There is something comforting about being back in Siglufjörður and back in the world of Ari Thór Arason. Even though every time we head back something has changed, even if only subtly so, I' still happy heading north through the snow and the ice and spending time in that remote Northern Iceland village. Although, it has to be said, it feels perhaps a little less remote these days, a new road making the village more accessible to tourists and icelanders alike, and making it a little more crowded than Ari Thór thinks it really needs to be. Plus, there has been some major upheaval in his personal life leaving him once again alone, but no longer deemed quite the newby.
It's a perplexing case that Ari Thór is faced with - the body of a teenage girl found in the middle of the night, beneath the balcony of an apartment block that she has no connection to. Not only that, but the owner of the flat is down in Reykjavik, so there is no obvious reason as to how she would have gained access to the apartment in the first place. With a grieving family pushing him for answers, and some cryptic evidence found on the girl's phone, is this. simply a case of suicide or something more sinister. With Ari Thór distracted by matters of a personal nature and the reappearance of a face from the past, this is a perfect blend of mystery, suspense and unique characters that has made this series a joy to read.
What I really love about the books is that way in which Ragnar Jonasson manages to capture every aspect of the landscape, portraying it to the reader with a kind of love and respect. Through Ari Thór's observations as a not-quite-outsider looking in, we are able to get a ral feeling of the subtle changes that have happened in town since our last visit - the way in which it has become busier, those minor irritations when his favourite cinnamon buns have run out and the things he took for granted are in short supply with the increased footfall caused by the tourist trade. To be honest, he really kind of captured my own mood when my relative quiet of the early morning lockdown walk was disturbed by the gradual re-emergence of people into the wide world. I really could empathise with Ari Thór although I hope I was a little less grumpy about it, at least on the surface.
In spite of this though, the author still brings the chill, both in terms of the storyline and the physical sensation you have when you read the descriptions of snow drifts and the conditions that still have the power to cut Siglufjörður off from the rest of the island. There really is a power in his words as he transports you to the heart of the town, trudging through the snow alongside our hero, wishing you'd worn thicker gloves. Ragnar Jonasson also manages to bring the sense of isolation and remoteness of the locations as he introduces readers to Siglunes, one of the few remaining, remote and almost uninhabitable settlements that used to dot along the north coast. Accessible only by boat or a treacherous hike, the kind of isolation and segregation if offers both fascinates and scared me in equal measure.
If you come here looking for fast paced, action led mystery, then you are really looking at the wrong series entirely. This is a slow paced, almost contemplative story, in which the lives of the characters, Ari Thór especially, are every bit as important as the case he is trying to solve. This is a story of love, of family, abuse of trust and of lies, encapsulated in a quiet mystery that ended with the tragic death of a young girl.
My compliments to translator David Warriner who has captured every ounce of the beauty and quiet spirit of the first novels, making the author's words flow beautifully in English once more. My only complaint? It was over far too quickly. I will truly miss Ari Thór, but I can't think of a more fitting way to say goodbye.
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The older we get, the more we um and ah and end up trapped in the same old routine.Highlighted by 18 Kindle readers- There was something about defying the forces of nature that made him feel alive.Highlighted by 12 Kindle readers
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From the Publisher
A Mystery to transport you to rural Iceland – Siglufjörður
I was so happy to go back to Siglufjörður. It feels like ages, but with the best places, once you go back you feel as if you haven’t left at all. The place is the same yet there are new people passing through, the same Ari Thor in the police trying to work with his new team members and a new mystery. There’s still the feeling of remoteness, snow and isolation yet there’s a new road bringing in a lot more outsiders.Ooh but this time we go outside of the town and visit Siglunes, an even more remote place. When the characters in the novel go here, I felt genuine trepidation…..Ari is of course the central character and he’s troubled. His son and ex-partner are back in town and he’s having to manage the complications that go along with that as well as a new and strange case he’s working on. A girl has been found dead outside an apartment block in the town. The owner is away in the city, so who is this girl and how did she get into the apartment? Why was she there? How did she die?The investigation is deliciously complex and sensitive. Ari visits the parents, talks to her friends and suddenly, slowly, the real reasons for this girl’s death become clear. It’s a twisted case where the witnesses are strange, the girl’s friends distant and then there’s the man, a visiting artist, who ‘just happened to be in the area when the body was found’.This was a multi-layered and very deep mystery with many more threads to it than I first realised. It’s quite a short novel too, so it really does pack a punch! The writing is sharp, the plotting clever ( but the case is very sad!) and the translation brings this to the fore. Kudos to David Warriner for translating this from the French. Other novels have been directly translated from the Icelandic but you can’t tell the difference.Aaah, how I’ve missed Siglufjörður. Ari shows us just how this place has changed, yet how it has also stayed the same. He doesn’t like the extra tourists, that’s for sure. He talks and grumbles about the famous tunnel which connects the town to the outside world, and the snow which keeps it apart.Recommended!
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 December 2020
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2020
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2024
Top reviews from other countries
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- Myriam ShechterReviewed in Canada on 9 July 2021
Winterkill is part of the beautiful 6 book series Dark Iceland by Ragnar Jonasson.
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LarissaReviewed in Germany on 12 July 2021
Ein "must have read" für alle Fans von Ari Thór Arason
