Carrying on the tradition
A sophisticated new mystery from the land of fire, ice and noir luminaries

Ragnar Jónasson is a young Icelandic writer of crime fiction who has proved an agile talent with unimpeachable tenacity to join the great luminaries in the history of Icelandic writers.

Halldór Laxness, born in 1902 in the settlement of Reykjavik in Danish Iceland, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955, bringing attention to the north Atlantic island in sight of the Arctic Circle. Iceland has forever been the only country boasting of 100% literacy, with reading and writing eclipsing organized religion in one of the world’s most breathtaking Xanadus.

This tiny and barren Arctic island of 392,000 also includes literary virtuoso Arnaldur Indridason, with international book sales in excess of 20 million and the only author to win the Glass Key Award from the Crime Writers Association for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row with his “Jar City” and “Silence of the Grave,” both reviewed in these pages.

Jónasson crept into Icelandic notoriety in 2010 with “Snowblind,” the first in his Dark Iceland series centered in and around a small fishing village in the north island settlement of Siglufjörour. It was a courageous beginning and Jónasson’s first contribution to his reputation in Icelandic noir fiction. “Snowblind” was an instant island hit and migrated immediately east and west, followed by more translations and more offshore hits for the next four years. 

Jónasson’s latest offering by Minotaur Books carries the unusual title, “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer.” Translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb, Jónasson has once again gifted the crime fiction genre with another gently plotted mystery in his inimitable, uncluttered style. 

On page one, we’re given an announcement in the Morgunbladid newspaper on 15 October 2002 that best-selling and loved Icelandic author Elin S. Jónsdóttir is releasing the 10th and final book of her prestigious 20-year career. 

“Ten books in 20 years are more than enough,” Elin declares. “From now on I’m going to devote myself to reading.” Elin, it is noted, has been hailed as a pioneer of Icelandic crime writing and has received numerous awards for her books, which have sold millions of copies worldwide. 

The opening interview in old typewriter monotype by an anonymous reporter goes on to establish the serendipitous personality of Iceland’s cherished crime writer, who is believed to have put their tiny island on the map. Elin is strong-willed, unimpressed with her fame and casual about her writing. She has given up her compulsive writing as if it were a resolution to quit smoking.

We go on now to meet Helgi Reykdal, an Icelandic police detective we previously met in Jónasson’s 2024 novel “Death at the Sanatorium.” He brings a serendipitous personality and a troubling love life with a new girlfriend and an ex bent on making her replacement miserable and fearful of her penchant for revenge.

Detective Helgi Reykdal appears again to investigate the eventually realized situation that Elin Jónsdóttir is not simply retired but is in fact missing. And surfacing in the search for Elin is a dark secret from 1965 about a bank robbery she’s insinuated with, a missing detective Hulda Hermannsdottir, and Elin’s insistence in a 2005 interview with one proviso that it will not be published until after her death.

“The Case of the Missing Crime Writer” is a mystery in the style of old Agatha Christie mysteries: precise but gentle, demanding participation from the reader. Jónasson doesn’t tell you what’s happening, he asks you to pull the pieces together and carry some of the load. The story is simple, and there’s no need to explain any more. The reader is the helmsman, and with this subtle and gentle story, you will direct the dramaturgy and occupy this story before you’re done reading. It’s a lovely book.

You’ll like this sophisticated book, and it will likely send you on the hunt for Jónasson’s other books. Ask Maria’s Bookshop for their generous 15% Murder Ink discount.