I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Helgi is back and oh how happy I was to be back in Iceland. One of these days I need to read a Jonasson while in Iceland!
I found this story to be charming? Even though it was about a missing perosn.

I am a big fan of Ragnar Jonasson and I have read lots of his books. I’m always excited to read a newly translated book. The story takes place mostly in Reykjavik, Iceland, about a missing crime writer. As with his previous books, the location is another feature in the story. We visit again with the likable Helgi, police detective investigating the case. Although it would be helpful for backstories to read previous books in the series, it is not necessary. This is a good story and I hope to read more in the future of the series (it ended on a cliffhanger!).
Recommend this book and all of Jonasson’s books!

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer takes place in beautiful Iceland and is told in three time lines.

There was something so compelling about the story of a crime writer Elin and the detective Helgi who is assigned to investigate what if anything has happened to Elin.

Her friends all insist she chose to go missing but something doesnt add up.

Helgi has his own personal problems with an ex partner and new girlfriend.

Elin's disappearance is a puzzle to be worked out and to find the solution you must go back to the beginning.

Secrets have a way of imploding peoples's lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didnt want it to end.

I hope that Helgi's story gets continued down the line and I will certainly be going back and reading the book he was introduced in.

Ragnar Jonasson I am a fan and cant wait to delve into his other books.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Press for the privilege of reading and reviewing The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer.

Right off I could already tell that there were secrets. I like the mix of the interview style (that kicked it off) and the multiple timelines. It was a little dark. In the end I just didn't get into it, though, even though it was excellently crafted and well written. I think had I picked it up at another time I might have enjoyed it more--I'm a mood reader so in this case I think that was the only issue (and it has nothing to do with this book, so I'm still recommending it!)

I loved this. 4.5 stars. No notes. This was a masterclass in writing. I loved the way the dual time lines + interview chapters work together to slowly weave the story along. I loved the inclusion of Hulda, it made me squeal when I first saw her name on the page. This is the first crime novel that I have read in a long time where I wasn't able to guess the ending, and that was such a refreshing feeling.

The main character in this book is Helgi, who works for the police. He also is part owner of what used to be his father's bookshop, and an avid reader. Some of the vintage books he is reading are mentioned in this book, which I thought was delightful.

Helgi is currently on leave and staying with his mother at her house, as she has had surgery and is recovering. His previous girlfriend was abusive and he broke up with her, but she refuses to take no for an answer. He is now dating another woman, Anita, and his ex-girlfriend is harassing her too.

While on leave, he gets a call from work - they are offering him an old cold case that was previously assigned to Hulda, a woman who had left the department years earlier. She didn't resign - she just did not come back to work. The cold case involved a best-selling author of crime books who had also gone missing years before. While investigating, he discovered something dark in the past of the author and her friends. The book ends in a cliffhanger.

I received an e-arc from the publisher St. Martin's Press and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

When famous crime writer Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing, with no clues to explain her disappearance, young detective Helgi delves deep into secrets of Elín’s life. Told through two timelines, clues are sprinkled throughout. It was billed as Agatha Christie-esque and I found that even upon reflection it was very difficult to work out the ending. The ending did seem rushed, which I didn’t love after all of the time spent building to it.

This is the kind of mystery that pulls you in slowly, quietly… and then refuses to let go. Ragnar Jónasson delivers another atmospheric, golden-age-style mystery with that signature Nordic chill… and I was hooked from the first chapter.

When bestselling crime author Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing one winter night, there are no witnesses, no clues, and no clear motive. The case lands in the hands of young detective Helgi, who’s determined to solve it before the media gets wind of it. What seems like a simple missing-persons case quickly turns into something far more layered… and far stranger.

Helgi’s investigation unfolds through a series of interviews with the people closest to Elín: her publisher, her accountant, an old judge… and every single one of them raises more questions than they answer. The deeper he digs, the more he realizes Elín’s life was full of secrets, contradictions, and shadows. And the question becomes less about where she is… and more about who she really was.

The pacing is slow in the best way… methodical, eerie, and dripping with tension. Think Agatha Christie meets Nordic noir. There’s no dramatic chase or action-packed finale… just clever twists, emotional reveals, and a slow unraveling of truth that hits harder than you'd expect.

Also, the audiobook version? Incredible. Multicast narration, sound effects, and tape recorder clicks that make you feel like you're sitting in on the interviews yourself. It’s immersive and really adds to the mystery’s old-school charm.

If you're into character-driven mysteries, cold cases, and stories where the line between fiction and reality gets a little too blurry, this one absolutely delivers. Smart, haunting, and deeply satisfying. One of Jónasson’s best.

Thanx to Netgalley for allowing me to read one of my favorite authors. It felt like a modern Agatha Christie whodunnit, the character development was great when searching for what happened to the missing writer, however, it will be a 4 stars read for me because I felt that Helgi’s relationship with his former girlfriend and current one did not have a lot to contribute to the whole story, plus it was left unfinished.

One day, Icelandic crime writer Elin Jonsdottir disappears. Newspapers and letters are piled up at her house, and she missed two standing appointments with different friends. Her agent and friends are all concerned. Elin doesn't have own cell phone, doesn't really have family, and is frankly just happy being off by herself. Helgi is offered the case as he is a huge reader - even owning part of a bookshop in his former hometown. But Helgi is having his own issues - his former abusive girlfriend is stalking his current girlfriend.

