Reviews

Wyspa by Ragnar Jónasson

helenfrench's review against another edition

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3.0

Icelandic noir. A death 10 years ago on an isolated island with a seemingly obvious culprit. Another death in the present involving the same group of friends. One of them MUST be the murderer? And does that mean the police investigation was wrong the first time around?

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir, frustrated at being looked over for promotion in the past, senses this could be an interesting case and looks into the past to discover the links to the present - clearly against her boss's wishes.

The description is really evocative. While reading you can almost close your eyes and imagine you are there, in splendid isolation under a bright summer's sky. But would you want to be, amid the murder and the lies?

The book is also rather a slow-burn. To my mind it got to about 50% of the way through before the plot really engaged me. It's also not hugely original (who among the small group of friends cannot be trusted?) but saying that, because of the writing it still feels interesting if not truly fresh. Hulda is a fascinating character - more so than the potential suspects - and I would gladly spend another book with her.

An enjoyable read.

jdurkan91's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Island / Ragnar Jónasson

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

~ She had no intention of keeping her promise… ~

Another trip to Iceland with Hulda. Going with the reverse chronological, we delve further back into her life and cases, and this one was wild.

First off the case was interesting and kept the attention throughout, though with so many character POV chapters it took a while to get to grips with. And then with Hulda’s American adventure it took a while as well. Not saying any of this was bad, there was just a lot of to and fro and saying “right where am I?” in the first half. Thankfully this changed once the stories merged.

This of anything added more depths to Hulda’s character, taking what we learned from The Darkness and showing a more nuanced side to her. She is exceptionally acute at her job.

As I’ve found with Jónasson’s books, it’s not the ending comes out of nowhere, it’s that they always seem very abrupt! It’s just bang, done, dusted, and that’s it. The epilogues drew in different takes on what I had thought. Especially the American one.

Looking forward now to The Mist, I have it lined up on Borrowbox ready to go and finish out the trilogy.

Audiobook Length: 6hrs, 33mins
Narrator: Amanda Redman
Translator: Victoria Cribb

🎧 Listened to on @borrowbox 🎧 

  • Read: 17/01/25 - 18/01/25
  • Release Date: 04/04/19

carolines's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

dimpulainen's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

dianacarmel's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

fhina's review against another edition

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3.0

Hat mir ein klein wenig besser gefallen als der erste Teil.

viennouk's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

3.75

Enjoyed it, but not quite as much as books 1 and 3. That may be my fault, though, as I read this one last, so I've stuck with a rating of 3.75. The events of 1987 were more interesting to me than the events of 1997. I did really enjoy the unsettling intro, the descriptions of the countryside, and the epilogue, which was as satisfying as it was maddening.

lovestodancw_81's review against another edition

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3.0

This book is uses a dual timeline that moves from past to present. However, readers view the events in the past through their own lens. When the timeline moves forward 10 years, we view events through Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir's eyes. I appreciate how her life story is revealed when she reflects back on her life 10 years before, in 1987 and how different her life is 10 years later.

Although the bulk of the story focuses on the mystery at hand, viewing Hermannsdóttir's backstory was integral to the story's success. Hermannsdóttir is a tragic figure but one I am drawn to reading about.

If anyone is looking for a mystery that doesn't read like a typical police procedural, I'd recommend this series to them.

leslie115's review against another edition

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4.0

Excellent mystery, with lots of red herrings. I especially admire how Jonasson sequenced the events.

amyradak's review against another edition

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4.0

This book an enjoyable ride and a nice quick audiobook read. I found the lead detective Hulda's backstory and career interesting, and I enjoyed watching her solve a crime and take a crooked detective and misogynistic police department down a peg or two in the process. The relationships between the 5 'friends' (and their family members) that stretched across the dual timelines were sufficiently interesting to keep me engaged, and I didn't work out who the killer(s) were until the very end, which I always enjoy. The setting in Iceland was very vividly described and added to the enjoyment of this book for me - in fact I've already started another in this series hoping to find the same thing.