#BlogTour – #RUPTURE by Ragnar Jónasson (Orenda Books)

Book Four in a series that can easily be enjoyed as a standalone novel? RUPTURE by Ragnar Jónasson is exactly that book.

A rather large ‘Thank You’ to Karen @ ORENDA BOOKS for an early copy of this book and allowing me on this amazing blog tour!

Off we go! Firstly, we have “the blurb” for the book:

“1955. Two young couples move to the uninhabited, isolated fjord of Hedinsfjörður. Their stay ends abruptly when one of the women meets her death in mysterious circumstances. The case is never solved. Fifty years later an old photograph comes to light, and it becomes clear that the couples may not have been alone on the fjord after all…

In nearby Siglufjörður, young policeman Ari Thór tries to piece together what really happened that fateful night, in a town where no one wants to know, where secrets are a way of life. He’s assisted by Ísrún, a news reporter in Reykjavik, who is investigating an increasingly chilling case of her own. Things take a sinister turn when a child goes missing in broad daylight. With a stalker on the loose, and the town of Siglufjörður in quarantine, the past might just come back to haunt them.

Haunting, frightening and complex, Rupture is a dark and atmospheric thriller from one of Iceland’s foremost crime writers.”

So, you want to know what I think?

I hate nothing more than starting a book knowing that it isn’t the first in a series as it already throws up too many questions about the principle characters (Who are they? What is their back story?), the location (is there anything significant about the town?) and any history involving supporting characters that could be important in reading this book.

Thankfully, after getting stuck in to RUPTURE, I have come to the conclusion that this book can also be enjoyed as a standalone (this isn’t going to deter me from running to the bookstore and buying the previous books in the series though!).

RUPTURE is Book Four in the ‘DARK ICELAND’ series by Jónasson and is perfect for fans of slow burning crime fiction; particularly if you are fans of Anne Cleaves or Agatha Christie. We can see Jónasson draws influence from Agatha Christie in his ability to create a dark mystery and take us on a journey before laying out the theories and answers to “whodunit”

There are three separate crimes within this book; a cold-case, a hit and run and a missing child. All three crimes are investigated separately, but as the story progresses, we learn that each case is tied to the other. Investigating the cold case is Ari Thor (the series leading man) and he works with reporter Isrun who is in turn investigating both a hit and run and a missing child.

What Jónasson captures beautifully in this book is the dark, isolating and rather eery feeling of the empty fjords. As readers, we are able to imagine the scenery clearly and start to develop the same feelings as our characters. Feelings of isolation and despair, but also those of redemption. This is a truly thought provoking book that considers how our actions early in life can shape the people we grow up to be.

My only thoughts now are how fast I can get to the bookstore and pick up the first three books in the series; SNOW BLIND, NIGHT BLIND and BLACK OUT.

ABOUT RAGNAR JONASSON:

What Jónasson captures beautifully in this book is the dark, isolating and rather eery feeling of the empty fjords. As readers, we are able to imagine the scenery clearly and start to develop the same feelings as our characters.

Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavik in 1976, and currently works as a lawyer, while teaching copyright law at the Reykjavik University Law School. In the past, he’s worked in TV and radio, including as a news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.

Before embarking on a writing career, Ragnar translated 14 Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, and has had several short stories published in German, English and Icelandic literary magazines. Ragnar set up the first overseas chapter of the CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) in Reykjavik, and is co-founder of the international crime-writing festival Iceland Noir, selected by the Guardian as one of the ‘best crime-writing festivals around the world’. Ragnar Jónasson has written five novels in the Dark Iceland series, and he is currently working on his sixth. He lives in Reykjavik with his wife and two daughters. Nightblind will be published by Orenda Books in 2016.

RUPTURE is out now and can be purchased at the following outlets;

Amazon (UK); http://amzn.to/2kxXbVB

Waterstones; http://bit.ly/2kxNYga

-S.

 

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this Blog Tour. See below for further details and be sure to follow all the action across Twitter!