This Icelandic author writes an excellent murder mystery. Every time I see his name, I add the books to my TBR, or request them from the publisher. I love how he turns previous characters into side characters in the adjacent books. That is always fun, like literary Easter eggs.

In this, a young man is writing his thesis on an old murder case. When he starts interviewing subjects from the original case, things begin to escalate, even as the original case unravels. I appreciate how real and sometimes annoying some of the characters are. I am also intrigued by the young man and what is happening in his backstory, enough to read another book if this turns out to be a series.

I definitely recommend this to mystery lovers. This does not need to be read as part of a series.

Helgi Reykdal is writing his thesis on murders that occurred in 1983 at a sanatorium. The original murder case was closed but as he looks into the case he sees discrepancies. Soon he is interviewing the original witnesses and suspects to put the pieces together correctly and find the real murderer. Death at the Sanatorium is told in three timelines. We slowly learn about the original case and its investigation, while also learning about Helgi's current investigation.

This is a complex mystery, and the author did a good job of clearly explaining the actions both in the past and present. I found the writing to be descriptive and informative, allowing me to try to work out the mystery. Both the location of the case and the many characters had depth and added to the overall feel of the mystery. This is one that Crime Fiction lovers will enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In “Death at the Sanatorium,” Ragnar Jónasson masterfully intertwines the chilling atmosphere of a remote Icelandic sanatorium with the intricate layers of a decades-old mystery. This novel is a testament to Jónasson’s prowess in crafting Nordic noir that is both haunting and intellectually stimulating.

The story oscillates between two timelines: 1983 and 2012. In 1983, a nurse is found murdered at a former tuberculosis sanatorium in northern Iceland, now repurposed as a hospital ward. The investigation, led by Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir, is abruptly closed after the chief physician’s death is ruled a suicide. Fast forward to 2012, Helgi Reykdal, a young criminologist, returns to Iceland to delve into this cold case for his dissertation. As he digs deeper, he uncovers a web of silence and suspicion that threatens to ensnare him.

Helgi Reykdal is a compelling protagonist, whose passion for golden age detective stories and criminology drives the narrative forward. His interactions with the surviving staff members from the sanatorium are fraught with tension, each character adding a layer of complexity to the mystery. Jónasson skillfully uses multiple viewpoints, allowing readers to piece together the puzzle alongside Helgi.

The setting of the sanatorium is almost a character in itself. Jónasson’s vivid descriptions of the isolated, eerie location amplify the sense of dread and suspense. The stark Icelandic landscape, with its long, dark winters, serves as the perfect backdrop for this chilling tale.

Jónasson’s writing is both evocative and precise. He balances the slow-burn buildup of the mystery with moments of intense revelation. The dual timelines are handled deftly, ensuring that the reader is never lost but always intrigued. His ability to create a sense of place and mood is unparalleled, making the reader feel the cold, the isolation, and the creeping fear.

Death at the Sanatorium” explores themes of truth and justice, the impact of the past on the present, and the moral complexities of uncovering long-buried secrets. Jónasson raises questions about the nature of guilt and innocence, and whether some truths are better left undiscovered.

For fans of Nordic noir and classic whodunits, “Death at the Sanatorium” is a must-read. Jónasson delivers a gripping, atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. His meticulous plotting and richly drawn characters make this novel a standout in the genre.

Whether you are a long-time fan of Jónasson or new to his work, this book is sure to leave a lasting impression.

In 1983, a nurse was murdered at a former TB sanatorium in northern Iceland. With a staff of only 5, who did it? When the chief physician appears to have jumped to his death, he is considered to have been the perpetrator and the case closed.

Twenty nine years later a criminology student who has served as a police officer is using the events for his graduate dissertation. As he reaches out to the surviving staff, all may not appear as it seemed back then and danger lurks.

