You can be pretty sure you're in safe hands with a Nordic-noir police thriller and The Darkness is no exception. It did take me a while to warm up (see what I did there) to the pace of the storytelling but there was a moment where I couldn't stop reading.

I was barely 50 pages into this book when I was hooked! I actually recommended this book to a few people based on the first 50 pages.
Hulda is a fantastic character and I was completely shocked at the ending, but I loved the build-up. I'm so glad there is another book with her as the central character because when I read the end I didn't think that would be the case. I really enjoyed the flipping of views from different timelines and how whos talking doesn't become clear until later chapters.
All in all, fantastic book.

The Darkness is the first book in the Hidden Iceland series. It's an atmospheric noir novel about a puzzling cold case and one very determined Detective!

The main character, Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir, is swiftly approaching retirement. With no family, few friends, and little life left outside of her beloved job, the creeping advancement of time ticks down like a bomb about to explode. Though she may lack people skills, Hulda more than makes up for it with diligence and passion for her work. As she takes on one last case - an unsolved cold case, abandoned by a colleague more than a year ago - she resolves to do her very best to solve the case and obtain justice not just for the victim, but for herself as well.

There is a pervasive air of sadness and loneliness throughout this story. Hulda's own fears, worries and regrets seep through the pages, colouring the beautiful Icelandic landscape as a barren, desolate wasteland. It's beautifully written, subtle yet at the same time, hard to ignore. The translator really has done an excellent job interpreting the very essence of the story rather than just the words themselves.

The story is well-paced, drawing to a conclusion yet still leaving the ending unresolved. The reader is left to make their own mind up about what happens, without having everything explicitly made clear with a stark, black and white explanation. Some readers may find this a little frustrating, but it does leave things open-ended with plenty of scope for a return in the sequel or resulting series.

Seamlessly evocative, The Darkness is a solid addition to the crime noir genre and the first in what's bound to be an excellent series.

I thought that most of this book was quite good, but was disappointed with the ending. The idea of the book was good, the twists in the story were good and it was well written. However, I felt that the ending allowed someone to get away with what they were doing, and the main character would have fought more for a different ending. Hard to say that without spoilers! So by the end, a little disappointing.

Spanning the icy streets of Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is an atmospheric thriller from Ragnar Jonasson, one of the most exciting names in Nordic Noir.

I'm always a bit wary of translated books, as English, more often than not, is the translator's second language and inevitably, there's a bit of clumsiness in the translation. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by this. Perhaps the translator is English, although 'banging your head against a glass ceiling' is interesting. The Icelanders are obviously ten feet tall. I think the English will stick to the brick wall for their head-banging.

I've never been to Iceland and imagine it to be quite beautiful, albeit cold. Very cold. That bleakness certainly penetrates this book. Hulda is a sixty-four-year-old detective approaching retirement. But her rather obnoxious boss decides she needs to go sooner rather than later (as in, immediately) and offers her one more case, a cold case of her choice, to solve before she goes. I can't imagine what the British unions would make of what amounts to wrongful dismissal. She chooses the apparent 'suicide' of a Russian asylum seeker. The case reeks of mishandling and cover-ups, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it.

The reader is led to believe that Hulda is good at her job, but she comes over as a bit scatty, naïve and disorganised. Her portrayal hints at females in their sixties as being a little useless and over the hill. Hmm.

The book is certainly atmospheric and despite my misgivings, is quite compelling. However, the ending is disappointing, incomplete, and Hulda's outcome is totally unnecessary. If you have too many questions at the end of a book, it's never a good thing.

It was a dark and dreary time in Iceland - but then Iceland doesn't get much sun and fun at the best of times - and if I was an asylum seeker, it is one of the last places I would chose to go to. Winter lasts a very long time indeed - and there aren't a lot of people there (it is the most sparsely populated country in Europe) - and there isn't much that is green and... bits of it are falling off - [Personal fact - I saw a glacier 'calving' once in Alaska - it was outstanding and so blue!]

But if needs must, then you go. But what you don't want to find is a system where being female is something that puts you in yet more danger.
We have e new detective to me in this book - a Hulda Hermannsdóttir of Reykjavik, who doesn't get on so well with her colleagues and thus is left investigating a cold case - the death of an asylum seeker. But what she gradually uncovers is rather more than she expected.
I am not a great Nordic Noir fan, whether in books or on TV, but this book fascinated me. It was well plotted and well translated and the style was polished. It was basically good storytelling for a murder and in the classic style.
I enjoyed it and the as for the ending - well a good plot with plenty of red herrings (and the Icelandic folks probably know quite a lot about them) - and unexpected ending.