I recently read an earlier book by Jonasson (incidentally including Hulda, who is referenced in certain chapters) and loved it, so I have decided to dive into all his books. This one did not disappoint. There are multiple stories - Helgi in the "current" timeline of 2012; Hulda attempting to solve an old bank robbery in 1978; a bit from the planning of the robbery in 1965; and an interview given by Elin in 2005 - each woven together perfectly to suss out the location of Elin. The ending was well thought out, although the bit of personal stuff for Helgi at the end left me disappointed....I want to know more! But all in all, this was a terrific mystery. And as I am picking up another title of his as soon as I finish this review, I'd say I enjoy his work!

Icelandic bestseller Ragnar Jónasson, author of Death at the Sanatorium and Reykjavík., is back with The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer. A famous crime writer goes missing and Helgi, an ambitious detective, is assigned to the case. He sees this as a ticket to promotion, and dives into the mystery. Helgi is a fan of golden-age mysteries, and his enthusiasm infuses the pages of this book with energy and humor. But the ultimate solution isn't funny, and if there's another in the series Helgi will have a lot to deal with.

This book was very good and super dark. This was my first book by this author and my first Icelandic crime novel, so I didn’t know what I was in for.

The structure of the story was interesting, presenting the narrative out of chronological order but in the best order to keep the tension high and the pacing fast. The last third of the book was full of twists and turns and the ending was shockingly abrupt. I still feel there are loose ends that weren’t wrapped up that might cause me to lose sleep.

Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of this ebook.

I would recommend this title to folks who like gritty Scandinavian crime stories, thrillers, and well written dark mysteries.

I was really liking this book. Different perspectives, different time lines, a missing author, a missing detective, a bank robbery, a murderer, a detective that likes crime novels and has a budding new relationship - how does it all connect! And then the ending was so disappointing, I thought a few chapters were missing! Is it going to be a series? I’ll have to look out for the sequel.

Deeply convoluted with multiple storyline threads, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer is an insight into Icelandic culture, place, and time. I found it dark but not oppressive, tightly told yet open-ended, containing multiple mysteries begging for resolution.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy; all opinions are my own.

A beloved Icelandic mystery writer has disappeared. Her agent doesn’t want this to be public if she can be located. The detective assigned to the case, Helgi, grew up in a bookstore and he is a reader, particularly of mysteries. Weaving in an around this story is the transcript of an interview done years before by a journalist of this writer and an even earlier story of one of the first female detectives in this police department, as well as Helgi’s personal relationship with an abusive ex-girlfriend and a new seemingly healthy new girlfriend. As the stories come together, readers will be engrossed and will be left wanting more of this intricate crime mystery.

Thank you to @StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for the DRC of #TheMysteriousCaseoftheMissingCrimeWriter. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This book is really multiple mysteries with a secondary theme of domestic abuse/suspense and it was a bit too much for such a short book.

Set in current day Iceland, a beloved mystery author has gone missing and detective Helgi has been assigned to the case. But those closest to her are hiding things. As Helgi unravels what happened to the author, the narrative flashes back to an older case that his predecessor worked that overlaps with his current case. And then there is Helgi's abusive ex-girlfriend who's taken to stalking his new girlfriend. So there's a lot going on in <300 pages.

I enjoyed the writing and the mysteries overall, but the way the book abruptly ended made me very angry. It literally felt like the author just stopped writing mid-thought. Some would call it a cliffhanger, but it was just careless in my opinion. If the editor or publisher told him to do it, it was a mistake.

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for the e-ARC!

A famous mystery writer Elin S Jónsdóttir is reported missing and our young detective Helgi is assigned her case before it’s leaked to the press. But Helgi is quickly gaining more questions than answers.

This was a quick, intriguing mystery with a clever structure that jumped between timelines and slowly revealing connections that kept me turning the pages and still left me guessing up until the end. I enjoyed piecing together the clues and was definitely surprised by how the book wrapped up because I wasn’t not expecting any of it and I must read the next book because that cliffhanger?!!

I will say some of the characters within our timelines I felt needed to be fleshed out a little more as I was little lost when it came to Hulda, I have discovered Ragnar has written a book solely on this character so I will have to pick up that one and maybe it’ll tie together a little more! Otherwise, it’s an engaging read with a unique approach to a classic mystery trope! My first read from Ragnar Jónasson and I will definitely be looking into more of his books!

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson is a well crafted mystery that keeps the reader turning pages to the very end.
I particularly enjoyed Jónasson's use of different seemingly unrelated characters in different timelines, most of which he wove together masterfully at the conclusion of the book. The mystery itself is complex, and the information on Iceland is interesting. And I loved the interview segments with the author, being one myself.
The following may be considered a spoiler, although I see that I am not the only reviewer mentioning this.

I was prepared to give the book five stars until I reached the ending. To say there are loose threads unresolved is an understatement. I am not a fan of cliffhangers, and this one had me wanting to toss the book away in frustration. Because of this, this series will be going on my DNR list going forward.
I do appreciate receiving an ARC through #NetGalley.

This book would have been better to me if the names were in English to go along with the translation. It was okay but some parts were hard to follow.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.