowblind is a perfect example of how a crime novel grants the reader an opportunity to worm a way into a foreign culture. Set during the Icelandic financial crisis, the book is the first in a series featuring rookie policeman Ari Thor. When the novel opens, twenty-five-year old Ari is living in Reykjavik with his girlfriend Kristin. Former theology student Ari turned to a career in the police and he’s on the last leg of his studies when he sends out job applications. This is a bad time to be seeking work, but then he gets a call from Tómas, the police chief in far-way Siglufjördur. Without consulting Kristin, who’s finishing up her medical studies, he takes the job, and leaves for this remote northern town.


The book contains two maps: one of Iceland and one of Siglufjördur. The first map shows just how remote Siglufjördur and goes a long way to explaining Kristin’s attitude towards Ari’s relocation. But Siglufjördur is an interesting town and a perfect setting for a series. Once the town flourished, but now is shrinking with the loss of the herring industry, yet while Reykjavik is in chaos, the economic crisis somehow bypasses Siglufjördur. I looked up photos of the town, and it really is spectacular in a postcard sort of way. Author Ragnar Jónasson’s relatives hail from the town, and because of its geographical isolation it must indeed be a unique place. The town is accessible by a long tunnel and windy mountain roads, and at one point in the novel, due to heavy snow fall, the town is completely cut off. The book explores this uniqueness through the town’s residents: people move there and never leave, retirees return, and some people go there to disconnect with the rest of the world.

He started the day with cereal, ice-cold milk and yesterday’s newspaper. He had started to get used to seeing the papers late, as the morning editions didn’t reach this far-flung fjord until at least midday. Not that it mattered. The rhythm of life was different here, time passed more slowly and there was less bustling hurry than in the city. The papers would be here when they were here.

Ari’s new job would seem on one hand to be a cushy deal. There’s relatively little crime (no one locks their doors) and he’s given a large house to live in. For the first few days, he’s bored–after all he trained for the police as he was looking for a job “with a little excitement to it.” Just as he’s thinking he’s made a horrible mistake moving to this peaceful town, a death occurs. Hrólfur, now in his 90s, the author of one of Iceland’s most famous books, falls and dies during a rehearsal at the local theatrical group. Tómas is certain it’s an accident, but Ari isn’t ready to jump to that conclusion. Then a woman is found injured in the snow. Could the two events be related?

The plot follows these two events and Ari’s investigation. As always in a series novel, the life of the series character comes under scrutiny, and in this case Ari finds himself torn between Kristin and Ugla, a young woman who’s moved to Siglufjördur to escape her past.

Snowblind is an extremely strong first entry in the series. Not only does the book contain a strong sense of place, the ups and downs of small town life, but elements of Icelandic culture are very subtly woven into the plot–traditional Christmas dinner is smoked pork, for example. At one point, Ari finds himself alone working on Xmas Eve. He takes Christmas ale, smoked pork wrapped in foil, a white candle and a new book to work his solo vigil at the police station.

The Icelandic tradition of reading a new book on Christmas Eve, and into the early hours of the morning, had been important in his family’s home.

What a great tradition.

I read some reviews that complained the book had the old cliché of the rookie policeman solving the crimes. While I understand where the complaint comes from, Snowblind is the launch of the new Dark Iceland series, and what better way to start than with a rookie? Plus it’s easy to accept Ari’s desire to ‘see’ crimes where his boss does not as Ari is beginning to think that he’s made a terrible mistake leaving Reykjavik behind. At one point during the plot, the author keeps Ari’s thoughts about one of the crimes (there are several) off the page, but the clues were there thrown out very subtly throughout the story. Plus we see Ari developing a professional persona that he hopes will work with the locals. There are a few loose ends to follow in book 2, and I’m looking forward to it. Marina and Crimeworm are enjoying the series too.

Translated by Quentin Bates

Review copy

Rookie police officer Ari Thor is relieved to be able to secure a job in small town in the north of Iceland. It's not his first choice being far away from friends and family, but it is a job. However when a series of deaths occur, Ari has to investigate and secrets start to be revealed.

As a fan of 'Scandic-Crime' I have read a lot of police procedurals set in wintery landscapes. What sets this apart from the crowd is the fact that, although it has a a very standard setting and plot narrative, the story is more about the isolation of a small town and the impact of a new face on the community.

SNOWBLIND
Ragnar Jonasson; translated by Quentin Bates
Minotaur Books
ISBN 978-1250096074
Hardcover
Mystery

2017 is barely underway, and we in the United States are already blessed with a new entry (to us) in the Nordic noir genre. This would be SNOWBLIND, which, way back in 2010, was the debut novel of Ragnar Jonasson. It has since developed that SNOWBLIND was the first of what has come to be known as the “Dark Iceland” series. That is a good thing, because SNOWBLIND leaves you wishing for and wanting more of its quirky, memorable characters and haunting backdrop.

SNOWBLIND introduces Ari Thor Arason, who is a new minted Reykjavik police academy graduate. Given the poor economic conditions in the country, Ari Thor’s prospects for employment are bleak. When he unexpectedly receives the offer of a position with the police department in remote Siglufjordur, a small fishing town on the northern coast of Iceland, he jumps at the chance. This wins him little favor with his girlfriend, who is a medical student in Reykjavik and who was not given the opportunity to provide input into the decision-making process. Siglufjordur’s boom years are behind it. It relies primarily on tourism for its economy, but is difficult to reach and at times all but inaccessible due to heavy snowfalls. Needless to say, Ari Tor’s new home and duty station is not exactly Reykjavik. Ari Thor, for his part, begins to regret his new posting almost as soon as he arrives. The weather is by turns beautiful but bitter. He is definitely an outsider in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Worst of all, however, is that the job is boring. There is very little crime, as one would define it. No one locks their doors or acts up much and his duties seem confined to warning the occasional motorist about speeding, or perhaps dealing with the occasional drunk.

Things change for the worse after Ari Thor arrives, however. The first indication that all is not well manifests itself when a well-known and elderly local author and patron of the arts falls to his death down a stairway in the town theater on the eve of a presentation of a new play which he is helping to direct. Ari Thor is eager to investigate but his superior officer, who doesn’t like to make waves, is quick to rule the matter an accident. When a local woman is found stabbed and bleeding out in her garden, however, it appears that the little town has a murderer on the loose, and that the two occurrences might possibly be connected. Ari Thor, it develops, has quite a talent for police work, possessing a skill set which includes very sharp observation and memory skills. By the time that SNOWBLIND concludes, he has not only solved two mysteries, but also discovered and resurrected a couple of other crimes, as well. If only his personal life was as successful as his professional.

Jonasson is no stranger to mystery literature. He has previously translated several Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic. Indeed, SNOWBLIND puts one vaguely in the mind of a Christie story, as well as Fargo ---the film and the television series --- due to its isolated setting and occasionally offbeat characters. The English language version of SNOWBLIND is also noteworthy for having been translated by Quentin Bates, whose own Icelandic crime series is highly regarded. Here is hoping that subsequent volumes of the Dark Iceland series are published in the United States in due course; Jonasson leaves a couple of minor, but intriguing, plot threads hanging at the conclusion of SNOWBLIND that beg for revelation. Strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2017, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

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I first saw this book from Abby’s Crime by the Book Instagram account & tried to get my hands on it about a year ago & I couldn’t find it, so I moved on. This book is categorized as Nordic Noir & I believe Abby is a resident expert on the subject. I kept thinking about Snowblind & thankfully it was released in the US this year.

The first thing I was Really Into with this book is Ragnar’s ability to make me feel cold & that I’m in Iceland experiencing this story firsthand. It was incredibly easy to get lost in the town of Siglufjörður. Think of it like a dark & gritty Stars Hollow with a cast of characters with intertwined relationships & secrets. Another think I’m Really Into is that this is book is first in a series of 5 books, known as The Dark Iceland Series. There is also a prequel of sorts focusing on the main character, Ari Thor.

This story reads very well & it has a slow simmer rather than a rapid boil. Ragnar take readers through the story using the outsider, Ari, so we are able to learn about this isolated Icelandic village along with the new detective. If you’re Really Into crime, thrillers, police procedurals or mystery novels, then this is for you.

One more thing I’m Really Into is that this series is being developed by the British production company, On the Corner. Now, I had to use this link on my phone, but it’s a clip of an interview with the producer (in English) about their goals for the series. More to come on this!

I feel like I’ve fallen in an Icelandic rabbit hole & I might never leave.

