Today I’m joining the blog tour for the tenth anniversary edition of Snowblind. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour and to Orenda Books for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

SNOWBLIND

Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors – accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik – with a past that he’s unable to leave behind. When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theatre, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life.

An avalanche and unremitting snowstorms close the mountain pass, and the 24-hour darkness threatens to push Ari over the edge, as curtains begin to twitch, and his investigation becomes increasingly complex, chilling and personal. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness – blinded by snow, and with a killer on the loose.

FADEOUT – NEW!

Taut and terrifying, Snowblind is a startling debut from an extraordinary new talent, taking Nordic Noir to soaring new heights.

When Ari Thór Arason receives a staggeringly high bill for a foreign credit card that was taken out in his name, his life takes a turn he never anticipated. The bill in question belongs to his namesake – his father, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances when Ari was only a child.

Seeking answers, Ari Thór travels to London to investigate, hoping to learn the truth about what happened to his father all those years ago, and discovering far more than he could ever have imagined…

Review:

I’ve read this series in the wrong order, as Rupture (the fourth book in the series) was one of the first books I ever reviewed on Portable Magic. I’ve never had chance to go back to the beginning, so I’m delighted to do so now for the tenth anniversary, and it’s everything I expected and more.

As part of the anniversary edition, Ragnar Jonasson has included the novella, Fadeout. This is brilliant, and it provides a wonderful foundation to the rest of the series, both in terms of introducing us to Ari Thor and giving me a taste of the style of writing. I really enjoyed the novella and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into Snowblind.

Snowblind is equally well written, and credit must be given to the translator, who ensures that the beauty in Ragnar Jonasson’s words is fully conveyed to the reader. I loved the images of the snow capped mountains in the isolated town that captured my imagination brilliantly.

I really enjoyed getting to know Ari Thór a little better as he settled into his life in a new area. His youth and inexperience mean that he’s not the confident detective we see in later books, but you can definitely see the makings of him and I loved his willingness to question everything. I am looking forward to seeing the character develop further.

As Siglufjörður is a very small, isolated town, the pool of suspects is also small and it was interesting to see Ari Thór deal with potential suspects who were also his friends and neighbours. It was interesting to discover all the backgrounds of the residents, which have been really well constructed and I enjoyed trying to guess what had happened as the story went along. The plot itself is quite slow burning, but there is still plenty of intrigue that kept me engaged throughout the whole story.

Snowblind (10th Anniversary Edition) is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: