Name: Doug Belshaw's review of Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson
Item: Whiteout
Rating: 3.5
Author: Doug Belshaw

Ragnar Jónasson

THE FOURTH INSTALMENT IN THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING DARK ICELAND SERIES OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD When the body of a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted Icelandic village of Kálfshamarvík, police officer Ari Thór Arason uncovers a startling and terrifying connection to an earlier series of deaths, as the killer remains on the loose... ‘Jónasson’s books have breathed new life into Nordic noir’ Sunday Express ‘Jónasson skilfully alternates points of view and shifts of time ... The action builds to a shattering climax’ Publishers Weekly ________________ Two days before Christmas, a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted village of Kálfshamarvík. Did she jump, or did something more sinister take place beneath the lighthouse and the abandoned old house on the remote rocky outcrop? With winter closing in and the snow falling relentlessly, Ari Thór Arason discovers that the victim’s mother and young sister also lost their lives in this same spot, twenty-five years earlier. As the dark history and its secrets of the village are unveiled, and the death toll begins to rise, the Siglufjordur detectives must race against the clock to find the killer, before another tragedy takes place. Dark, chilling and complex, Whiteout is a haunting, atmospheric and stunningly plotted thriller from one of Iceland’s bestselling crime writers. ________________ ‘Traditional and beautifully finessed ...morally more equivocal than most traditional whodunnits, and it offers alluring glimpses of darker, and infinitely more threatening horizons’ Andrew Taylor, Independent ‘Jónasson has come up with a bleak plot and characters, but his evocation of Iceland’s chilly landscape is hard to put down’ Sunday Times ‘A distinctive blend of Nordic Noir and Golden Age detective fiction ... masterful’ Laura Wilson, Guardian ‘Required reading’ New York Post ‘Puts a lively, sophisticated spin on the Agatha Christie model, taking it down intriguing dark alleys’ Kirkus Reviews ‘The best sort of gloomy storytelling’ Chicago Tribune ‘The prose is stark and minimal, the mood dank and frost-tipped. It’s also bleakly brilliant, although perhaps best read with a warming shot of whisky by your side’ Metro ‘A classic crime story seen through a uniquely Icelandic lens ... first rate and highly recommended’ Lee Child ‘Ragnar Jónasson writes with a chilling, poetic beauty - a must-read’ Peter James ‘A modern take on an Agatha Christie-style mystery, as twisty as any slalom’ Ian Rankin ‘Seductive ... Ragnar does claustrophobia beautifully’ Ann Cleeves

Whiteout

Doug Belshaw

A little short, but the setting and time of the year made up for it. Would make a good TV series.

When the body of a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted Icelandic village of Kálfshamarvík, Ari Thór Arason uncovers a startling and terrifying connection to an earlier series of deaths, as the killer remains on the loose . . . Two days before Christmas, a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted village of Kálfshamarvík. Did she jump, or did something more sinister take place beneath the lighthouse and the abandoned old house on the remote rocky outcrop? With winter closing in and the snow falling relentlessly, Ari Thór Arason discovers that the victim's mother and young sister also lost their lives in this same spot, 25 years earlier. As the dark history and its secrets of the village are unveiled, and the death toll begins to rise, the Siglufjordur detectives must race against the clock to find the killer, before another tragedy takes place. Dark, chilling, and complex, Whiteout is a haunting, atmospheric, and stunningly plotted thriller from one of Iceland's best crime writers.

Jónasson does claustrophobia very well. Here, the containment is geophysical; Iceland itself is very much a character here. These places sound grim - and seem very at home in thr mono-tonal wrappings of the publisher. There are - as ever - few characters, but several motives. It’s an opportunity to explore what drives the small cast of characters.  

Doug Belshaw &
Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson

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Doug Belshaw &Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson

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Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson