Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Still So Good

Outside by Ragnar Jónasson

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Best for: Those looking for a claustrophobic mystery told from many perspectives. In a nutshell: College friends Helena, Gunnlauger, Ármann, and Daníel are getting together for a weekend of shooting birds and catching up. But it is winter in Iceland, so really anything can happen. Worth quoting: N/A (Jónasson is an excellent author but I don’t often find myself underlining phrases in his books.) Why I chose it: I’ve read nearly all of his other books and loved them. I had no idea this one […]

Lost in the Noir of Iceland (And Liking It)

The Dark Iceland Series (1-6) by Ragnar Jónasson

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After reading the Martin Beck novels last year, I decided to continue with Nordic noir. I had heard about a series set in Iceland, specifically the remote area of Siglufjörður, and featuring  a young detective named Ari Thór Arason. I read these novels on Kindle and on Audible, where it helped to hear the correct pronunciations of some of the more challenging (to me) place names. Then author is supposed to be a big fan of Agatha Christie (as am I). He has translated fourteen […]

Devoured In a Day

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

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Best for: Fans of Icelandic crime books. In a nutshell: Ten years ago, a woman died. Someone went to jail for that murder. Ten years later, friends get together to commemorate the death, and another person dies. This time, the friends are literally on a deserted island, so … it’s gotta be one of them. Right? Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: This is the second in the Hidden Iceland series. I enjoyed the first one. Plus at this point I’ll read basically anything […]

That Last Case Before Retirement

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

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Best for: Fans of Icelandic mysteries. People who don’t want to be totally in the dark but still want to be surprised. In a nutshell: Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is widowed and closing in on retirement. Early on she receives some surprising bad news, and is given the OK to look into a cold case. Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: I loved the Dark Iceland series. This is an unrelated trilogy by the same author so obviously I had to get it. Bonus: […]

Ari’s Back

Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson

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Best for: Fans of Icelandic crime fiction. In a nutshell: A young woman is found dead on a sidewalk, apparently having jumped from the balcony of a home. Or did she? Worth quoting: N/A. I just raced through the book. Why I chose it: Four years ago I picked up the first in the Dark Iceland series at the Iceland Airport. I immediately tracked down the rest of the books, and then read what I thought was the final (fifth) book. In a bookstore this […]

If Only I Could Be Happy

The Darkness (The Hulda Series Book 1) by Ragnar Jónasson

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Only days from retirement, Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is given the opportunity to choose one cold case to solve before she leaves. She immediately picks the case of a young Russian asylum seeker who was washed up dead on a lonely shore the year before. This is a book that seems to take great pleasure in wallowing in all the misery and desolation that the author can conjure. I’d be hard-pressed to think of a detective in a Nordic Noir that has a more depressing […]



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