Lots of atmosphere and enough tension to buoy up the dark atmosphere. It's probably 50/50 with plot and character and some, maybe many, of the characters aren't that immediately relatable, but it's a compelling enough read.

Criminology student Helgi Rykdal has returned to his homeland to complete his dissertation, which concerns the unsolved murders in 1983 of two patients in what used to be a sanitorium. As he works his way through the evidence he starts to think that he may be able to solve the case after all this time. Ragnar Jonasson’s writing style is spare and to the point and it sits very comfortably with the story. The sense of place is also excellent, with the description of the Icelandic landscapes and way of life fascinating to those of use in warmer climes. All Jonasson’s books are compelling and readable, and this reviewer is awaiting the next with eager anticipation.

An atmospheric thriller based around murders that take place in a sanatorium. In the author's signature style the case is laid before the reader and it's up to them to help the main character solve the case. The tension between characters and timelines is expertly portrayed by the author to bring to life this chilling cold case.

Superb golden-age style mystery, with a criminology student exploring an old case - as we are able to follow events in the original timeline.

Past readers of Jonasson will be thrilled to have Hulda back investigating in the main timeline - in 2012 she is about to retire so this is happening in parallel to the Darkness.

Twisty, intriguing and leaving things open for a new series - possibly - I hugely enjoyed this.

(Contrary to publisher blurb, this doesn’t meet the locked room definition btw).

A classic murder story with a twist. I found the story compelling as we raced between past and present building a picture of historical lies and deceit. My mind changed so much as to who the murderer was. The prose was magnificent and held me spellbound. The characters were believable and yet mysterious. An investigation of one crime leads to the revelation of an even more sinister crime. I loved the author, the prose and the genre. Can’t wait for the next masterpiece to arrive.

I’ve read all of Ragnar Jonasson’s books and I enjoyed this book but it does have a slightly different feel than his other books. It has less of a tense plot and drifts to more of a cozy crime feel to it. I really enjoyed the nod to Agatha Christie, and I loved the multiple point of views with the time jumps. Overall i dont think it had that gripping feel that darker thrillers have but i still really enjoyed this.

My first of Ragnor Jonassons books. A murder in a sanatorium seemed right up my street and I enjoyed this. Less pay than my normal go to crime thriller, but enjoyable and an element of sort-of cosy crime throughout. Flipping back to the 80s at the time of the murders, and fast forwarding to modern day. Criminologist and soon to be polite person reinvestigates the crime, that was never truly solved. A lot of character building for all of witnesses and suspects, and a gentle cosy crime amble through uncovering who was responsible for decades old crimes and the subsequent following ones following the reopening of this old investigation!

An enjoyable back story to Ragnar's Darkness trilogy, with the tale of the up and coming newbie who pushes Hulda into early retirement (and those of us who have read the brilliant backwards Darkness trilogy know how shockingly that turns out for her!) In Death at the Sanatorium we are introduced to Helgi, who is writing his Masters dissertation on the investigation into a pair of deaths at an old TB Sanatorium near Akureyri, and dithering over whether to accept a job in Reykjavik CID or one abroad. Things for Helgi at home are not all rosy though, and loud, destructive arguments have had the neighbours notifying the police of domestic disturbance - something of an embarrassment for Helgi, considering his future career with them, and uncomfortably close to home for him when a possible instance of domestic violence comes up in the course of the story. The story is set mainly over 2 timelines, the 'present day' which is Helgi doing his research in 2012, and back in 1983 when the deaths took place. There's a brief instance in 1950 but that is the exception. Back in 1983 Tinna is working at the Sanatorium and arrives first one day to discover a grísly murder has taken place. Not too long into the investigation one of the staff members seemingly committed suicide and the symptom is that this was his admission of guilt, and the case is pretty much shelved. Hulda is a second in command in the case and is not convinced, but as do often happens her opinion is overlooked by the Boys' Club attitude of the Force at the time. Back in the 2012 present day, as he looks into things, Helgi has his doubts too, and as he interviews all the staff still alive, even though his interest is purely academic in the investigative process, someone is clearly rattled, and events take a serious new turn.
The story is very engaging with good characterisation and pace, with some good high points of tension and some well written sleight of hand to challenge your assumptions. I felt that some of the conversations came across to me as a little stilted, jarring slightly the flow of the tale as it would bring me up short to think 'do people really talk/think like that?' but I suspect this might be something where translation from the original Icelandic perhaps muddies the waters somewhat. That aside, a very enjoyable read, and I look forward very much to seeing more of what I believe will be a new series featuring the trials and tribulations of our Helgi. It is not essential to have read the Darkness trilogy before this book, it works perfectly as a stand alone, but if you have read them, it does imbue this novel with an extra layer of depth and poignancy. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Helgi Rykdal has returned to Iceland after a period studying in the UK. To complete his MA in Criminology he needs to finish a dissertation which is based on two murders which took place at a sanatorium in the north of Iceland in 1983. As he looks into the investigation and interviews people who were there at the time Helgi can't help becoming more and more intrigued by what happened and wonders if he can ultimately solve the case.

