The Darkness

Starred review from August 13, 2018
Reykjavík Det. Insp. Hulda Hermannsdóttir, the 64-year-old heroine of this outstanding series debut from Jónasson (Blackout), is aware that she’s nearing mandatory retirement, but she’s still devastated when her boss, Magnus, tells her to prepare to stop working in just two weeks. To soften the unexpected blow, Magnus says that she can select a cold case to look
into during her remaining time, and Hulda jumps on the opportunity to do something meaningful. She selects the unexplained death of a Russian woman, Elena, who had been seeking asylum when her drowned corpse was found in a remote cove more than a year earlier. Hulda’s suspicion that the initial inquiry was sloppy is confirmed when she learns that the assigned officer failed to follow some basic leads. Her doggedness in pursuit of justice for Elena rankles her superior, who claims to have been joking about her investigating anything else. Jónasson pulls no punches as this grim tale builds to its stunning conclusion, one of the more remarkable in recent crime fiction. Fans of uncompromising plotting will be satisfied. Agent: David Headley, DHH Literary Agency (U.K.).

August 15, 2018
On the eve of her unwillingly abrupt retirement, a Reykjavík police inspector decides to look into a cold case that immediately turns dangerously hot.Hulda Hermannsdóttir thought she'd seen the writing on the wall: When she turned 65 in a few months, she'd put in for retirement even though the deaths of both her daughter and her husband have left her nothing to look forward to. But she's thrown for a loop when Magnús, her boss, tells her that he's already assigned her office and caseload to a much younger, up-and-coming male colleague, and could she please clean out her desk within the next two weeks? To mollify her, he offers to let her spend her final days looking into a cold case of her choice--"Any case I like?" she politely asks--and she promptly reopens the investigation into the death of Elena, a Russian immigrant who'd applied for political asylum. Hulda is convinced that her sloppy CID colleague Alexander had bobbled the case, and her initial inquiries suggest that since Elena's petition for asylum had just been granted, she had no reason to leave the hostel where she was staying and drown herself. When Bjartur Hartmannsson, an interpreter who'd worked with the musically inclined Elena, suggests that her interests may have extended to prostitution as well, Hulda kicks into high gear, much to the disapproval of Magnús, whose desire to pull Hulda off the investigation and put her in the deep freeze intensifies with every meeting and phone call. All the while, a series of ominous flashbacks indicates that Hulda's stumbled onto a secret even more wicked than she'd predicted--although, as events ultimately show, she's had years of experience in close contact with wickedness.If you think you know how frigid Iceland can be, this blistering stand-alone from Jónasson (Blackout, 2016, etc.) has news for you: It's much, much colder than you've ever imagined. Warmly recommended for hot summer nights.

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September 1, 2018

When Reykjavik detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir is forced into early retirement to make way for a hot-shot new hire, she refuses to go without a fight. Her boss has already reassigned her active cases but allows her to work a cold case for her last two weeks. With waning loyalty to the department that has often dismissed and overlooked her, Hulda throws herself into solving the suspicious death of a Russian asylum seeker. As her days on the force tick by, Hulda becomes more and more reckless with her investigation, putting her department, reputation, even her own life on the line to solve the murder. Throughout, Jonasson ("Dark Iceland" series) weaves past and present to reveal slowly the events that led up to the death as well as Hulda's surprisingly dark past. As an older female detective, Hulda is a refreshing addition to the genre. This intricate and timely work explores the dehumanization of refugees, sexism in the police force, aging, and more without overwhelming the core mystery. VERDICT This heart-pounding tale will appeal to fans of Camilla Läckberg and those looking for a darker, more modern Agatha Christie-type mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 4/23/18.]--Portia Kapraun, Delphi P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2018
Reykjavik Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsd�ttir dreads her looming retirement. Yes, her career stalled years ago when it became apparent that solid detection couldn't compensate for her inability to build rapport with fellow detectives. But she's blindsided when she's abruptly informed that she's being forced into immediate retirement to make room for her popular replacement. Hulda insists on working through her two-weeks' notice, and manages to win a final go at a cold case. A little over a year earlier, Elena, a young Russian woman seeking asylum in Iceland, was found floating in an isolated cove. Hulda's colleague, arguably the CID's laziest investigator, chalked the case up to suicide. It doesn't take long for Hulda to discredit the suicide theory: Elena was celebrating approval of her asylum application the day she disappeared. When Hulda learns that a local kingpin may have trafficked Elena to Iceland for prostitution, she abandons her customary caution and chases the lead. J�nasson alternates Hulda's final police investigation with the tragic stories of her childhood and her teenage daughter's suicide, and the emerging picture casts intriguing doubt on Hulda's allegiance to the letter of the law. A complex, fascinating mix of Icelandic community and alienation, atmospheric tension, and timely issues (immigrant exploitation and vigilante justice), J�nasson's latest series is another must-read for crime fans who follow the work of Arnaldur Indridason and Yrsa Sigurdard�ttir.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)