This is the third book I have read by Jónasson and I have liked all of them. Told in three timelines from various POVs, this Nordic Noir is highly readable, atmospheric, and engrossing. And, oh that ending!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Death at the Sanatorium
Author: Ragnar Jónasson
Source: NetGalley
Pub Date: September 10, 2024
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This is my third Ragnar Jónasson book, and it won’t be my last. The author takes much of his writing style from Agatha Christie and weaves a great detective story centered around two deaths at an old Icelandic Sanatorium that once treated tuberculosis patients. Five people are still working in the empty building doing research, in addition to 1 janitor. A shocking discovery of one researcher found dead with two fingers cut off is then followed a few days later by a second death of a doctor who commits “suicide” jumping from the rooftop. Six people are now reduced to 4, and the police, in haste, arrest the janitor to close the case quickly. Almost 30 years later, we meet Helgi, a young police officer writing his master’s research paper on the murders, when he develops more questions than answers reviewing the old criminal files. This is an excellent whodunit as everyone looks guilty for the crime. In addition, I enjoyed the back story of Helgi’s personal life, which is a hot mess. This book is solid police detective/procedural work, and I had difficulty determining the killer. I enjoy everything Iceland, especially this author, but Mr. Jónasson has written another masterly crime novel that will keep you guessing. #DeathAtTheSanatorium #tuberculosis #murders #crime #detective #atmospheric #Iceland @ragnarjo @stmartinspress #bookInTranslation @netgalley @minotaur_books #mystery #thriller #fiction
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
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#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #booklove #bookreader #bookreviewer

Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson follows Helgi Reykdal, who is attempting to write his dissertation on a case of deaths at a sanatorium in northern Iceland in the 1980's and this cold case suddenly starts to stir up trouble in the present.

Death at the Sanatorium kept me guessing, I enjoyed the format of the story, jumping from 2012 to 1983, and even back to the 1950's. Helgi is putting together clues from the past will navigating his own life decisions in the future.

Thank you to Ragnar Jonasson and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Death at the Sanitarium
In the 1960s there was a tuberculosis epidemic in Iceland. A sanitarium in the northern part of the country was used to house tuberculosis patients. By the 1980s the epidemic was over but the sanitarium remained in use as an administration building.
One morning in 1983 Tinna, a young nurse, arrived at the facility to find her supervisor, Yrsa, murdered and mutilated. The few employees at the sanitarium were all interviewed and Broddi, one of the maintenance group was even detained for a short time.
After he was released the investigation continued under the leadership of a young police detective, Sverrir.
A few days later Tinna arrived at work early to find the body of Dr. Fridjon, the chief of staff, on the ground in an apparent suicide. The assumption was that the chief had killed himself because he felt guilty for Yrsa’s murder. The case was closed. Sverrir and Tinna later married and settled in Reykjavik.
In 2012 Helgi, a student finishing his Masters in Criminology, decided to do his dissertation on the murders at the sanitarium back in 1983. He uncovered many secrets.
This is a short book and anyone familiar with the geography of an Iceland will appreciate the references. It was written by one of the premier crime novelists in that country and translated into English. This is the second book I have read by this author and look forward to reading others.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This took me a long time to get through. It wasn’t anything spectacular, however it did keep me somewhat interested when the author went back and forth between timelines.

Helgi is a grad student working on his dissertation when he decides to pick up a cold case file from 1983. He starts interviewing the workers of a former Sanatarium in Iceland, but upon interviewing he notices almost all of them have something to hide. He is up for a CID position through the local police force- will he join and solve this years old case once and for all?

Okay, writing that synopsis makes the story sound super juicy so I’m going to chalk up my feelings around this by the lack of detail that’s included in the story. It left us on a cliffhanger but not really a good one because we knew so little about some of the characters involved. I’d be curious if a second one came out just to have redemption on behalf of this story.

