Here is another book from 2 years ago I missed hitting the final button.

Author Jonasson wrote that she translated many Christie novels into Icelandic and considered her a chief influence. Perhaps for that reason, she spent a great deal of time developing the back stories of numerous characters.

By “a great deal of time,” I mean too much. I see it as her biggest fault. Most of the descriptions could have been done in one paragraph, not pages. Like most first novels, Jonasson was heavy-handed at times, repeating phrases and ideas far too many times, and playing up the small-town and isolated images.

The book reminded me of the ten-part TV series, Trapped, set in Iceland, done in Icelandic with English subtitles. The stories are different. It was the setting of the constant battle of police work in snow storms that brought it to mind.

I like the book, but Jonasson needs to tighten up her writing. She does have two more books listed on Amazon and I’ll probably get around to them sometime.

Mike Lawrence