Blackout - (Dark Iceland) by Ragnar Jónasson (Paperback)

About the Book

"First published in Iceland under the title Myrknµtti by Verèold, Ã2011"--Title page verso.

Book Synopsis

A huge bestseller in England, France, and Australia, the third book in the Dark Iceland series from a spectacular new crime writer.

"Easily the best yet. Beautifully written and elegantly paced with a plot that only gradually becomes visible, as if the reader had been staring into the freezing fog waiting for shapes to emerge."--The Guardian, UK (Readers' Books of the Year 2016)

"A chiller of a thriller whose style and pace are influenced by Jónasson's admiration for Agatha Christie. It's good enough to share shelf space with the works of Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Arnaldur Indridason, Iceland's crime novel royalty."--The Washington Post

Hailed for combining the darkness of Nordic Noir with classic mystery writing in the tradition of Agatha Christie, author Ragnar Jónasson's books are haunting, atmospheric, and complex. Blackout, the latest Ari Thór thriller, delivers another dark mystery that is chillingly stunning with its complexity and fluidity.

On the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer's night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves Reykajvik to investigate on her own, unaware that an innocent person's life hangs in the balance. Ari Thor Arason and his colleagues on the tiny police force in Siglufjordur struggle with an increasingly perplexing case, while their own serious personal problems push them to the limit. What secrets does the dead man harbour, and what is the young reporter hiding? As silent, unspoken horrors from the past threaten them all, and the darkness deepens, it's a race against time to find the killer before someone else dies.

Review Quotes

Ragnar Jonasson hailed as one of "the heirs to the Agatha Christie crown" by The Daily Telegraph (UK).

"Jonasson is an automatic must-read for me ... possibly the best Scandi writer working today." --Lee Child, internationally bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers

"Captivating... [an] impressive ability to make human despair palpable." --Publishers Weekly

"Easily the best yet. Beautifully written and elegantly paced with a plot that only gradually becomes visible, as if the reader had been staring into the freezing fog waiting for shapes to emerge."--The Guardian, UK (Readers' Books of the Year 2016)

"A chiller of a thriller whose style and pace are influenced by Jonasson's admiration for Agatha Christie. It's good enough to share shelf space with the works of Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Arnaldur Indridason, Iceland's crime novel royalty."--The Washington Post

""A deeply satisfying read... Blackout will leave you hungry for more." --New York Journal of Books

About the Author

RAGNAR JÓNASSON is an international number one bestselling author who has sold over three million books in thirty-six countries worldwide. His books include the Dark Iceland series and the Hulda series. Jónasson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he also works as an investment banker and teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University. He has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, and, since the age of seventeen, has translated fourteen of Agatha Christie's novels. Jónasson is the co-founder of the Reykjavik international crime writing festival Iceland Noir. His critically acclaimed international bestseller The Darkness is soon to be a major TV series, and Outside is soon to be a feature film. Jónasson lives in Reykjavik with his wife and two daughters.