Our detective is a single woman whose husband and child has died and seems to be a bit of a recluse. Policing is her life and when she learns of the death of one of those friends, she's keen to get involved. The story weaves back and forth to an earlier murder that happened in the same location - is there a connection here? Hilda is the sort of detective that won't let that nagging feeling go without further investigation. I loved the atmospheric descriptive settings of Ireland throughout the book and I found the characters to be believable and we'll written too. It also had an ending I didn't expect and for that it gets an extra star from me. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy now.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC at the time.

I'm always a bit worried when dipping into a series book anywhere other than the start but figured this was only the second book so hopefully I hadn't missed too much. I do like a book set somewhere atmospheric and you certainly get that with this being set in Iceland.

Hulda, the main character, is immediately likable and helped pull me into the story. A good blend of investigating the crime and also learning the more personal side to Hulda. It's the characters that really are at the heart of this book and, whilst the crime investigation is exciting and there are good twists; it is not set at the usual rapid pace of similar novels - which I actually enjoyed much more. You don't often get to know the history and connections of the main characters and how this has contributed to their current positions. The pacing is good and I felt there was no 'fluff' - everything was needed to tell this particular tale. Definitely a series (and author) I will search out in future.

A really involving book with layers of drama. The icelandic setting adds so much to the story, adding atmosphere. It is a real page turner.There is a murder in an isolated summer house which has to be solved, the plot twists and turns and has links with another case.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Other readers may enjoy it more, but I could not get into it and ultimately did not finish it.

Thank you to penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the chance to read this book for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book as had a good write up but unfortunately this one was not for me.

The storyline was too slow. I also tried the audio version and Amanda Redman is a great reader, but just couldn't capture my imagination enough to keep my interest going. I didn't like the reverse trilogy idea either. Knowing how things turn out in advance is like reading the last book in a trilogy and then reading books 1 and 2 after them.

More stylish dark Icelandic investigation from Ragnar Jonasson. The pacing is excellent as the stories of past and present unfold.

I think that the students in our school library need to hear lots of diverse voices and read stories and lives of many different kinds of people and experiences. When I inherited the library it was an incredibly sanitised space with only 'school readers' and project books on 'the railways' etc. Buying in books that will appeal to the whole range of our readers with diverse voices, eclectic and fascinating subject matter, and topics that will intrigue and fascinate them was incredibly important to me.
This is a book that I think our senior readers will enjoy very much indeed - not just because it's well written with an arresting voice that will really keep them reading and about a fascinating topic - but it's also a book that doesn't feel worthy or improving, it doesn't scream 'school library and treats them like young reading adults who have the right to explore a range of modern diverse reads that will grip and intrigue them and ensure that reading isn't something that they are just forced to do for their English project - this was a solid ten out of ten for me and I'm hoping that our students are as gripped and caught up in it as I was. It was one that I stayed up far too late reading and one that I'll be recommending to the staff as well as our senior students - thank you so much for the chance to read and review; I really loved it and can't wait to discuss it wth some of our seniors once they've read it too!

Thankyou NetGalley, Penguin UK and the author, Ragnar Jonasson, for the opportunity to read The Island in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Unfortunately, not a book for me.
I just could not maintain interest in the storyline.

This novel is well written and makes the reader part of the characters lives. The main characters are trying to forget their younger lives, and this sets the tone for this thrilling read. Recommended.

One of the issues with juggling work, family and then reading and blogging is actually finding the time to do them all. The one which slipped most over the last 18 months was the blogging as the day job changed and took time away from blogging. The reading was able to continue (albeit at a slower pace) but writing up reviews of everything I read didn’t happen. So I am spending some time catching up on reviews I wanted to write but did not have the chance at the time.

One book I particularly enjoyed was the second in Ragnar Jónasson’s Hidden Iceland series: The Island. Normally I would be explaining how events pick up from the action in the first book (The Darkness) but that isn’t how this trilogy is working. The Hidden Iceland series is a trilogy which is being written in reverse so The Darkness and its unexpected finale happen after The Island which is the book that was written after The Darkness. Simple.

Knowing what the future brings for the investigating detective Hulda Hermansdottir makes her past behaviours seem more significant. In this outing she is called to investigate a death on a remote Icelandic island. Readers know that a group of schoolfriends had stayed at the island some years earlier and that during their stay tragedy struck. Now one of their number has proposed a reunion of the surviving friends. It is a strange suggestion as after the tragic events of their first visit the friends drifted apart and are no longer close.

The reader is treated to a creepy opening and the utter remoteness of the island does give the story a stillness and an intensity which almost makes you feel you should be treading carefully around Hulda’s investigations and the reunited friends (who seem to be struggling to keep each other company).

As we have come to expect from this author, the plotting is meticulous and the cast are used wonderfully to maximise the uncertainty for the reader. You are always guaranteed entertainment from Ragnar Jónasson and The Island did not disappoint.

a good read. Not the best I've read but the landscape and the characters make is a good read in the dark of winter. I enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed this book and it gripped me from the start. I changed my mind several times about how the murderer was and the reveal was cleverly done. There was lots of atmosphere and tension, which I often find in Scandi thrillers. Highly recommended!

