1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland. The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't. The couple should never have let him in. But they did. An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever.
Iceland is a small country with one of the world’s lowest murder rates. Yet this nation of 365,000 people has produced two world-class crime writers, Arnaldur Indridason and Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Now Ragnar Jonasson’s magnificent new novel, The Mist, confirms that they have been joined by a third ... [Hulda] is a moving character, a smart woman whose intelligence isn’t appreciated by her colleagues, and her bitter experience at work gives her a rare empathy with the victims of crime ... It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the other books...because The Mist works as a spine-chilling mystery in its own right ... one of the most astonishing plots in modern crime fiction ... The Mist is a triumphant conclusion to the trilogy and makes Iceland’s pre-eminence in the crime genre even more marked ... With its short winter days and extreme weather, the country has always placed a high value on storytelling, both in the form of novels and in its age-old sagas. Icelanders grow up on these stories, which, like crime fiction, are full of betrayals and family conflicts, and may offer a clue as to why a nation that has so few murders is able to produce such superb crime writers. And Jonasson is up there with the best.
Jónasson turns the tension up to a nearly unendurable degree as the novel unfolds. His complete—and complex—narrative design isn’t revealed until late in the book, when the story’s multiple threads coalesce in a surprising conclusion. With this no-frills thriller, he continues to map Iceland’s outlying regions and to develop Hulda’s character, adding a new chapter to her story that followers of the series will savor. Masterfully plotted and paced, The Mist is atmospheric, haunting and not for the faint of heart.
Ragnar Jónasson is a true master of suspense, there is just simply no other word to describe him. Every single page winds you up a little until you finally realise your entire body has tensed up in anticipation of the next page! ... Jónasson weaves together a multi-layered story at the perfect pace. He constantly leaves you wanting more, and then he gives it to you. From the first page to the last, he has structured the story with such a delicate balance that it keeps the reader constantly engaged ... The Mist is a great length to read in a weekend and it will absolutely grab you and fully engross you in Hulda’s world that Jónasson has created. It is no exaggeration to say that as soon as I finished this book, I immediately started ordering more form this author. The Mist has definitely been added to my ‘frequently recommended’ list!