Special thanks to Ragnar Jónasson, St. Martin’s Press & Netgalley for providing my copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Highly entertaining. A welcome addition to the Scandinavian genre.

Atmospheric, tense and introverted. A great addition to the Nordic noir genre.

An unusual mystery set against backdrop of the wintery northern Icelandic village of Siglufjördur. As Ari Thor describes it, 'a place probably closer to the Arctic Circle than to Reykjavík.' And yes, it's a real place. Google it and you get an idea of the landscape and those desolate pictures say much to the claustrophobic emotions of residents when the tunnel allowing access in and out of the small community is cut off by the elements.
The mountain barrier throws into relief the images of people governed by their landscape. So when a young woman is found dead in the snow Ari, a young, emotionally reclusive policeman is thrown into the heart of the matter. His confidence is not helped by his fellow officers' attitudes. When Ari tries to explain his insights to his superior he is not listened to, so he stays away from voicing concerns or discoveries.
On the personal level things are complicated starting with the way Ari fails to communicate with his partner about taking up the assignment in Siglufjördur. Add to this his attraction to another young woman in Siglufjördur and things become somewhat excruciating for him and us. The translator is to be congratulated. The prose flows well, dark and menacingly, with Ari's hesitancy so nicely developed.
Siglufjördur is a place where the endless snow is oppressive, a place where Ari finds himself being crushed by the 'deafening silence of the incessant snowfall.'
When an award winning writer dies, suspicions are voiced that this might not be a simply of natural causes. The community begins to turn in on itself, locked in as the people are with their own forebodings. The surprise element of what actually happens locks the mystery into its conclusion beautifully. A slow start belies the way the plot develops and interweaves into a fascinating work. Well worth the read.

A NetGalley ARC
(January 2017)

This is a return visit to Iceland for me. A new author, a new setting with a new protagonist and a whole new set of problems. I enjoyed my first couple of literary visits to Iceland, so I thought that it was about time to explore a little bit more of the island.

Siglufjordur, a small community in the extremities of Iceland. The setting of Snowblind struck a chord with me in some peculiar ways. It amazes me how no matter where you go in the world - different cultures, languages - small towns are all the same. Aside from the bitter cold and extreme isolation, Siglufjordur could be small town America. A place where everyone knows everyone’s business, and if you aren’t from there, you will always be “from away”. This comfort level with the small town helped me ease my way into the lives of the residents of Siglufjordur and enjoy the evil web of lies and deceit that flourish in a small town.

Ragnar Jonasson has created a fabulous cast of characters for his story. Ari Thor has some baggage. I love a character with baggage. The supporting cast covered everything you could want in a good story: comic relief, intrigue and even a little bit of sexy time rounded out a captivating mystery/thriller.

In the end, I really enjoyed Snowblind. It had some great twists and kept me guessing, complete with a bonus surprise at the end. I just felt like it was lacking something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Would I read more from Ragnar Jonasson? Absolutely!

*4 Stars

A tense, clever mystery novel wholly different in its setting and cultural norms.

Student Ari Thor is living in Reykjavik (Iceland) with his fiance. He has studied philosophy and theology but neither has helped him come to terms with his feelings of being alone in an indifferent universe following the death of his parents when he was a young boy. Now he is in the police academy and seems to have found his place. Much to the dismay of his fiance, he has been offered a job in a remote town, practically in the arctic circle. He goes, finding himself very much an outsider in this place where everybody knows everybody and there are no secrets.

Or are there?

Jonasson's Snowblind is a wonderful read. We are drawn into the claustrophobic village, cut off from the constant winter snow. Sealed off from the rest of the world by an avalanche, there is great fear when an old man dies mysteriously and a young woman hovers on the edge of death.

I was on the edge of my seat, reading this. Jonasson uses the weather well, contributing to the feeling of anxiety and dread in the book. This book is a terrific mystery and a great contribution to the genre of "Nordic Noir." Jonasson writes a story that pulls the reader in immediately. I read the book in two sittings (it would have been one, if life had permitted). Bates' translation is extremely readable and Jonasson creates characters that are highly engaging. I especially fell in love with Ari Thor!

I strongly recommend this book to mystery lovers. I am particularly fascinated by the Icelandic locale and this book more than lived up to expectations. I hope the other books in this series appear in English soon-I can hardly wait to read them.

