Book Synopsis:
1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland.
The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn’t.
The couple should never have let him in. But they did.
An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever . . .
The Mist is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of this author so was very excited to read another book from him. The Mist was a gripping, atmospheric and tense read that I found hard to put down. This is going to be a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.
The thing that most stands out about this book is the author’s use of the weather as a malevolent character that is very unpredictable and focused on keeping the characters pinned where they are. The weather is a source of great stress to Erla while also helping add to the tension in the book as the reader becomes more aware of how isolated the pair are and how hopeless their situation.
The story starts with detective Hulda in 1988 but soon flashes back to ten years earlier where we follow Hulda who is going through a tough time with her daughter as well as Einar and Erla who have taken a stranger into their house. I enjoyed following both timelines equally, though I did find Hilda’s story line a little frustrating as I worked out quite quickly what was happening there though it was interesting to learn more about Hulda and her past. Einar & Erla’s story was incredibly intriguing with lots of tension that ensured I kept reading. Erla’s feeling of being trapped by the weather and her life in general was quite relatable I felt. I warmed to her quickly, especially as she was a huge bookworm, and found myself wishing her husband would listen to her fears and she’d get out of the dangerous situation she finds herself in.
Overall I really enjoyed this fantastically gripping book which I raced through in a few days. The tension in the book slowly increases as the story goes on with the many twists ensuring that I was completely absorbed into the story. This series is told backwards so if you’ve read the first books in the series you might already be aware of some of the things that happen but I think you could still read it as a standalone as it would just mean more surprises in the story. I’m so excited to read more from this author and am hoping to go back and re-read the other books in the series soon.
One final point I would like to mention is how impressed I was, as always, with the translation of this book which makes it easy to forget that it wasn’t written in English originally. It has a great flow to it, which isn’t always the case in translated books, which makes it an easy book to read too.
Huge thanks to Sriya for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Michael At Joseph for my copy of this book via Netgalley. If you like well plotted, gripping crime novels with some great characters then you’ll love this book.
About The Author:
Ragnar Jónasson is an international number one bestselling author who has sold over two million books in thirty-two countries worldwide. He was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he also works as an investment banker and teaches copyright law at Reykjavík 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. His critically acclaimed international bestseller The Darkness is soon to be a major TV series.
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 Orðstír honourary translation award for services to Icelandic literature.
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