One of the
100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945
according to
The Times
Soon to be a major CBS Studios series
“Jonasson’s superb Hidden Iceland trilogy tells the tragic story of a detective, Hulda Hermannsdottir, in reverse chronological order. This first volume covers her final years, revealing both her dogged persistence as an investigator and the slights she suffered throughout her career.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-100-best-crime-novels-and-thrillers-since-1945-dgwbfxwbd
Shortlisted for Novel of the Year in Sweden 2019
A no. 1 paperback bestseller in Sweden
THE SUNDAY TIMES
Crime Novel of the Month - March 2018
"... superb new novel ... establishes [Hulda] as one of the great tragic heroines of contemporary detective fiction."
THE SUNDAY TIMES - Joan Smith
“… an ending so surprising it seems to violate the genre’s core conventions. This is followed by a postscript that, in retrospect, becomes a coda to the trilogy itself. Jónasson’s reverse structure is brilliantly effective, with the future eerily foreshadowing the past.”
THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT - Michael Carlson
“The Darkness holds the reader from the first page to the last.”
Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland
“The ending really took my breath away and that’s kind of hard for writers to do to me these days ... [Hulda] is a fantastic, complex 3D character and I want to see more of her, so hurray, this is the first of a three book series.”
Bestselling author Ian Rankin (in Simon Mayo’s Books of the Year Podcast)
"... extraordinary Icelandic writer who adds several shades of darkness to Nordic noir."
Bestselling author Anthony Horowitz / DAILY MAIL
“... a very efficient piece of work ... Jónasson has the full measure of the Nordic noir genre, and pushes all the requisite buttons.”
FINANCIAL TIMES - Barry Forshaw
"Expertly plotted, with an ending that’s a true shocker"
THE GUARDIAN - Laura Wilson
"… brilliant … a formidable heroine …"
LE PARISIEN
"[I] was gripped from the start of this brilliantly told story. And left wide-eyed with shock at the ending"
FIONA BARTON
bestselling author of The Widow
"... magnificently dark and twisted! That ending - blimey!"
C.J. TUDOR
bestselling author of The Chalk Man
"The Darkness is a bullet train of a novel, at once blazingly contemporary and Agatha-Christie old-fashioned. With prose as pure and crisp as Reykjavik snowcrust, Ragnar Jónasson navigates the treacherous narrative with a veteran’s hand. I reached the end with adrenalized anticipation, the final twist hitting me in the face. I dare you not to be shocked."
GREGG HURWITZ
Sunday Times bestselling author of Orphan X
"The Darkness is a true masterpiece of a crime novel, introducing an original protagonist, a plot full of twists and turns and an ending that leaves you gasping for air."
YRSA SIGURDARDOTTIR
bestselling Icelandic crime writer
"Another masterpiece from the King of Icelandic Noir."
THOMAS ENGER
bestselling author of the Henning Juul series
"The Darkness is Ragnar Jonasson at the top of his game - deft plotting, a great central character and a story as chilling as the Icelandic winter. I couldn't put it down."
WILLIAM RYAN
bestselling author of The Holy Thief
"Just finished TheDarkness ... oh WOW!"
HELEN CALLAGHAN
bestselling author of Dear Amy“
"... as chilling as the nip in the Icelandic air”
CHOICE MAGAZINE
“Crime fiction has never seen a character quite like Hulda Hermannsdóttir; nor a series launch so entirely willing to take risks and obliterate long-standing tropes ... There is no doubt that The Darkness will rank as one of the most popular and powerful reading experiences of the year.”
BOLO BOOKS
“Fantastic!” “What an ending!”
SWEDISH NATIONAL TELEVISON - SVT (Go'kväll)
“A great premise ... perfectly executed.”
Bestselling author Kevin Wignall
“A fantastic portrait of Hulda” “my favorite new lead character in the crime genre this year.”
SKÅNSKA DAGBLADET, Sweden
Favourite books of the year 2018
Bestselling author Ian Rankin
Top books of the year 2018
Bolo Books
Runner-up - Novel of the Year Award 2015 in Iceland, selected by Icelandic booksellers.
One of the best-selling novels in Iceland in 2015.
“The ending hits the reader like a kick in the stomach.“
FRÉTTATIMINN ****
"This is the definition of a one-sitting read. The Darkness is an incredibly original story starting at the end of a characters career. It's shockingly sinister and has an ending that will leave you, literally, gasping for breath.”
Crimesquad.com
“... the writing is excellent and the plotting and narrative structures excel ...”
beverlyhasread.wordpress.com
“Hulda is perhaps one of the most thought-out characters I have come across all year ... This is the start of a fantastic trilogy. I cannot wait to read the next novel. Genius." *****
Annebonnybookreviews.com
"With plenty of twists and turns the plot and story will keep you second guessing yourself, gripping and compelling ... The ending is something else and certainly one I wasn’t expecting or prepared for.” *****
amwbooksreviews.wordpress.com
THE DARKNESS
BOOK NO 1 IN THE HIDDEN ICELAND SERIES - PENGUIN, MARCH 2018
Before Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavik Police is forced into early retirement she is told to investigate a cold case of her choice, and she knows just the one.
A young woman found dead on remote seaweed-covered rocks. A woman who was looking for asylum and found only a watery grave. Her death ruled a suicide after a cursory investigation.
But Hulda soon realizes that there was something far darker to this case. This was not the only young woman to disappear around that time. And no one is telling the whole story.
When her own force tries to put the brakes on the investigation Hulda has just days to discover the truth. Even if it means risking her own life . . .
Spanning the icy streets of Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is an atmospheric thriller fromone of the most exciting names in Nordic Noir.
A no. 1 paperback bestseller in Sweden.