Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson is a moody, intricately woven mystery that transports you straight to the heart of Iceland. The atmosphere is one of the book’s biggest strengths—I truly felt like I was there, with all the stark beauty, chilly weather, and yes, plenty of coffee.

Set in 2012, the story moves between multiple timelines—1965, 1976, and 2005—unfolding layers of mystery through different time periods. The main plot centers around the disappearance of Elin , a famous crime writer, and the investigation led by Helgi, a police officer who becomes increasingly absorbed in the case. There’s also a compelling secondary mystery involving another missing officer, Hulda. That particular storyline, however, remains unresolved by the end, which was a bit disappointing, especially given how many clues were teased throughout.

This isn’t a fast-paced thriller—it’s more of a slow burn, filled with introspection, interviews, and quiet tension. If you’re used to American crime novels, the tone and style may feel subdued, but I found the difference refreshing. It’s more about mood, place, and character than dramatic action.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. The sense of place is strong, the structure is thoughtfully layered, and the writing style is classically Nordic—quiet, atmospheric, and rich in detail. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of literary mysteries or those curious about Icelandic crime fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Famous Icelandic crime/mystery author Elin has gone missing and officer Helgi is assigned to the case as he is a devoted mystery/crime fiction reader. Interviewing her life-long friends doesn't shed any light on Elin's whereabouts but Helgi knows that at least one of them is lying. In the meantime, Helgi has finally moved on from the abusive relationship he had with his former girlfriend, Begthora. Too ashamed to report her abuse of him to his fellow officers, Helgi decides to keep quiet and just move on with his life. He now has a new girlfriend, Anita who swears that Begthora is stalking her. With the current missing author on his mind as well as the fate of his missing predecessor in the investigation unit, Helgi will "deal with" the former girlfriend when he gets around to it. Postponing this confrontation will have a drastic effect on his life.
As the threads of the mystery surrounding the missing author start to come together, Helgi must decide if he should keep secrets that Elin wanted never to be revealed or if he should use what he knows to solve the case.

This was an interesting read. Many different mysteries are intertwined going back and forth in time from Elin's college days to her solitary life at age 70. Unsatisfactory is the ending which leaves too many questions unanswered and seems rather abrupt. Why include the mysterious disappearance of his police predecessor and then never follow up on it? What happens with Helgi, Bergthora and Anita? If you like answers to the mysteries put forward then this is not the book for you. If you can deal with the ambiguous and abrupt ending - then enjoy!

While this is a pretty different style of book from his Dark Iceland series, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer is still a really great read. I'd definitely call it more of a cozy mystery than a crime novel There's still a great police procedural element and our protagonist is easy to root for. He gets a great backstory, but not at the expense of the mystery and the characters he is investigating.
It's a quick read and perfect for a rainy and chilly Autumn evening in Iceland or anywhere else you happen to be reading it.

I loved this! Loved the time jumps, and I loved how it's about an author--very meta. The pacing was fantastic and always kept me engaged.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Author Ragnar Jonasson.

Ragnar Jonasson has been on my list of must-read Authors for quite awhile, and this if the first of his that I have read.

The story starts off with a crime writer going missing. Elin S. Jonsdottir who has had a great success with her career disappears.

Detective Helgi Reykdal has been given this case to solve, and the story begins.

The story goes back and forth a bit in time and was a rather fast book to read for me.

A little bit of a puzzle so to speak.

I did enjoy the book, however, am not sure that it was enough for me to read more of similar books from this particular writer.

Although this Icelandic Author has a big following, for me it was not In depth and descriptive enough to really grab my attention totally.

Thank You to NetGalley, Author Ragnar Jonasson and St. Martin's Book/Minotaur Books for my advanced copy to read and review.

#netgalley #stmartinspress

“The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer" is a slower-paced and character-driven mystery, set in Iceland. The reader follows along as Helgi Reykdal, a young and ambitious police detective, investigates a disappearance. It’s sort of a sequel, to last year’s “Death at the Sanatorium” which I also read & liked, and it also has some other characters from that one and events in other time lines and an abrupt ending as well. The best part, for me is the “Golden Age of Mystery” book vibes & the lovely Icelandic settings. Recommend to cozy readers and my thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for making it available early.

