This was a very pleasant read - if a book about murder is allowed to be pleasant! The chapters were quite short and accessible so good for night time reading and I got really into it. The end really surprised me though - in a good way. Not what you would expect, and I won’t say any more about that!

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC.
I found this book easy to read, although in places the dialogue was a bit stilted, whether this is due to the dialogue itself or the translation. I would certainly look to read more books by this author and with these characters.

The story is set across mainly two time periods, 1983 and 2012. In 1983 two members of staff at a sanatorium die, it is believed by some that their deaths can easily explained and when no further deaths occur the case is closed. In 2012 Helgi is doing an MA in criminology and decides to go back and look at the case...

Not quite a whodunnit in the Agatha Christie style, as the evidence is slowly drop fed in such a manner that only once all the information is known can the mystery be solved.

“ The past is never dead, it’s not even done” William Faulkner.

In 2012 Helgi Reykdal returns to his native Iceland from the United Kingdom to complete the dissertation required for his masters degree in criminology. He chooses to base it on a 30-year-old crime that takes place in the old TB sanatorium in Akureyn in northern Iceland. There in 1983, a young newly qualified nurse Tinna Einarsdóttir discovers experienced nurse Ysra dead in her office and there’s nothing natural about her death. This is investigated by Detective Huldar Hermannsdóttir and her boss Sverri Eggertsson. The scene is set, an old sanitorium, one brutal murder, and five suspects in the last remaining employees. Two doctors, two nurses and the caretaker - all suspects. Although the case is quickly closed, Huldar for one is never satisfied with the outcome. Can Helgi use his research skills and his great love of golden age detective fiction to lay the case to rest?

I really like Ragnar Jónasson’s books and in this one he nails a modern version of a golden age detective novel. It has all the necessary ingredients from a very atmosphere backdrop in the creepy old sanatorium which looms above the ground dominating the landscape, to flawed characters and unreliable witnesses. The translation is excellent and so the storytelling really flows, which is especially praiseworthy because it’s told via several points of view though principally through Helgi. This approach works extremely well because they intensify the mystery reinforcing the sense of foreboding, claustrophobia, and even paranoia. There are moments of fear and plenty of suspense and tension. Helgi as a central character is a perfect choice, you can’t help but like him as he has a lot to put up with, as well as liking his taste in fiction of course!

It’s a very engaging read, I like the way the truth rises to the top slowly but surely with emerging links. It’s also well paced, with a good ending although I guess it’s possible to see it coming but it’s still comes as a shock.

If you like Scandi Noir or golden age style fiction, then this latest from the talented Ragnar Jónasson is well worth checking out.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Perfect blend of present and past mystery. The characters were very believable and I setting being in Iceland added to the authentic feel. The only downside for me was that last chapter, I didn’t feel it was necessary to add it.

Helgi is writing an MA Criminology thesis on a 30-year old closed case, a murder in a sanitarium, prior to starting a new role as a police detective. He tries to interview the people associated with the case and discovers there is more to it than he expected.
The investigation and discoveries are good, but there are plotlines that aren't followed up, especially concerning Hulda. Why was the police chief so keen for her to retire and why didn't Helgi question her? What happened to her? She just disappeared. This might be because of the translation. The ending was very abrupt and shocking.

📚Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson

This was a fun, light Scandi murder mystery by Icelandic author Ragnar Jonasson. The story centres around a budding criminologist called Helgi whose dissertation pulls him further into the world fo the Icelandic police as he investigates the historic murders at an old tuberculosis sanatorium.

It’s always hard to critique the writing of translations as you never know what’s a stylistic choice on the behalf of the writer and what is a problem presented by the difficulties of translation across languages and cultures. I found this book a little sparse in how quickly it rattled along through he plot and in the private trouble of its detective. But overall it was very much a book that delivered on what is promised: an enjoyable evening’s read without too much more to it than the puzzle it offered.

The novel has a strong use of passages of time, which make the read all the more interesting and the plot most enjoyable to follow. The setting of the novel adds to the mystery of the deaths and provides a sense of realism in the mystery that offers a unique tale. Well recommended if you like a good mystery and side order of death.

This is a new author to me. I enjoyed this murder/whodunnit which moved backward and forward in time to give the reader the back story to the present day situation. The book made me think 'not to judge a book by its cover' or make assumptions due to stereotypes of how individuals should act in certain situations. I was not prepared for the ending but it was very good. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

This book started very promisingly and I found that I could keep up with the time movements as it was very clear which year the chapter would be set. The characters were well developed and it was easy to read. I felt that the book took a while to get going and was a bit slow. It didn't seem to keep the same pace of story and it all seemed a bit rushed at the end, when the crime was solved. The crime resolution was a bit unbelievable and the other later murder seemed a bit pointless and unrealistic. The ending was also a bit abrupt and didn't fit in my opinion.

