fun and effective murder mystery with some intreresting ideas and awesome vibes. i liked the twists throughout, and the killer made sense. i also thought the portrayal of domestic violence was very effective.. 4 stars

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer is written in the combo style of a golden-age-style mystery and Nordic Noir.

"Best-selling crime writer Elin Jonsdottir goes missing. There are no clues to her disappearance. Young detective, Helgi, interviews the people closest to her and realizes her life was very different from her public persona. Has Elin finally paid the price for some secret in her past?"

This is a very quick book. It's noy really a procedural and there is a dual-timeline element to it. Jonasson teases you with a backstory about a bank robbery. It's easy to start guessing but maybe wait a bit. Helgi is also dealing with his psycho-ex who does not want to let him go, with tragic results.
Helgi finds more and more secrets and deceptions the more he talks to Elin's friends and eventually finds his answers - It's not what you think.
I'm not really a fan of cliffhangers and there's a big one here. The main story is resolved. Helgi talks about another case and then a thing happens and the book ends.

Nice new story from Jonasson.

Really enjoyed this book, didn’t know if wasn’t the first or even part of a series but was fine. A quick read and enjoyed:)

I just love Jonasson's books and this one did not disappoint. I listened to the audio version, which was well done. The author's love of Agatha Christie is always apparent in his work, and this one is no exception. Characters from his other books appear as well. You can definitely read this as a stand alone.

I write this with conflicting feelings. One, I am not the most accomplished mystery reader. Two, the ending !!! What am I supposed to do with myself?
I really enjoyed the police report esque style writing — clinical, to the point, and representative of the story. Overall, it was a fast paced, easy read that I enjoyed being able to dive in and out of during a busy week.
I was quite interested in our main character and thought he had a lot of character development for us to work with. I was continuously fascinated by the breadth of characters and how they would all weave together in the end. It kept me going and interested.
However. While there were some surprises in the “main” mystery of the missing crime writer, I cringe to say it was a bit of a let down at the end. I can see the beauty and honesty in the simplicity of it though. BUT. Helga — we have no answers. Anita and the ex … I am unwell. I thought my Kindle froze at the end, but no. It was the end.
I am someone who does not deal well with uncertainty. Because of this, I really was not a fan of the ending. However, if there is a sequel, I’m back in. I can appreciate the artistry of an ambiguous ending, but as a reader it isn’t for me.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I have to be honest here. I’m quite disappointed after having such high hopes. The premise was enticing. A missing crime writer! A police solving her disappearance in classic cozy mystery style. The writing had such a charming tone to it that it made me feel nostalgic reading it. The chapters were short, which made it a very paced read. The format was interesting, intertwining between a recording, the past, and the present. All the build up, the characters, the set up of the mystery were great, except they all land flat at the end. The mystery was scattered all over the place, the characters felt static in the end, there’s no satisfying feeling of finding out the answer, and the pieces of red herrings were left very much unresolved. This book only made me miss the good old times of Agatha Christie mystery. Unfortunately I will not recommend this book to classic mystery fans like me.

A writer goes missing, a detective is on the case, and there is a mystery to be solved. I went back and forth about how I felt about this book. I enjoyed some parts while other parts left me feeling underwhelmed. Apparently, this is the second book featuring the detective, Helgi Reykdal, series. I have not read that book and this book worked nicely as a stand-alone novel for me.

Elín S. Jónsdóttir is a popular bestselling crime author who has gone missing! Detective Helgi Reykdal has been assigned her missing persons case to solve. During his investigation, he will interview various people who knew the crime novelist.

This book jumps around in time and even gives readers insight into Detective Helgi Reykdal's private life. The book takes place in when Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing, then jumps to a bank robbery, while sprinkled with excerpts of an interview done with the author.

It took me a little bit of time to find my footing with this book. I had both the book and the audiobook and thought the narration of the audiobook was very well done I do give the author high marks for showing domestic violence where the man was the victim. In this case the victim in question is the Detective who was physically abused by a former girlfriend.