This is a typical Scandi noir. More tell than show and slow moving, if you like this sort of thing, it's a good example of the genre.

When four people go to an island and one of them dies, the murderer has to be one of the survivors. But as the investigation unfolds, there's a lot more going on than meets the eye.

This was good enough to keep me reading and I was surprised by the big reveal at the end, but I didn't think it was amazing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This is a complex and twisty mystery which wrong-foots you from the off. Like its predecessor, The Darkness, it is a quick read and the descriptions of the breath-taking Icelandic landscapes are stunning. It was good to see Hulda again and to follow her investigations, both the professional and the personal. The story moves rapidly and each time you think you’ve solved it, you’re wrong! Looking forward to the next one.

I found this book to be slow, I was intrigued with the prologue but then once into the book I struggled to continue.
The story was good, and the setting in Iceland is alluring, but I found it just ok.

I read The Island whilst sunning myself in Spain (ironic, given the setting!), and although I haven't read the first book in the Hidden Iceland series, I still enjoyed the book. I would have perhaps followed Hulda's storyline a little more had I started at book one, but this didn't detract too much from my understanding of her as a (great and well-written) character.

I would describe this book as a 'slow burn'; there are no sketchy revelations purely to serve plot, no twists at the expense of depth. It is quiet, focused and well-considered.

I loved The Darkness, the first novel featuring Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir so I have been looking forward to reading The Island, the second book in the series. While in The Darkness Hulda was preparing to retire and leave the police force, in The Island we go back in time when Hulda was an established detective, but, because of prejudices against working women, she was still finding it hard getting the promotion she deserved and she wished for. In this new novel, we see a more personal side to Hulda’s life, as she seeks the father she never met and she grieves over the loss of the people she loves.

In the 1980s, we meet a young couple going away for the weekend in a cabin in the Icelandic Westfjords. Their love story is new and exciting and no one knows about it, not even their friends and their families. A few days later, a body is found and the police investigates. Ten years later, four friends, who haven’t seen each other for a while, get together and spend the weekend on an isolated island. Once again, the weekend ends in tragedy and Hulda investigates…

First of all, I love Ragnar Jónasson’s descriptions of Iceland. They are so beautiful, detailed, and evocative that make me wish that I could hop on a plane and go there right away. Also, I love how the remoteness and danger of the places described fit perfectly with the suspense in the story.

I really like the character of Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir. She is determined, not afraid to speak up and stand up for herself in a men-only working environment where she is expected simply to make coffee and follow orders. She is smart and good at her job, looking for the truth, no matter what. I found her personal life heartbreaking, but also intriguing. The personal tragedies that hit her family could have broken her, but she still finds a purpose in her job. In The Island, her search for her birth father is central to the plot and it made me like this character more and more.

The murder, the secrets, and the lies kept the suspense high. If you loved Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None you will love the plot created by the author: four friends alone on a remote island, one of them disappears, one (or all) of them is guilty… Brilliant!

Gripping, beautifully-written, and full of twists, I devoured The Island and I am already looking forward to reading the third book of this fantastic trilogy!!!

First of all: I did not read part 1! Would that have made a difference to my review? I don't know, but for what I've understood this book is set 10 years before part 1, so logic would dictate I'd have a fresh start, right?
Let me start by the writing: it is well done, characters are created interesting.
The story itself: uhmmmmmmm... to me it feels like a typical Scandinavian book (the author is Icelandic so technically it isn't), there's a feeling of loneliness and introversion which gripped me by the throat and wouldn't go away. If that was intended: it worked (y)

I can see why some people like it, guess it's a matter of moment of reading. To me the timing was off, therefor 3 stars.

When two young lovers set off for a romantic weekend break in the Scandinavian wilderness, neither of them imagine that such a trip would end in murder and tragedy.

Fast forward ten years and it is the anniversary of the death of Dagur’s sister and the remaining friends in the group decide to have a get together on a remote island in memory of her.

You just know that someone or all of them will not make off the island alive. The setting for this book is beautiful and bleak, I found it spellbinding.

I really enjoyed the suspense of this book and there were many twists in the story. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson is set in Iceland. Four friends go to an island, and one of them dies. DI Hulda comes to investigate, and starts to find links to a previous death 10 years before.

This is a dark, descriptive book, with landscape that sounds so different, but beautiful. It's a good nordic noir, with liars and deception twisting the path to the truth.

I enjoyed the story, and learning more about DI Hulda. There are hints about her life with her husband and daughter, and the grief of their deaths, along with that of her mother more recently.

Interestingly, this is the second book in a trilogy about DI Hulda, with the first book, The Darkness, being set 10 years after this book. Reading around, I've found that the trilogy is written in reverse time order. I haven't read The Darkness, but this is such an unusual idea!

The Island was published on 4th April 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Ragnar Jónasson through his website.

If you're interested in nordic noir crime books, then here's some others I've reviewed:

The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!