An old hospital in the north of Iceland two deaths occur in 1983, an aged nurse and one of the doctors. The police at the time wrapped up the case as a murder/suicide. Thirty years later, a young police officer in Reykjavik begins to look into the deaths and re-interviews those still alive from 1983 creating anguish and reigniting old hurts as the killer is still alive waiting.

This well-played-out whodunit holds you rapt for this fast-paced short read. Highly influenced by Agatha Christie in the writing — the author has us going mainly between 1983 and 2012. Following a multitude of characters in the past during the original investigation of some deaths at an old Sanitarium, in the 2012 timeline we follow Helgi and his life while he relooks at this old case for his university dissertation. This is an excellent translation and has great flow in the storyline— bringing about high emotions from the reader and keeping the reader engaged throughout the whole book— I didn’t see the ending coming— but I am still feeling the shock of it - hopefully, there will be a sequel or series based off this main character.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

A budding criminalist unwittingly resurrects a cold case. I haven’t read the author’s Hidden Iceland series, but one of the characters here is part of those novels. Since I was not familiar with this world, I may have missed some details but it was still easy to follow the action. The chapters follow the characters at different points in time. Helgi is in the “present,” which is 2012. The original murders were never satisfactorily solved back in 1983. Most of the characters are still alive and the readers know that the murders stopped after an incident, but no more details are forthcoming until Helgi analyzes them years later. The novel reminded me a little of Indriðason’s Erlendur series in that it follows events that have been dormant for decades. The plot weaves the different timelines seamlessly, and shows how the characters changed. I really wasn’t a fan of one of the witnesses, Tinna, who lies and gets people in trouble. The rest of the cast was suspicious enough that I didn’t know whodunit. There were a few twists that I wasn’t expecting. The author has translated Agatha Christie’s work into Icelandic and, in the afterword he explains how she has influenced his writing. He uses one of her best tricks here, in a way that I didn’t see coming. Jonasson also gave Helgi a love for classic murder mysteries that borders on obsession. Having read many of his favorite novels, I related.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book, ‘Death At The Sanatorium’ by Ragnar Jonasson.

I have read several books written by Ragnar Jonasson that I have enjoyed, and this one was also good but I found it a little slower until the case waa close to being solved. Helgi Reykdal, a young policeman finishing his degree in criminology, is writing about an old case where a nurse is murdered and it looks like her boss was her killer after his death is deemed a suicide. Interviewing the old witnesses and even another suspect, finds Helgi learning new facts about the case. Eventually, he discovers the truth, but not before another murder takes place.

I like these Icelandic mysteries and look forward to the next one (hint - the ending leaves a cliffhanger)!

To my amusement, I had just finished a book in which the protagonist is obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock. Then, In Death at the Sanatorium, the protagonist is, I don’t want to say obsessed so much as books from the golden age of detective novels are inextricably woven into the fabric of his life—Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Ngaio Marsh, for example.

I have read several of Jonasson’s books (I love Nordic Noir) and this one did not disappoint. As one progresses through the book, you continually discover that things are necessarily as they seem at first and that people often make very poor choices. And, as anyone who has read any Agatha Christie novels will know, people lie.

I don’t reveal spoilers in my reviews, but I will say that that I enjoyed the story that begins when the hospital in Akureyri was first used as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and continues with the deaths (murders) that occur in 1983 when the hospital is in a between-time of usage before a student working on his dissertation in criminology in 2012 uncovers some secrets that were meant to remain so.

Ragnar Jonasson is an Icelandic author that I have come to enjoy very much as I've acquainted myself with Iceland Noir. A blurb says that this book is a spin-off from The Darkness. I thought it was a stand alone so it must not depend too much on information given in the earlier book.

In 2012, a man named Helgi who has studied criminology in the UK returns to Iceland at the invitation of the police. He is writing his thesis on two deaths/murders that happened in Northern Iceland in 1983 and he is intent on solving them. He has a girlfriend, perhaps fiancé, that he continuously fights with. These fights and his interiority give him an arrogance that is not attractive.