Helgi is living with his partner in Reykjavik and decides to write his MA Criminology thesis on a 30 year old crime. The narrative moves between different viewpoints and timelines beginning in 1983 when this crime was committed. Along the way he makes discoveries which make him and others rethink their view of what happened.

This is an engaging novel and the Icelandic setting adds interest. It didn't quite grip me enough to give 5 stars, and I found the rather abrupt ending (which I imagine signals more in a series) a bit disconcerting. But a good quick read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Death at the Sanatorium alternates between three timelines: 2012 where Helgi is writing a criminology dissertation on one of the most notorious murder cases in recent Icelandic history, which seems to him still unsolved more than thirty years later; 1983 when the deaths occurred; and 1950 when the sanatorium was still serving its original purpose, caring for patients with tuberculosis. This book, which self-consciously pays homage to golden age murder mysteries, also alternates between multiple characters, as the truth slowly unfolds.

This is my first Ragnar Jónasson, but it won't be my last. I knew that I would enjoy the Icelandic setting, and the descriptions of the old sanatorium, but I also loved the way Jónasson vividly and concisely creates a sense of setting for every location the story moves between; from Helgi's basement flat, lined with bookcases of old detective novels, to the modernistic box that has functioned as Reykjavík police station since the 1960s. There is something almost cinematic about the writing, but it never lingers too long on unnecessary detail at the expense of plot.

Death at the Sanatorium has one of the best openings I've read in a while. I loved the way it uses short, punchy chapters throughout, but the opening chapter was particularly effective, leaving me unsure of what I was about to read or who I could trust. I was hooked from the very start of this one. It also kept me guessing until the very end, as the solution to the case is revealed to be one that makes perfect sense but that I never would have guessed. It helps that each of the characters feel like fully-formed people, engaging but realistic, and with so much richness to their lives above and beyond their involvement in the murder mystery. However, all of that depth does mean that I wasn't fully convinced by how all the (more minor) storylines were wrapped up. I would love to see these threads continued in another book in the series.

Death at the Sanatorium wasn't quite a five-star read for me, but I enjoyed it very much. A page-turning read that managed to surprise me, and has introduced me to an author I will definitely be reading more from.

Overall this was quite an enjoyable read about an old murder investigation being studied by criminology student Helgi. The story is told through multi POV over multiple different dates. It moves at quite a good pace throughout but unfortunately I found the ending where the reason behind the murders is exposed a bit underwhelming.

An average read. I wanted to like it more but there were so many bits that either didn't make sense or should have been explored more. The ending was a little disappointing too. It just had an overall feel of a good story but just poorly executed.

This was a very pleasant surprise. I enjoyed the whole atmosphere building and how the story is told by different POVs. I enjoyed the building of the characters too. For me was a easy to read book that keep me hooked and I really liked how it went and how it ended. Is rare now days see a book that don’t disappoint you in the end. But this was a very good reading for me

Death at the Sanatorium is a classic murder mystery set over multiple.timelines. Ragnar Jonasson is a master of suspense as he slowly ratchets up the tension while always keeping readers guessing and properly riveted.

I read this book quickly and I enjoyed seeing the crime be reinvestigated and interviewed, good build up of pace and tension too.

A good mystery told from the perspective of criminology student Helgi with flashbacks from characters who were present in the sanatorium at the time of two suspicious deaths.
I enjoyed the multiple aspects of storytelling but the story overall didn’t blow me away. I didn’t like the very ending of the book. Whilst I guess the narrative of Helgi’s relationship was peppered throughout the book, the last page, for me, was a bit random and frustrating.

A fairly quick read but a tense and atmospheric thriller with unsolved murder cases at a sanatorium being revisited 25 years later by a criminologist with his own issues.

All the witnesses are reinterviewed and have their own reasons to be reticent.

The excitement and tension builds and I greatly enjoyed the ride.

Only six employees were occupying one wing in what was once a tuberculosis hospital. But the population of the Akureyri Sanatorium unexpectedly reduced even further.

When a nurse, Yrsa was found brutally murdered it would seem that with a handful of suspects, the murderer would easily be rooted out. But despite a few false starts (with the initial arrest of the caretaker) and the apparent suicide of one of the doctors, the trail goes cold.

So it is only 2 decades later, when a young criminologist with an interest in murder mysteries decides to investigate after joining the police force - from which the earlier detective on the case is about to retire - that the case is revisited. But even if the mystery does get solved, what other old tensions and long-held secrets will get stirred up in the process...?

This is a interesting piece of storytelling and the atmospheric description of events around the old sanatorium brings it alive in the reader's imagination.

The cover and marketing for this book suggest that it will lean more towards cosy crime - perhaps with a historic bent - than the dark Scandi-style police procedurals than Jonasson is known for. This is misleading, as Death at the Sanatorium hews closely to the style and plotting of his previous books.

Overall it moves at pace, but I found the decision to leave the reader guessing whether main character Helgi was a domestic abuser an exceedingly odd one, to say the least. Despite guessing what the twist would be, it left me unable to sympathise or even like him which spoiled my enjoyment of the book.