I hadn’t read anything by this author before going into this book so I really didn’t know what to expect but I kept an open mind
First off I’m mad that we see Heigl story end in a cliffhanger I audibly gasped not because of shock but frustration but I wanna know now!
Having not read any Icelandic books before I will admit I was confused alot of the times with the names and whatnot but overall it wasn’t a bad story just wished we had more of a conclusion

I found the Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer to well written and fully engaging. The characters were well developed and the story was well paced. Helgi, a new police officer was assigned to find Elon, a popular and well known crime writer, who had disappeared and not contacted any friends for several days. In addition, Helgi is dealing with a new girlfriend who is being harassed and traumatized by his former girlfriend. As the story was evolving and reaching a critical high point, the story abruptly ended. I found this termination of the story totally unsatisfying and difficult to comprehend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It’s the second book in this series and I liked it way more than I liked the first book, Death in a Sanatorium. I actually think when I read the first book I wasn’t in the right headspace, but picking up the second one felt very enjoyable. I really love Helgi and his bookish, introverted ways!

One of my favorite things about Jonasson’s work is how he weaves his different stories together. Helgi is working on a current missing persons case, but there are still chapters where he’s questioning the disappearance of his predecessor, Hulda, who is the lead in Jonasson’s “The Darkness” trilogy. I think this author has a talent for jumping back-and-forth in timelines, but not making it confusing!

I can see a long path for this series, as this book wove together, several different storylines. I really like how much of Helgi we get, many other detective novels don’t dig as deep into the personal side of the detective. They usually have some sort of traumatic past that has led them to the police, but that’s not the case with this series. Helgi is just a smart and strong young man trying to build a life for himself. There’s a lot of his personal life in this book and I really enjoyed reading it. But omg this book ends on a cliffhanger! I was jabbing my finger on my Kindle screen, hoping that there would be another page, but there was not. I cannot wait for the next installment! Well done!

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This had every ingredient of an enjoyable read, from being Scandinavian to featuring a writer. Yet, turned out to be rather disappointing. And here's why:

The writer is question is a beloved Icelandic creator of a popular mystery series. She has since retired, is in her early 70s, and one day simply disappears. Who better to find her than the detective obsessed with crime fiction?

An investigation ensues. A rather brief one, all things considered, about a week. It's all terribly straightforward and worse - predictable. The author in the book may have been the queen of mysteries, but the author of this one is far from it, creating an easily solvable puzzle.
The writing is standard dispassionate Scandinavian, on the plainer side of that. The timeline jumping around wasn't done particularly well and came across as distracting. The lead detective's love triangle came across as tedious, although provided a nice gut punch of an ending.

Overall, it was a decent read - and a very quick one, done in a single rainy afternoon. But there was nothing special about it at all. It was almost a cozy in a way. Sure to be very popular with less demanding audiences. Thanks Negalley.

3.75 stars – The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson

Thank you to the author, Ragnar Jónasson, and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book. I was excited to dive into this atmospheric mystery, and it definitely delivered on mood and intrigue.

Set against the hauntingly beautiful backdrop of Iceland, this book offers a slow-burn, literary mystery centered on the disappearance of a famous crime writer. Jónasson masterfully captures the isolation of the setting, and his prose is both quiet and thoughtful—perfect for readers who enjoy a more contemplative tone in their thrillers.

The plot is layered with metafictional elements and a touch of noir, which made it feel like a tribute to classic detective fiction. However, the pacing lagged at times, and while I appreciated the buildup, I found myself wishing for more urgency in the investigation. The final reveal was clever but somewhat understated, which may not satisfy every reader looking for a high-impact twist.

Overall, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer is a moody, introspective mystery that will appeal to fans of literary crime fiction. I’m grateful to have had the chance to read it early and look forward to Jónasson’s future works.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read of this book. I love Nordic Noir and had the pleasure of hearing Ragnar Jonasson speak at the Iceland Noir conference. He is an outstanding author and does a beautiful job of integrating the beauty of Iceland and its people into his novels. Also, the translation of this novel was seamless, almost as if it was written in English.

I am usually not a fan of flashbacks but this was a integral part of the book and critical to the plot development. Essentially, three plots are interweaved throughout the novel: what happened to the missing, elderly crime novelist, Elín Jónsdóttir, and her associates; what is happening in the personal life of the detective, Helgi; and background on the disappearance of Helgi's predecessor, Hulda. The novel delivers a clear resolution to the missing crime novelist question, with insightful character development and plenty of twists. However, Helgi's personal life ends with a cliff hanger and I'm hoping that answers will be provided in a sequel. The most disappointing part of the book was the failure to resolve what happened to the missing detective, Hulda. I became invested learning more about Hulda over the course of this book and was left frustrated at the end, hence the 4 rating. After some research, I understand more information is provided about Hulda in earlier books.

This was a very enjoyable mystery which I highly recommend and look forward to a sequel!