I am grateful to NetGalley for giving me this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ari Thor accepts his first job with a police force in a remote Iceland town leaving behind the big city and his girlfriend, Kristin. Almost immediately he second guesses his decision to relocate as Siglufjörður is a small town and he is made to feel like an outsider. As a rookie officer and the new face in town, he has many obstacles to overcome and when one resident dies and another is found badly injured he begins to realize that though the residents seem to know everything about each other, there are still many secrets being kept.

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a more poetically written crime novel before. The descriptive prose Jonasson uses is gorgeous and even the actual crime scenes themselves are oddly beautiful sounding. There is a mature elegance to his writing style that really captivates the reader and makes you appreciate the rather slow pacing of the book. Even though things start off slow, by the latter half of the book it amps up and provides some fulfilling plot turns.

I can’t review Snowblind without discussing the stunning atmosphere of Iceland. Jonasson’s imagery is just beautiful and the atmosphere plays such a large role here. Set in the winter months during very heavy snowfall, there is a constant sense of claustrophobia that affects not only the reader, but protagonist Ari Thor as well. You can absolutely feel the bone numbing chill in the air and the oppressive sense of dread it conjures. As the snow continues to pile up and the case unfolds I found myself feeling slightly suffocated and anxious for the season to change.

This is not a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller but rather a classic murder mystery. It’s perfect for people that want a true, old school mystery with very little gory details and more focus on the characters and setting. But make no mistake, even if it doesn’t follow the newer trend of frantic pacing and twist after turn it still very much delivers on all levels and packs a powerful punch in the end.

It is so incredibly cold here, near zero or below for several days. The perfect time to settle in with this story. Although here we are without snow. When newly commissioned police officer, Ari Thor grabs the job in Siglufjorour, the only offer on the table, his live in girlfriend refuses to leave Reykjavik. He sets out alone hoping to maintain a long distance relationship until she changes her mind.

He arrives in the small town, a town enclosed by mountains, people who all know each other, finds himself very much and outsider. At first it looks like this will be nothing more than a community service posting, but this will change when an elderly, somewhat famous past author is found dead at the foot of the stairs at the drama society.

This is a very slow paced, atmospheric story, but we get to really know the characters, the flavor of the town. Feel the claustrophobia of the cold, the snow, see into others lives, their secrets and fears.Not a thrill ride but a slow unraveling that keeps pave with the unraveling weather. Once I got used to the slower pace, I settled in nicely with this well written novel, enjoyed the multifaceted characters and was constantly surprised by the revelations. A good solid read.

ARC from Netgalley.

Fans of old-fashioned detective novels will love this Scandinavian thriller which pulls readers into a small Icelandic community, buried in snow as it confronts two gruesome episodes.

The main character is Ari Thor, a young police officer who leaves Reykjavik for a small northern town, where everyone knows everything about everyone. Things get interesting when the town's most famous resident dies under strange circumstances, followed shortly after by a violent attack on a young woman. All of this as the town is enveloped in heavy snow, which, at a point, literally traps the residents in town.

This book isn't a Dan Brown or Harlan Coben-style fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. It's a classic whodunnit, with pieces slowly falling into place. I enjoyed that you got to slowly see everything fall into place. By the end of the novel, I was really flipping pages to see how it all unfolded.

There's a lot of background on every character, and this causes the book to run slow in the first quarter. But it's worth sticking with, for sure. The devil in this story is in the details, and it all comes together beautifully, if a little bit frustrating (I don't want to give spoilers here, but yeah).

Also, some of the interpersonal storylines were not resolved, which leads me to believe that this is a series which will continue. It was a little bit frustrating because I wanted to know how it all ended (there's a love triangle), but I guess that's part of reading a series of books.

Overall, I'd definitely pick up the next in the series.

Winters in Iceland are dark, with only a few hours of light each day. For new policeman and recent town transplant Ari Thór Arason, winter in Siglufjordur feels darker due to the mountains and fjord encircling the town, and the incessant falling of snow. He's lonely, isolated, bored, and claustrophobic. It only gets worse after an avalanche closes the only road in or out. An accidental death and violent home invasion give him something to think about.

Jónasson is a good storyteller. Events which happen at specifically stated times are interspersed with those that do not. The result is that the reader isn't sure when in time they are. Snowblind was a page-turner, and I can't wait for the next in the series.