The story is told from the point of view of several of the characters and both 1983 and 2012.

Thanks to Netgalley, Michael Joseph and Ragnar Jonasson for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Such a fun mystery book to read. I really enjoyed this. Great twists. Great read. Highly recommended it.

A stonkingly good read! Tense, thrilling and brilliantly plotted. The novel is written with a dual timeline that works really well and draw the reader in. As past and present collide, the novel picks up pace and I raced through the final section. Highly recommended.

Sorry but I didn’t particularly enjoy this new novel by Ragnar Jonasson. I felt that the storyline was a little weak and implausible and the ending seemed rather abrupt. I also am not sure whether it was the style or the translation but I felt the writing to be somewhat stilted.

The book is written from the point of view of Helgi, a young man who having finished police training is taking time out to write a dissertation on the topic of unsolved murders at an old sanatorium, as part of his post-graduate degree in criminology. The story moves between 1983 when the original murder occurred and 2012, the time when Helgi is working on his dissertation. While Helgi is carrying out his investigation the past begins to catch up with the present.
I have read most of Ragnar Jónasson's novels and enjoyed them all. This is no exception. It is a gripping and entertaining read and gets a thumbs-up from me. Highly recommended.

A really gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to look out for more by this author.

The premise for "Death at the Sanatorium", is certainly an exciting one - a police officer is writing his thesis on the topic of the unsolved murders at an old sanatorium. After a brief introduction, the storyline diverges into two separate timelines:
1983 when the original murder investigation occurs, and 2012 (present day), when Helgi is working on his thesis. There is also, a brief divergence into the 1960s with one character.
In each timeline of 1983 and 2012, we meet many of the same characters, such as Tinna, Broddi, Sverrir, Elísabet, Thorri and Hulda. And yes, for fans of Jönasson's previous works, this is the same Hulda that you might remember. Hulda appears to be in her mid-40s in this novel, though this description comes from Tinna and she is not particularly flattering in her comments towards anyone in the story.
I initially struggled with keeping track with the number of characters in the novel, along with the frequency of jumps between the past and present. It took a number of chapters for me to settle into the pace of the story and to try and become familiar with the characters.
While I preserved with the novel, as I was curious to learn how the story would pan out, I found myself becoming disinterested at times, due to the my struggle in keeping track.
To be fair, I think a lot of readers would really enjoy this novel and learning of how the characters have changed over the intervening years. There are plenty of hints and red herrings aswell to hold the interest of the reader. In fact, Jónasson, has cleverly provided all of the clues to solve the case, these are embedded into the dialogue so simply that they are easily overlooked, and to my mind, that's the sign of a well-crafted storyline.
Intriguing concept, just not one for me unfortunately.

A whodunnit with a twist(s), this story follows the investigation of historical crimes committed at Akureyri Sanatorium.

