BLACKOUT

 

SYNOPSIS

On the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer’s night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves Reykajvik to investigate on her own, unaware that an innocent person’s life hangs in the balance.

Ari Thór Arason and his colleagues on the tiny police force in Siglufjörður struggle with an increasingly perplexing case, while their own serious personal problems push them to the limit. What secrets does the dead man harbour, and what is the young reporter hiding? As silent, unspoken horrors from the past threaten them all, and the darkness deepens, it’s a race against time to find the killer before someone else dies.

Title: Blackout

Author: Ragnar Jónasson

Series: Dark Iceland Series #3

Publisher: Orenda Books

Publication date: June 30, 2016

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Blackout" is book 2 in the Dark Iceland Series, but it was published in third place after "Nightblind", which is book 5 but was published second. Between books 1 and 5 there's a period of 5 years. When I started this series a couple of years back I thought that the publication order of the english translations was the correct one, so I read book 1, book 5 and now book 2, so when I first started "Blackout" I was a bit confused. Anyway, nonsensical publication strategies apart, "Blackout" is a very good addition to the series. In fact, the best one yet.

As usual, Mr. Jónasson paints a vivid portrait of a remote town and, thanks to a crisp prose and no overinflated descriptions, manages to create a suffocating atmosphere. He's one of the best at creating dark oppressive scenarios where the claustrophobia is at its peak when out in the open. I just wanna go so badly to Iceland based on his descriptions!

I found very interesting the contrast between the blackout in the south because of the volcano's ashes and the 24 hour light in the north, where the murder happens. I could almost feel myself breathing those ashes.

The mystery was very well done and I liked how everything tied up at the end. Ari Thór's character is showing some side of his personality that will make him much more interesting in the books to come.

This whole series has a golden age whodunit feel but with a modern twist, and any fan of Nordic noir crime should read them.