The Darkness
A Thriller
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3.7 • 31 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Spanning the icy streets of Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is an atmospheric thriller from Ragnar Jónasson, one of the most exciting names in Nordic Noir.
The body of a young Russian woman washes up on an Icelandic shore. After a cursory investigation, the death is declared a suicide and the case is quietly closed.
Over a year later Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is forced into early retirement at 64. She dreads the loneliness, and the memories of her dark past that threaten to come back to haunt her. But before she leaves she is given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. She knows which one: the Russian woman whose hope for asylum ended on the dark, cold shore of an unfamiliar country. Soon Hulda discovers that another young woman vanished at the same time, and that no one is telling her the whole story. Even her colleagues in the police seem determined to put the brakes on her investigation. Meanwhile the clock is ticking.
Hulda will find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reykjav k Det. Insp. Hulda Hermannsd ttir, the 64-year-old heroine of this outstanding series debut from J nasson (Blackout), is aware that she's nearing mandatory retirement, but she's still devastated when her boss, Magnus, tells her to prepare to stop working in just two weeks. To soften the unexpected blow, Magnus says that she can select a cold case to look into during her remaining time, and Hulda jumps on the opportunity to do something meaningful. She selects the unexplained death of a Russian woman, Elena, who had been seeking asylum when her drowned corpse was found in a remote cove more than a year earlier. Hulda's suspicion that the initial inquiry was sloppy is confirmed when she learns that the assigned officer failed to follow some basic leads. Her doggedness in pursuit of justice for Elena rankles her superior, who claims to have been joking about her investigating anything else. J nasson pulls no punches as this grim tale builds to its stunning conclusion, one of the more remarkable in recent crime fiction. Fans of uncompromising plotting will be satisfied.
