Iceland’s premier crime writer, Elin Jonsdottir, has gone missing and this is the starting point of this wonderful new mystery. Helgi Reykdal will be assigned the case, perfect for a book lover like him. This trail he follows vers off in different directions and by the brilliant ability of the author these paths will converge in a stimulating, exciting conclusion. Bank robbery, a missing police detective, 4 friends not to be trusted, and an unexpected sibling….and let’s not forget Helgi’s psychotic ex-girlfriend….whats not to like?

And the ending….well let’s just say I had a few not very nice words today at the ending. Please, Mr. Jonasson, write the next one soon.

Highly recommended!

Ragnar Jónasson brings us back to Iceland for a chilling, fast-moving mystery with a literary twist!

In this latest Golden Age Detective inspired installment, we follow Helgi, a detective still searching for clarity in both his work and personal life, as he takes on the strange case of Elín S. Jónsdóttir, a celebrated but retired author who has suddenly vanished.
To get the most out of this book, it helps to be familiar with the earlier stories. Knowing Helgi’s history makes his emotional investment in the case feel more layered, and the tension with his ex carries extra weight. And then, of course, there’s Hulda. Her reappearance gives me hope that she will feature again.

Helgi’s investigation unfolds through interviews with Elín’s small circle of friends and professional acquaintances, while the narrative alternates with flashbacks from both Elín’s time as a law student, transcripts from an interview she does as well as some narrative from Hulda’s past. These shifts are smooth and add a slow-burning suspense to the story without ever dragging the pace.

This one is lean and tense. I read it straight through in one sitting and was completely pulled in.

#RagnarJónasson #StMartinsPress #NordicNoir #Themysteriouscaseofthemissingcrimewriter

Ragnar Jónasson created a noir book by having several people killed off during the story. I won't say who was killed but it was a very interesting ending. I can see how he used each character in his book to create the necessary data to finally kill them off. Let's just say you won't be surprised by who they are. I will say that our hero, Helgi Reykdal, wasn't killed, and he liked reading Agatha Christie, and other older authors at that time. I liked this story very much and I hope you will too.

The year is 2012 when police officer Helgi is called away from his vacation to work on the case of a missing writer. He loves nothing more than sitting in his late father's dusty bookshop, surrounded by books he'll probably never sell, settling in for a long session of reading. His boss informs him that Iceland's best-known mystery writer, Elin Jonsdottir, has been reported missing after not turning up for several appointments with friends. Although he's disappointed that his holiday (which included visiting with his elderly mother) has been cut short, he's excited to try to figure out what happened to Elin, especially since there's a literary aspect. To help motivate him, he brings along some books from "Golden Age" mystery writers that feature disappearances. Back in Reykjavik, he begins by speaking with the people closest to Elin: her editor Rut and Rut's husband Thor as well as retired judge Lovisa. They had all been at school together many years ago and had kept their close friendships alive, meeting for regularly scheduled outings. It seems no one has heard from Elin for over a week and since she refuses to use a cell phone, they have no idea how to get hold of her. Meanwhile, Helgi has recently started a new relationship with the calm and gentle Anita, which is a relief after his last girlfriend. Helgi has never told anyone, but his former partner Bergthora was abusive to him, culminating in a horrific attack that finally forced him to leave her. She has tried to contact Helgi, but now she has resorted to stalking his new girlfriend Anita, alerting Helgi that something must be done to stop Bergthora.

I had a lot of problems with this novel, starting with:

Sort of shoe-horned into the story are a few chapters from the perspective of Hulda Stefansdottir, who held Helgi's job before him with the police. Hulda has apparently also disappeared. Even more shocking, no one in the police force (her former co-workers) seems that bothered. There is a box of Hulda's belongings in Helgi's office that he intends to "sort through" to see if he can find any clues to her disappearance, but he never gets around to it. There are several chapters from Hulda's point of view in the mid 1970s sprinkled throughout the story, from her time as a police officer struggling with a male-dominated and misogynistic police force, but nothing that adds to what might caused her disappearance. I'm sure maybe this is part of a long arc over several novels to get to the bottom of what happened to her, but it's not very helpful to anyone reading this as a standalone novel. Her disappearance is mentioned followed by some random chapters from 40 years ago and then nothing . . .

There is also a story of a long-ago bank robbery where a guard was killed. One person, Einar, was arrested for the robbery (although it's never explained how he was caught) and sentenced to a prison term. His accomplice was never identified. This was another strange aspect to this story as it seems the police only ever interviewed Einar following his arrest. If they'd done any research into his background, his potential accomplices would have been pretty obvious.

Then Elin's life doesn't add up. She dropped out of law school and worked as a teacher for a year. Afterwards, she returned to Reykjavik and STARTED teacher training college. After she had been working as a teacher. For a year. With apparently no qualifications.

Another ridiculous thing is when the mystery of Elin's disappearance is apparently solved, Helgi doesn't follow up or confirm any of it. He simply calls everyone he's interviewed as part of the disappearance and repeats what he's been told. He doesn't check to see if any of it is true, he just accepts it and repeats the story back to all of the people concerned about Elin. Would a police officer really not check the facts before claiming the case was solved and telling everyone?

The story is interesting and engaging, but lots of head-scratchers and things that don't add up makes this a disappointing overall read.