This book demands you take some time with it. It is a mystery, and the pieces do not always come quite together. The ending left me thinking "wait, what?" Not every mystery in life is solved and not all stories have happy endings. This book ended and I felt perplexed and wondering if there would be another book that might pick up where this book left off. hmmm, I wonder.

While I didn't love this book, I did enjoy the chilling atmosphere, the mystery, and the unease.

The ending! WTH!! Excellent book.

Helgi is a police officer tasked with trying to find a missing women who used to write crime novels in Iceland. Helgi is also trying to start a new life away from his abusive ex-girlfriend. This book takes place over several different timelines, seemingly unconnected. One is a bank robbery, one an interview, one is a police officer investigating and then the main investigation.

I enjoyed this immensely. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC. Publication Date is September 9, 2025

I enjoyed the pace and writing style of this Icelandic mystery. There seemed to be several threads woven together, some of which are satisfactorily explained. A few things still require resolution so I’m hoping this is a series. A cliffhanger ending.
I love how Helgi loves books and reading as a way to relax after doing his job as a police officer. His personal relationships seemed odd - Anita seems too good to be true. It was suspenseful as piece by piece more information is revealed in the investigation.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer
By Ragnar Jónasson

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

It was NOT clear to me (or anyone else reading in the USA) that this book is part of a series.

That affects nearly every character in this whole book, and parts of the plot.

The ending… the ending was just terrible. I kept swiping the kindle screen and was actually perplexed as to why the next page wasn’t populating. The abruptness was frustrating.

It wasn’t great. If I wasn’t offered the ARC, I probably would have passed on this one. There are better mysteries out there.

A great follow up to this series. I always enjoy this authors writing and quite literally nothing gets lost in translation. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I liked this one a lot! I love the setting in Iceland, as well as the multiple timelines. It had a very classic detective feel to it, like classical detective stories, and I love the way the lead detective is reading detective stories as he is trying to solve this crime. The multiple time lines come together in the end, and tell a very compelling story, and I’m glad I read it.

✨Audiobook Review✨
📖 The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer
✍️ Ragnar Jonasson
📅 Publication: December 10, 2025
🎤 Cicely Whitehead, Jane Slavin, Rufus Wright

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
On a cold winter night, bestselling crime novelist Elín S. Jónsdóttir vanishes without a trace. With no evidence to guide him, it falls to young detective Helgi to solve the mystery before the press uncovers it first.
As he questions those closest to her, including a publisher, an accountant, and a retired judge, Helgi begins to realize that Elín’s life was far more complicated than it appeared. Her past, in fact, is stranger than the stories she wrote.
With each passing hour, the disappearance of this celebrated author grows more baffling, and Helgi must unravel the secrets behind a life full of unexpected twists.

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
I didn’t realize this was part of a series, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment. The characters, the Icelandic setting, and the propulsive story kept me hooked. While I may have missed a few small details without reading the earlier books, the intriguing structure and pacing more than made up for it. Told across three timelines, the story unfolds like a puzzle—fast-paced, atmospheric, and compelling. The narration was well done and enhanced the overall experience. A quick and entertaining read!
Thank you @NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio, for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a story with many parts. It's not only the case of the missing crime writer (Elin), but the case of the missing detective (Hulda), and the personal crisis happening the life of the detective trying to solve them both. The story moves between four different times: 2012--the missing crime writer; 2005--an interview with the crime writer; 1976--Hulda and a crime she's trying to solve; and 1965--a robbery being plotted. While it sounds like a lot of moving parts, it's written in a way that makes sense. Each chapter revealing a piece that fits into the whole.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and wanted to know how this was all going to be resolved...and then it wasn't. We find out what happened to Elin, but the rest is left for (hopefully) another book.

