Blackout by Ragnar Jonasson, and translated into English by Quentin Bates, is one of the Black Iceland series which are crime novels featuring his main character Ari Thor Arason who is based in a small Northern Icelandic town. I have read the last one in the series, Winterkill, although I have not reviewed it (it was one of my Advent books for 2024 – see here). I enjoyed that book when I read it and so I picked up Blackout in a charity shop when I was in Penrith in the summer – Penrith has a large selection of charity shops with some excellent opportunities to buy good quality used books. This paperback is in excellent condition.
This book is the third of the six book series but it didn’t matter that I had read them out of order as each book has a self-contained story. In Blackout Ari Thor and his colleagues are looking for the killer of a man who has been beaten to death. The book follows the investigation through Ari Thor’s eyes but also through the eyes of a female reporter who is determined to get a good story. We also follow the personal anguish of one of Ari Thor’s colleagues who is mostly being ignored in the excitement of the investigation, with terrible consequences. Ari Thor has separated from his wife and the repercussions from that also play a part in the story.
The author takes all these different threads and weaves them together into a narrative that is gripping. He sets it against the ash cloud from an erupting volcano so that the sight and taste of ashes forms part of the atmosphere. Where the summer should have 24-hour daylight this is dimmed and visibility is reduced. Everything seems obscured, whether by the ash or by the secrets and lies which prevent the murderer being obvious.
This is exceptional crime writing with a brilliant conclusion to the mystery and I enjoyed it immensely. I also recommend Winterkill where a blizzard and wintry weather play their part in the investigation of the murder of a 19-year-old girl found dead in the street. In fact, I enjoyed both books so much I shall look for the others in the series. Both paperbacks are in a new pile now – this one is for books to be donated to my local Oxfam bookshop.
Anne Is Reading 