Really good atmospheric series with lots of twists. Was a bit confused as to why this book was second and not first in the series as it takes place in time before the first in the series.

The Island is the second book in the Hidden Iceland series by Ragnar Jonasson. A female Detective Inspector Hula is called to send an officer the investigate a death that occurred on an unpopulated island. She decides to go herself and finds that she must unravel a murder as well as a ten year old crime. A great start to reading international mysteries.

A great follow up to The Darkness! I’m a huge fan of Ragnar and can’t wait to see what he’ll come up with next. This Hulda series always leaves me wanting more. Very atmospheric.

I’ve really enjoyed all of Ragnar Jonasson’s books. Started with the Dark Iceland series and became quite attached to Ari Thor and the town of Siglufjordur. It’s on my list to visit next time I’m in Iceland now!
The Hidden Iceland series is equally as good although feels quite quite different. Hulda Hermansdottir is a brooding, deeper kind of character that I connected with in an empathetic kind of way. The Darkness was the first time we read about her and now we’re back 10 years reading The Island. I’ve never read a backward trilogy before which is kind of unique. Knowing what happens to Hulda is gives the reader a sense of foreboding in a retrospective way.
I must say I loved the Island very much. It was easy to read and a real classic whodunnit kind of plot. Iceland provides such a fantastic backdrop to Nordic Noir.. the remote distant feel lends itself to this genre so much.
I loved the different facets to the story - a crime committed 10 years earlier, present day murder and Hulda’s story of loss and looking for her dad add to the richness.
Ragnar is an amazing author .. looking forward to the 10years preceding this story in the next read

Perhaps I would have benefitted from reading the first in this series of Icelandic thrillers but possibly not, as they appear to be published in reverse chronological order which in itself is an interesting concept. The Island concerns the death of one of a group of friends on an island south of the Icelandic main island, exactly ten years after the murder of another of their number. This second death is investigated by Hulda Hermannsdóttir, a somewhat tragic detective, previously passed over for promotion in favour of a seemingly less talented colleague, partially due to his successful closure of the first case. Hulda is an interesting character and the Icelandic landscape, particularly the island itself, is atmospheric and haunting. The plot, however, is a little too straightforward yet Hulda makes progress by chance rather than through her investigative skills. That said, it is perhaps her downbeat doggedness that makes her interesting and I will read the other books in the series.

I like the way it reads, was surprised at the end, but the first book was waay better in my opinion.

Het derde boek in de reeks rond Hulda Hermansdottir dat ik lees, en de auteur stelt niet teleur. Een vlotlezende scandinavische crimi, met boeiende personages en een een interessant plot, verrassend tot het einde. Bovendien weet de auteur de IJslandse sfeer bijzonder dicht over te brengen op de lezer, wat het hele verhaal dat tikje extra geeft. ik ben fan.