Thank you Minotaur books and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although I really enjoyed this book--I read it in one weekend, afterall, I am very conflicted in how this book ended. It is one hundred percent a book #1 even though it doesn't say that ANYWHERE!! The main case gets closed, but there are other really important things going on (the Hulda storyline; Anita/Bergthora) that are left completely unresolved at the end of this book! I loved the Icelandic setting and Helgi, the police detective who is the main character. I am going to recommend this book which is being published Sept 9, 2025, but since this is a translation from Icelandic I am very hopeful that Ragnar Jonasson has already written #2 in this series that it is being translated even as I type this!!
Many thanks to #netgalley and #Stmartinspress #minotaurbooks for the arc of this mystery crime novel

I enjoyed the latest book in the series. Although it doesn't appear that they are labeled as such, this book follows Helgi, a police detective, who also appeared in the author's previous work, Death at the Sanatorium, and the events in this book follow a few months after the last book. Helgi is a good detective but has a terrible time seeing the obvious in his personal life. His love of the classic detective novels from the Golden Age influence his views on current cases but also give his brain a chance to rest while he is trying to figure out how all the clues of his own case fit together. This book involves the case of a missing crime writer and is a good mystery. The only thing that I didn't love is the Hulda storyline. Hulda is a woman who used to be a police detective before Helgi was hired and, in fact, Helgi is now in her old office. She was one of the original detectives who worked on the case in the Death at the Sanatorium so her flashbacks were welcome in that novel. However, in this one they feel disjointed and purposeless. Apparently, she went missing at the end of the last novel and Helgi continues to consider what happened to her. Maybe the next novel will focus on the investigation into her disappearance but her storyline in this book was unnecessary, in my opinion.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Crime Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Books About Books
Spice Level: Low (not the focus of the story)
Gore Level: Very low
Language: A few bits of profanity
Format: Different time periods and POVs

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE MISSING CRIME WRITER is fascinating with different threads.

As an American, I think my story expectations are different than those in Iceland—but this is exactly why I read books from other countries to have new experiences.

There is 1 primary thread and 3 secondary threads. Did they all connect? Loosely. Could you argue there is a sub-sub thread. Probably.

I was very interested in how this mystery would turn out. One thread really didn't resolve at all. And another ended in a cliffhanger. My policy is to always drop a star when a book ends in a cliffhanger.

Is this part of a series? It's got to be!!!

This is a fascinating case, and I think mystery readers should give it a go.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Writer by Ragnar Jónasson
And translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb

A famous crime author in Iceland has gone missing and Helgi, a police officer in Reykjavík, is tasked to find out what happened. The story shifts among different time frames, even decades apart. Helgi’s personal life is a large part of the novel.

This is a difficult story to rate. It started out slow, picked up towards the last quarter and yet had a very abrupt ending. It seemed to lack depth and had too many unrelated story lines going. More development from the author of certain aspects of the story would strengthen it. Other parts seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever.

The missing writer mystery gets resolved, while other story lines fall flat.
Three stars.

I truly loved the mysteries unravelling in this story right off the bat - I was enraptured with questions to be answered and characters to be revealed.

This story follows Helgi, a male detective in Iceland, as he is tasked with solving the missing persons case of Elín S. Jónsdóttir, famous crime writer novelist. There are other timelines and mysteries unfolding in-between Helgi's POV chapters, leaving you hungry to answer how they will be connected.

After about the 80% mark, however, I felt very disenchanted with the plots and disappointed with the answers. The overall solving of the main mystery is answered pragmatically, but not fully fleshed out in a satisfying way.

Additionally, the other plots are left extremely up in the air with no answers in sight. The ending felt like a sad, unintentional cliff-hanger, almost as if there were final chapters left out of the eARC I received.

This book was a solid 4-5 stars until the last 20% of the book, it felt unfinished and hurried. The overall mysterious webs that were woven at the beginning felt hastily completed and were a bit underwhelming. I would love to read if there are more chapters to bring a better sense of finality to Helgi, Elín, Hulda, Anita, and Bergthora.

I am a fan of Ragnar Jonasson Books. This storyline as well as the wonderful setting of Iceland kept me reading with anticipation.
I found the story about Helgi’s romantic life strange and off putting. In a way this spoiled the book for me especially at the ending. I look forward to a series to resolve the books issues and were not addressed