Tamaryn Payne and Bert Seymour seamlessly present this mystery, cowritten by Iceland's prime minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir. Listeners learn of 15-year-old Lara's 1956 murder and the 1986 reopening of the case. Payne and Seymour aptly convey Iceland's 200th Anniversary celebration, the Gorbachev-Reagan Summit, and the country's expanding media. Colorful descriptions of the locales, diverse residents, and flashbacks are atmospheric. Young journalist Valur--egged on by his editor--believes he's onto a breakthrough in the murder case. Most touching is meeting police officer Kristjal, who was forbidden to work on the original case. A heartrending tragedy results in Sunna, Valur's sister, taking over his news article. Listeners will be mesmerized as audio captures 30 years of changes in the Icelandic lifestyle and speech patterns--as well as a shocking conclusion. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
★ 2023-07-13
The search for answers about a missing schoolgirl takes 30 years to pay off.
Fifteen-year-old Lára Marteinsdóttir, who’d contracted to work the summer of 1956 as a domestic helper for former Supreme Court of Iceland barrister Óttar Óskarsson and his wife, Ólöf Blöndal, in their retreat on the little island of Videy, announces one morning that she’s packed her bags and is leaving early to rejoin her parents in Reykjavík. The couple are jolted by her early departure, but her parents are far more jolted when she never shows up. Since not many young women go missing in Iceland, the case, first investigated by police officer Kristján Kristjánsson, swiftly becomes a cause célèbre, but that doesn’t lead to a solution—not in 1956, not in 1966, not in 1976. It’s not until 1986, on the eve of Reykjavík’s 200th anniversary, that Valur Róbertsson, a promising reporter for the struggling weekly Vikubladid, gets a phone call from someone calling herself Julía that so whets his interest in the case that he keeps overpromising developments to editor Dagbjartur Steinsson, who in turn pushes him harder and harder and even leaks a wildly premature announcement of his upcoming scoop to other news outlets. Valur focuses on a quartet of old friends—Óskarsson himself, city councillor Páll Jóhannesson, developer Högni Eyfjörd, and wholesaler Finnur Stephensen, whose dying words to his actress wife were “You have to go to Videy”—who regularly met on the island. When Valur is unable to deliver the goods, his sister, Sunna Róbertsdóttir, puts her dissertation in comparative literature on hold and takes over the investigation just as Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev announce their plans to meet in Reykjavík for their historic summit.
A slow-burning, spellbinding whodunit. Agatha Christie, to whom it’s dedicated, would be proud.
One of The New York Times’ Best Crime Novels of 2023
An Editors’ Choice/Staff Pick from The New York Times Book Review
“A slow-burning, spellbinding whodunit. Agatha Christie, to whom it’s dedicated, would be proud.”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"Jónasson has clearly learned a thing or two from Christie’s trademark tight plotting and penetrating characterizations, and Jakobsdóttir’s insider knowledge of Iceland’s halls of power lend the proceedings an air of authenticity. Fans of Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series will be rapt."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“Reykjavik . . . qualifies as a breakout: seamlessly plotted, with terrific characters and plenty of surprising, earned twists.”—The New York Times
“A beautifully constructed mystery by two super smart partners in crime.”—Anthony Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders
"A classic mystery . . . Reykjavik provides tremendous insight into Iceland at a time of change, expansion, and corruption. Sure to appeal to a broad swath of crime-fiction readers."—First Clue
“This is Nordic noir at its most authoritative.”—Financial Times
“A classic crime novel . . . as tense as anything Jonasson has previously written.”—The Sunday Times
“Just one terrific crime novel.”—Daily News
“Fans of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Millennium series will fall in love with Ragnar Jonasson’s Icelandic crime novel, Reykjavík”—Mystery & Suspense
“This writing duo more than satisfies … Reykjavík is both a well-crafted piece of crime fiction as well as a look back at the history of a country that is often misunderstood and overlooked.”—BOLO Books
“If you’re a fan of Nordic noir, you’re gonna love Reykjavík. Both writers are in top form, and their tale is deftly plotted and skillfully rendered”—BookPage
“[Reykjavik] chills the bones and freezes the blood as the unusual partnership between a reporter and a prime minister results in an absorbing whodunit.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch