Snowblind

This debut mystery/ crime novel by Ragnar Jonasson is the first in his "Dark Iceland" series (now 6 in all, in addition to his "Hidden Iceland" series (3) and several stand-along crime novels (4). His novels have been translated into several languages and he has won numerous awards for best crime novel in translation.  He has translated 14 of Agatha Chritie's novels into Icelandic, starting when he was 17. He is now a lawyer and teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University.   

The story is set in Iceland's northern most city, Siglufjördur, which is reachable only via a tunnel through the adjacent mountains--assuming an avalanche hasn't blocked the road. Ari Thor Arason has just finished his training as a police officer and trying and rejecting studies in philosophy and theology. He feels this career will suit him just fine, but given that the 2008 recession has left many without jobs, he chooses to take the first job offer he receives, which is from the police department in Siglufjördur, without consulting his live-in medical student girlfriend. Needless to say, this causes some tension between them as she must finish her studies in their current home of Reykjavik. Moreover, Ari Thor is tormented by the claustrophobic smallness of the town--where no one locks their doors and everyone seems to know everyone else, sort of--, the geographic isolation, and the intense winter weather where the days are never light and the snow becomes a fearsome character in its own right.  Although his boss has assured him that "nothing ever happens here," first the director of the Dramatic Society dies from falling down a flight of stairs. Everyone assumes he just drank too much and accidentally fell. Ari Thor is not so sure. Then a half naked woman is found bleeding to death in her snow-covered garden.

Library Journal sums it up by saying, "As Ari Thór digs deeper into the town's past, it becomes apparent that Siglufjördur has more than its fair share of secrets and few of its residents are as they appear...  Jonasson has taken the locked-room mystery and transformed it into a dark tale of isolation and intrigue that will keep readers guessing until the final page." Booklist concurs, concluding "Jønasson spins an involving tale of small-town police work that vividly captures the snowy setting that so affects the rookie cop. Icelandic noir at its moodiest."

Publishers Weekly calls this a "sterling debut, a tale of past and present revenge, which combines the power of extreme climate and geography with penetrating psychological analysis," and concludes "Jónasson skillfully alternates points of view and shifts of time that set in relief Ari Thór's efforts to find a purpose to his lonely life. The action builds to a shattering climax."