Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village on the northernmost tip of Iceland, accessible only via a small mountain tunnel.
Ari Thór Arason: a local policeman, whose tumultuous past and uneasy relationships with the villagers continue to haunt him.
The peace of this close-knit community is shattered by the murder of a policeman – shot at point-blank range in the dead of night in a deserted house. With a killer on the loose and the dark arctic winter closing in, it falls to Ari Thór to piece together a puzzle that involves tangled local politics, a compromised new mayor, and a psychiatric ward in Reykjavik, where someone is being held against their will. Then a mysterious young woman moves to the area, on the run from something she dare not reveal, and it becomes all too clear that tragic events from the past are weaving a sinister spell that may threaten them all. Dark, chilling and complex, Nightblind is an extraordinary thriller from an undeniable new talent.
About the Author
Ragnar Jónasson is an Icelandic crime writer who works as a lawyer, while teaching copyright law at the Reykjavik University Law School. He has worked in TV and radio, including as a news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. He has translated 14 Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, and has had several short stories published in German, English, and Icelandic literary magazines, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
Jónasson set up the first overseas chapter of the CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) in Reykjavik, and is cofounder of the international crime-writing festival Iceland Noir.
Industry Reviews
'Jonasson plays fair with the reader - his clues are traditional and beautifully finessed - and he keeps you turning the pages. Snowblind is morally more equivocal than most traditional whodunnits, and it offers alluring glimpses of darker, and infinitely more threatening horizons' Independent * 'A tiny, segregated town is a superb setting for a crime novel, and Jonasson exploits it well. He builds a layered mystery featuring a series of unhealthy secrets, and past crimes buried deep in the sheltered, almost claustrophobic recesses of family life, which Ari Thor will pay a high price for unravelling' Crime Thriller Journal * 'Bitingly contemporary in setting and tone' Express * 'A modern take on an Agatha Christie-style mystery, as twisty as any slalom...' Ian Rankin * 'Ragnar Jonasson does claustrophobia beautifully' Ann Cleeves