I found this book an intriguing read. The plot kept my attention throughout, interweaving three story-lines. The narrative gently eased these separate strands into a single, coherent whole in a manner which didn't require too much suspension of disbelief.

Set in Iceland, the story itself centers on the aging female detective, Hulda, and her desire to solve a cold case of a suspected suicide which she believes may have been murder. Initially, we think Hulda is driven by a wish to prove her worth before being forced into retirement, but as the story unfolds we realise she is driven by the misfortunes of her own backstory.

There were minor twists along the journey, and one almighty twist at the denouement which caught me completely off-guard. Other readers have commented they found the jolt at the end extremely unsatisfactory; I think it's a delightful curved-ball to throw at unsuspecting readers, challenging their literary perceptions. However, if you're the kind of reader who expects cosy, sugar-sweet endings: beware.

The one disappointment for me is the narrative. It is overly "telling" in places, giving long, detailed explanations in order to draw the threads of the plot together. It also appears to have lost some effectiveness in translation, being littered with cliches, in places reading like a school-grade story rather than a well-crafted novel.

I've added Ragnar Jónasson to my to-read list.

Received from Penguin UK and Netgalley for honest read and review.
A great dark book set in Iceland. Thoroughly enjoyed this and the book flowed really well from start to finish.

A really like noir books and this was such an easy book to read.

If this is how the series starts,then I cannot wait to read some more in this series

This was an ok read but I was a bit traumatised by the ending. I thought Hulda was quite a boring person and I think she made a few mistakes and ultimately paid the price.

I thought that most of this book was quite good, but was disappointed with the ending. The idea of the book was good, the twists in the story were good and it was well written. However, I felt that the ending allowed someone to get away with what they were doing, and the main character would have fought more for a different ending. Hard to say that without spoilers! So by the end, a little disappointing.

Personally, this book was on my kindle for a while and I tried a few times to read it but just could not get into it. Normally i'm a fan of Nordic crime fiction but this one fell flat for me - c'est la vie, always next time!

I ultimately enjoyed this book however there were a couple of plot and character flaws that I couldn't shake off. I really liked the character of Hulda, and I love an 'unlikable 'character but she definitely makes some choices in this book that I thought were unbelievable. Also a couple of the plot twists were quite obvious to me, I kept hoping that I was going to be proven wrong but sadly for me I wasn't, although this might not stop others enjoyment of the book. I think I would still pick up the second book in this series because I enjoy reading about Iceland and I like the point of view of an older policewoman.

Not entirely sure what to make of this book, the story was gripping but I found Hulda just plain boring and not interesting in the slightest. The very ending has made me intrigued on the next of the series though................

Suspenseful and thoroughly interesting. Looking forward to reading more in the future from the author. Good writing style and I LOVED the setting

I haven't read all of Ragnar Jonasson's books, as I'm not a huge fan of Scandinavian noir author, but this book is well written and I will give his writing a go again in future. The book is well written, gripping and keeps the reader guessing from beginning to end.

A scandi-noir set in Iceland (if that's possible!). Hulde is about to retire from an exemplary police career but one last case leads her in unexpected directions.

A story of love, loss, new friendships and determination.

Highly recommended.

This is a tale of a very lonely detective at the end of her career - faced with a sudden retirement opportunity, she takes on one last case. An ostensible suicide, Hulda believed that her incompetent colleague was wrong and embarks on a case that quickly spirals out of control with unexpected consequences. Set in the moody landscape of Iceland, this is a truly Scandinavian experience and portrays a tragic life of a woman who seeks solace and control in her own work. Gripping with an interesting story it's a great read.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

An easy and entertaining read, and my first experience with Ragnar Jónasson. I loved the old-fashioned murder mystery feel to this novel and loved that our protagonist is an older woman in a position of power. Hulda's investigation into the death of a female asylum seeker certainly makes for a page-turner and I loved how atmospheric this novel was in terms of its evocation of rural and claustrophobic small-town Iceland.

A great blend of Nordic Noir and crime fiction. It left me eager to read more by the author.

I love brooding thrillers, I love books based in Iceland and set in remote locations but I just couldn’t get into this one sadly. Maybe I’ll revisit it and amend my review accordingly but for now, it just wasn’t quite for me.