In 1983, a nurse at a Sanatorium discovers Ysra, a dead member of the Sanatorium staff, in her office early in the morning. Two out of town police from Reykjavik are brought in to investigate. The nurse who has found the body sets her sights on Sverrir, the male officer. A week later, the chief physician is found dead by the same nurse. This nurse who wants only to get the investigations over with so she can seduce Sverrir leaves out important information about both deaths. Sverrir calls the second death a suicide, over the objections of his second, because of guilt of the first death. He closes the case.

And we are back to 2012. Helgi seeks out and interviews everyone involved in the 1983 case. Until the end, the reader isn't quite sure if he is getting close to a resolution or not And, of course, there is another death so we know he has gotten close.

I enjoyed this book but I like his series better. As an author, I always admire another writer who strikes out to try something new when it is easier to stick with what is known and popular. So I say Kudos to Jonasson. And keep them coming, please.

Ragnar Jonasson writes great mysteries, and the title and description of this one caught my eye. It is atmospheric, tense, and engaging with strong and interesting characters. Nice shock at the end, and the novel was tense and suspenseful Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Pub Date: Sep 10, 2024

#DeathAtTheSanatorium
#NetGalley

I had high hopes for Death at the Sanatorium and have enjoyed Jonasson’s work before, but just couldn’t get into this one no matter how often I tried. There is an audience for this. It just isn’t me.

Helgi studied criminology and is writing his dissertation. He’s selected an old case involving deaths at a sanatorium as his subject. Over thirty years ago two people died, there are still unanswered questions about how the investigation was conducted and resolved. I thought Helgi was a complex, tenacious and determined character trying to fill in the missing pieces. He persevered relentlessly to interview staff and everyone who had knowledge from the past events. He’s already had a job offer and interview for a position with the police. If only things at home weren’t so unsettled. There is tension in Helgi’s relationship at home. Without any spoilers, I will say it was very well woven into the theme. An important subject which I’ve rarely seen addressed in a book. There were many secrets exposed about the tragic deaths at the sanatorium as Helgi divided his time between writing and investing. I was surprised by some of the outcomes, it kept me guessing as the tension swelled.
I’ve become a fan of Nordic thrillers, have read several of Jónasson’s books and this one moves to the top. I appreciated the perspective from someone in another country being inspired by translated detective mysteries. I also enjoyed the author’s background info and his love for classics such as Agatha Christie. The setting in Iceland is so foreign from my Texas heat that it’s refreshing to read about. Thanks to St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for providing the Advance Reader Copy of “Death at the Sanatorium” by Ragnar Jónasson, publication expected 09/10/2024, via NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

A reader cannot go wrong with a book by Ragnar Jonasson. This book is set in two periods, 1983 and 2012.

In 1983, in a tb sanatorium, a nurse is found murdered and there are five suspects. Hulder is the detective and the case is closed much too quickly for her taste.
In 2012 a young man is hired to replace the retiring Hulder. His choice for his dissertation is the old mystery from 1983. This opens gates others would best left shut,

The atmosphere in Iceland is sheer Jonasson - raw, blustery and part of the story. The characters are all well-developed and it feels like the reader is being pulled into the world that the book creates.

A highly recommended book

This is a very interesting murder mystery. Helgi is working on his dissertation for getting his MA degree. He decides to look at the police procedures on a 30 year old case at The Sanatorium. While he is doing that, he sees idiosyncrasies in the original police work. He digs deeper and uncovers more bad detective work. I am not going to say anymore because I don't want to tell surprises in the story. The ending is worth reading the whole book. Highly recommended. I did receive an ARC copy of this this book for an honest review. Honestly? Pick up the book!

The premise of this book was very intriguing the the delivery met my expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and felt very immersed in it. The characters were well developed and flawed which made them relatable and enjoyable to read about. Overall, this novel was a good and interesting read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for an ARC of this novel!