At the time, things seemed to have been open and shut but even 30 years later new information is unveiled and criminology student Helgi finds himself stuck, trying to unravel the case.

This was an ARC (advanced reader copy) however I can say that I would pay for this book 100%.

There are lot of characters and a couple of time lines to keep up with which I can sometimes find slows a plot down but the short chapters and the concise format of this book really lends itself to this. Having finished the book I can appreciate the reason for the necessary layered characters.

This wasn’t just a standard detective novel either. I love when an author includes character set up aside from the main plot that isn’t romance and these characters have serious depth which I appreciated.

The ending was a SHOCK that I certainly did not expect, and I’m sure you won’t either.

If you love crime novels, Agatha Christie style, and enjoyable read or exceptionally twisty Icelandic criminology students…. It’s released on 22nd August.


Reading method: ARC - Kindle
Perspective: 3rd person
Genre: Crime , Mystery
Length: 320
Would I read again?: Yes 👻
Recommended?: Yes

✨RATING 4/5✨

I have read books by this author before and have enjoyed them all.

In this novel, Helgi decides to look again at a cold case from 1983 for his Masters dissertation where two members of the medical team were killed at the former sanatorium,. Yrsa was found murdered and then five days after her murder the medical director at the facility is found dead. The case is closed after the detective in charge deems it suicide assuming he committed the earlier murder.

As Helgi delves into the past, he decides to interview the original suspects. As he reexamines the case, there is another murder and Helgi joins the CID to find the perpetrator.

I liked Helgi as a character and his interests in detective literature. I sympathised about his personal life but was very frustrated by the ending of the book. I am hoping for more to come!

Death at the Sanitorium is an engaging read! The short chapters and POV from different characters at different time periods make it quick and easy to make your way through.

The book follows Helgi who is a MA student looking into the deaths at the sanitorium back in 1983 for his dissertation. Likely uncovering more than he had originally expected.

I enjoyed this book overall. Like I say, it’s easy to make your way through and it’s a relatively short book anyway. The ending perhaps wasn’t as shocking as hoped but was definitely interesting.

I’d definitely pick up another of the author’s books in future.

Thank you to Michael Joseph & Penguin Random House for the eARC.

Death at the sanatorium is told through different viewpoints and timelines. The first being 2012 when Helgi is completing his MA in criminology (you get told this point A LOT) his dissertation relates to the deaths that took place in 1983 in the old TB sanatorium in Akureyn, Iceland; he’s interviewing the people who were involved in the investigation at the time ( suspects, witnesses and detectives).
And the second timeline relating to 1983 where/ when the two deaths occurred in the sanatorium.
It’s an engaging read, as we investigate the case with Helgi. My only niggle with this read being the constant reminder that he was completing his dissertation. I didn’t feel it needed to be repeated as many times as it was.

I’m a huge fan of Ragnar Jónasson’s books and was very excited to read Death at the Sanatorium.

Helgi Reykdal took a sabbatical from the police force in Iceland to study for his Masters degree in Criminology overseas. He has recently returned to Reykjavík in Iceland and is completing his dissertation before returning to his police duties. As part of his dissertation he is reviewing a thirty year old murder cold case that took place at The Akureyri Sanatorium thirty years previously.

The story unfolds in two timelines. The present, which is 2012, and Helgi is in Reykjavík interviewing suspects who now live in the city. The second timeline is what actually happened at the time of the murder at The Akureyri Sanatorium in 1983.

Helgi is a fan of Agatha Christie crime fiction, which is referenced throughout and he has quite a library of her work. I love the fact that he lives, eats and breathes crime and crime stories.

This is definitely one for Ragnar Jónasson fans, who will notice references to another of Jonasson’s police detectives in this book.

Ragnar Jónasson’s books are very readable and move along at a good pace. This is surely the start of a new series of detective novels and I can’t wait to read more of the Helgi Reykdal series in the future.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.