An interesting mystery book that had 3 stories being told. One was in the present day as Helgi, a new policeman, is given the task of investigating a missing person case. The second story was of Hulda, Helgi's predecessor and her limited investigation into the person arrested in a burlgary. The third story was the original burglary that was presented with a lot of vagueness.

The primary character, Helgi, seems an intelligent person related to his investigative skills, but is otherwise a weak person with his personal life.

His predecessor Hulda was very opposite. She was trying to be a trailblazer at the police department when there weren't any other women as well as be a good wife and mother. Her sub-story was interesting but never finished.

The story started off well with the intermixing of the timelines. Luckily I have read stories that take place in the Icelandic region so some of the customs and police procedures were not unknown.

However, the book seems to end rather abruptly, leaving way too many unanswered questions and very little resolutions. I'm not sure if this was how the author intended or the way it was translated.

While I did enjoy the story overall, I'm left feeling incomplete with the ending.

A highly evocative, well-written (well, I guess well-translated) story, and for us non-Icelanders highly motivating to learn some Iceland geography. The detective's case and his private life are well woven together - but it ends way too abruptly! This is part of a series, but I think there should be at least two more chapters to tie up the major loose ends.

There are several mysteries contained in this book, not just the missing crime writer. The main mystery, of course, is the missing crime writer, Elin. A police officer, Helgi, is assigned to investigate her case. There's the mystery of the cop that disappeared and Helgi was hired to replace her. No one seems to know what happened to her or even care. She just vanished one day. There's a mystery of a decades-old bank robbery in which the convicted robber never named his accomplice. There's also the mystery of why Helgi is so darn passive when his abusive ex-girlfriend starts stalking his current girlfriend. I wanted to shake him at times. Come on, man. You're a cop. Do something!

I got sucked in and invested in all these mysteries. I gave it 4.5 stars because I'm left wondering about one of the subplots. I even went back to read that chapter to make sure I didn't miss it. Perhaps it will be addressed in a future book.

This was the first novel I've read by Ragnar Jonasson, and I look forward to reading more. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

The Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jonasson tells the story of Helgi a CID in Iceland who is assigned to find a missing favorite author Elin Jonsdottir. The story is presented as a puzzle with an interview with the famous author then to present day situation with information presented as the story progresses. It was enjoyable to read because eventually it will all come together.

I’m hoping this is the beginning of a series because there are some unanswered questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

I read this book not realizing that there were others to read before it. Nevertheless it ended up being a very entertaining read with intriguing characters and a mystery that kept you guessing.

If Agatha Christie had lived long enough to write a mystery taking place in Iceland in 2025…this would have been her novel. In the “Missing Crime Writer,” when Elin Jonsdottir, a prominent writer vanishes, Icelandic detective and Christie-aficionado, Helgi Reykdal is called in to investigate. With the initial focus on three of Elin’s lifelong friends, Helgi slowly sifts through enough clues—some from basic police work and others completely out of left field—that he is able to piece everything together and solve the disappearance. Along with way, Jonasson fills the story with a fascinating array of characters, twists and turns, and more than a few unexpected detours from the central plot.

While I am generally not a fan of novels that move around in time, in Jonasson’s masterful hand everything flowed easily together; regardless of the fact that the story jumped between four specific time periods from 1965-2012. For that matter, aside from the missing crime writer, the novel also touched on a bank robbery, the strange disappearance of a detective, and domestic abuse. And, within these varied plot lines, Jonasson deftly incorporated everything from love and romance to suspense, deception, and murder.

All in all, I found this to be a quick, easy, and very enjoyable read, which I began and finished in one long afternoon. While some folks might be put off by the fact that not all the varied subplots are completely wrapped up at the end of novel, I expect that Jonasson will shed light on some of these unanswered questions in his next novel…as well as leaving out a few more breadcrumbs concerning further unexplained mysteries. Many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't understand what happened with me and Ragnar Jonasson. I loved the Hidden Iceland series and raced through the books. Hulda was a fabulous character and the stories were well plotted and well-paced and thoroughly engaging.

I was delighted when I saw how prolific he was and have tried numerous books of his since then, only to fail to connect with any. I continue to be disappointed and confounded by this. I do not understand what it is but it's like they were written by different people... And it's not an issue of translation because he appears to use the same translator.

Even the presence of Hulda, however vaguely presented, was not enough to save this one for me. The jumps in time and perspective made no sense - and while I recognize that they somewhat tied together over the course of the entire book, as you are reading them those connections are unclear and the tidbits aren't enough to Intrigue so much as confound.

On the whole, I couldn't connect to the characters and the pacing felt off also. This one wasn't for me...

Another master mystery from Ragnar! He is at the tip of his craft with this story of Elin. Original and superb.