I thoroughly enjoyed Jonasson’s 2018 novel The Darkness. Unfortunately this is the 2nd book of his I’ve read since that was very disappointing.
The story jumps about suddenly adding in details from previous cases, which don’t appear to add to the plot. The domestic violence issues are introduced but not followed up – so why add it in?

Once the mystery is unravelled it only seems to take a couple of phone calls – no police processes to be followed.
The sudden ending left me wondering if I was missing a final chapter or two from my copy.

Helgi, a Reykjavik Detective, investigates the case of missing novelist Elin, whilst also dealing with upheaval in his own romantic life.

I enjoyed the characters and the setting of this novel, but it doesn't really work as a complete work of fiction in it's own right. It is a sequel to a previous novel featuring Helgi, and also links to a previous detective series about the missing detective Hulda. If you haven't read any of these (and I haven't), then this novel is somewhat of a slight and unsatisfying read.

The famous author, Elín Jonsdottir has gone missing, and it's down to detective Helgi, to work out what has happened. The mystery surrounding Elin's disappearance is explored alongside two other storylines in the background - one of a missing detective who had been investigating an old bank robbery, and the other being Helgi's personal life.

The ending was a surprise, and not what I was expecting. I wasn't a fan of the abrupt cliffhanger ending, but nonetheless, I enjoyed the story.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the advance copy of #TheMysteriousCaseoftheMissingCrimeWriter.

Thanks to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for ARC.
Helgi Reykdal is taking some leave from the Helsinki police force to care for his mother in his home town of Akureyri, taking the opportunity to spend some time in the family bookshop and have a think about his life. When a famous and famously reclusive crime writer is reported missing, Helgi's boss recalls him as he's something of a crime fiction devotee, particularly Golden Age.
This book wears its Golden Age influences on its sleeve and is enjoyable, with the more modern fashion for a bit of reflection on the detective's home milieu blended in well so it's not merely a pastiche. Like its Golden Age predecessors character and place are subsidiary to plot but they're not ignored completely.
The abrupt and open cliff hangar ending will not be to everyone's taste, but it's a bit of a hallmark of Jonasson, who is always worth a read.

This Scandi mystery focuses on the disappearance of Elín Jónsdóttir, an author who hasn’t been seen for several days. Detective Helgi Reykdal is assigned the case, and cuts short his leave to investigate due to his own love of books. We also see flashbacks throughout the book of Reykdal’s predecessor, who also seems to have disappeared without a trace. I love reading books that focus on books, so I really enjoyed it! I found the characters interesting to read about, and for me it was a great cosy crime read. It also left the odd thread that felt like it could be continued into a second book!

Enjoyable read with a great mixture of intrigue and literary references. I would be interested to read more of this author. Would have rated higher if I hadn’t found the ending a little abrupt. The main character was an empathetic character with a psychotic ex-girlfriend, brilliantly portrayed. Having known people in similar relationships, that rang true.!

The sequel to Death at the Sanatorium, Helgi is now a fully signed up member of the police and is asked to investigate the disappearance of a mystery writer. This is an intriguing crime novel and hopefully Helgi will be at work on a new case soon.

There is nothing that Helgi, a young detective, likes better that to sit surrounded by books and reading one, possibly crime related. When Elin a crime novelist who has written ten book and now says she has retired goes missing who better than to get Helgi to investigate. His investigation is based mainly on her long standing friends from her university days and her current publisher. It soon becomes apparent that not everyone is telling the truth but in order to find the truth Helgi realizes that he is going to have to be cunning as more secrets from the past stat emerging. Set in Iceland the weather doesn't help and no wonder sitting reading is Helgi's favourite past time.

I loved the artwork on the cover; striking and intriguing. I’m not familiar with the works of this author, but I’ve read a few crime stories set in Iceland. I like the backdrop of that country and it adds a different dimension to the storytelling. In this book, a crime writer goes missing and the investigation into her disappearance starts to uncover unexpected secrets. The investigating officer is a big Agatha Christie fan and that’s clear from the way the narrative develops and the dialogue, it’s curiously old fashioned, but also up to the minute. There’s nothing gory; cosy crime with a nod to the classic Christie crime era. I enjoyed it.

Detective Helgi has something of an obsession with crime novels from the ‘Golden Age’ of Agatha Christie and her contemporaries so when a high profile Icelandic crime writer goes missing it’s clear that Helgi is the man for the job of finding out what has happened to her. This book is a welcome return of Helgi and as always his personal life features almost as much as the crime and it is certainly as dramatic! Ragnar Jonasson’s English is a little stilted at times but that adds to the appeal of the story somehow, as if it is being told verbally by someone whose first language is not English. There is a very fine sense of of place here, with the Icelandic landscape and weather almost becoming a character in the story - it’s also peopled with many expertly drawn human characters and the ending is both dramatic and very open, leaving the reader hoping for another book very soon to discover what happens next.

Really enjoyed this book. Definitely a style of writing you have to get used to. It's simplistic and to the point most of the time.

This is a perfectly enjoyable easy read, perfect for beach reads. The writing is ultra simplistic and even though the characters are a tiny bit 1 dimensional it doesn’t take away from the reading pleasure.
Iceland’s most famous crime writer is missing, presumed dead and Helgi our policeman hero is called back from visiting his ill mother on the other side of the island to head up the case despite his lack of experience in missing persons cases.
Like all protagonists that are policeman Helgi has his share of personal problems which occasionally trespass on his attention to the case.
We meet the missing writers close circle of friends and they all lie to Helgi at various points.
There is also a case of a missing policewoman going on in the background - I don’t know why.
This is a delightful read in the style of Alexander Mc Call Smith so you get these twee characters with not much depth or shade but it’s a great way to pass the time reading especially if you are avoiding a much harder book

This is a new book in the Reykjavik police series. Helgi is now the investigating officer, taking over from Hulda, who has hasn't been seen since she left work. Helgi's current case is trying to find Elin, a writer who has disappeared, The chapters are either about Helgi's current investigation, an interview between a writer and journalist, and one of Hulda's past investigations.
Some of the strands of the book get resolved, but others are left open-ended, and the ending is shocking. I look forward to the next book to find out what happens!

I have read all of this authors books and remember he said in an interview that he taught himself English by translating Agatha Christie. Well this book is a result of all that I think! And he should be proud. It's golden age crime, agatha christie. A fine novel with ragnar's skill modelled into a golden age feast!!

This book follows Helgi who is an Icelandic police detective. Helgi has a great love for the golden age of crime novels so when a crime writer goes missing he is the obvious choice to investigate the case. The book also tells the story of a missing police officer, who was due to retire before she went missing. This book had a gut punch of an ending. It left more questions than answers and I am desperate to know what happens next. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Helgi, he is a great character. I wasn't aware this was a series and I will be diving into the previous books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this great book.

I enjoyed this book and the glimpses of Iceland it gave - both in terms of the scenery and the everyday lives of Icelanders. The case revolves around a missing crime writer and initially the police aren't even sure whether she's just gone on holiday and not told her friends... I enjoyed the references to Golden Age crime novels and definitely picked up a couple of recommendations along the way... Helgi was a great detective character - balancing the stresses of his personal life with investigating a longstanding group of friends. I wouldn't wholly describe this as cosy crime due to some of the undercurrents of the book so it may depend on what people are looking for as to whether they'd enjoy this title.

I hadn't realised this was part of a series (even after looking it up I'm still not clear which other books are in the series) and so there were a surprising number of loose ends once I'd finished the book. This was frustrating as the storylines had been woven together and I had been expecting resolution as I thought it was a standalone book.

A well-crafted mystery spanning many decades and multiple story threads. It had a number of left-field rug pulls at the end, along with the kicker at the finish.

Never disappointed with a Ragnar Jonasson book, excellent as ever. Would highly recommend. If you haven’t read any before I would suggest this as a good one to pick up.

The disappearance of a best-selling crime writer investigated by a crime-novel obsessed detective sounds like the material for a cosy crime story, but this turns out to be much darker than that. The story combines several threads : a decades-old interview with the missing novelist hinting at past secrets, an historic bank robbery with unresolved loose ends, a missing detective, Hulda Hermannsdottir, who may have been on the verge of a breakthrough on a cold case and the stalking of detective Helgi’s current girlfriend Anita by his ex. This makes it a compelling read and the story ends with multiple loose ends, hinting at a sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

An easy read but not altogether compelling mystery about a very popular crime writer who has gone missing. I correctly guessed the part of the plot very early on. I quite liked Helgi the main character but was not keen on the subplot involving his ex-girlfriend. A good short read that was not too taxing.

I read an ARC provided by Netgalley.co.uk and the publishers.