{"id":6620,"date":"2025-08-29T09:04:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=6620"},"modified":"2025-08-29T09:04:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:04:46","slug":"ragnar-jonasson-the-mysterious-case-of-the-missing-crime-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/ragnar-jonasson-the-mysterious-case-of-the-missing-crime-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"Ragnar Jonasson: The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This is the kind of terrific book that gets you to the middle and you aren\u2019t sure what\u2019s coming next. It\u2019s the follow up to the excellent Death at the Sanatorium, <\/em>though it\u2019s billed as a standalone.\u00a0 In fact, it picks up right where Death at the Sanitorium <\/em>left off, resolving the question of what happened to the main character, Helgi. In the last book, Helgi was working on a master\u2019s thesis based on an old crime; in this novel, he\u2019s no longer a student, but a member of the Icelandic police force.<\/p>\n

As in the last book, Helgi is a fan of classic crime novels, and always has one to hand, even having a shelf of them in his office at the police station. Probably because of this, Helgi is given a big case: find missing crime writer El\u00edn S. J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir.\u00a0 She\u2019s one of Iceland\u2019s most famous writers, notoriously retired after ten bestsellers.\u00a0 Interspersed through the complex narrative is an interview between Elin and an unknown journalist, allowing the reader to get to know and understand her better.<\/p>\n

J\u00f3nasson writes very complex books, but they are pleasant reads that aren\u2019t confusing.\u00a0 It\u2019s a deft trick to manage so many timelines and not leave the reader wanting to throw the book across the room.\u00a0 In one, it’s the present \u2013 it\u2019s 2012 and Helgi is investigating the case of the missing writer.\u00a0 In the past it\u2019s 1965, where a crime is being planned; in another, it\u2019s the late 60\u2019s where Helgi\u2019s former supervisor Hulda is interviewing a bank robber in prison, trying to get him to name his accomplice; and the journalist\u2019s interview with Elin takes place in 2005.<\/p>\n

In the course of his search, Helgi interviews all of her friends and her one cousin (and only family member), fleshing out her character.\u00a0 One of her best friends is her editor and her husband; all of them were in school together.\u00a0 They are now in their 70s.<\/p>\n

Helgi\u2019s personal life is not so great, however.\u00a0 In the last book, he had an abusive, alcoholic girlfriend.\u00a0 They are now broken up and he has a new girlfriend, but the old girlfriend is stalking the new one. The personal part is important (as well as suspenseful and scary) because it illustrates Helgi\u2019s personality.\u00a0 He sets aside things he doesn\u2019t want to deal with until \u201ctomorrow,\u201d and his horrible ex girlfriend falls into that category.<\/p>\n

This is an intelligently plotted mystery, filled with excellently drawn characters and full of the kind of twists that come organically from the plot.\u00a0 Only a very gifted writer is able to do this.\u00a0 The part with the girlfriend, however, hangs over the story and it almost seems like it\u2019s from a different novel than the one with the tricky and interesting mystery.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mind the personal life of a character, but I feel the domestic part of the character\u2019s life should sync with the professional part.\u00a0 And the ending (like the ending in the first book) was completely jarring.\u00a0 I want to know what happens, now!\u00a0 But I know I have to wait a year, making this a qualified recommendation.\u00a0 The mystery part is great; Helgi\u2019s life, not so much. As it\u2019s a small part of the novel you may feel, as I did, that the rest of the book was worth the read.\u00a0 — Robin Agnew<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the kind of terrific book that gets you to the middle and you aren\u2019t sure what\u2019s coming next. It\u2019s the follow up to the excellent Death at the Sanatorium, though it\u2019s billed as a standalone.\u00a0 In fact, it picks up right where Death at the Sanitorium left off, resolving the question of what … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2248,50,100,1816,1276,2247],"class_list":["post-6620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-helgi-reykdal","tag-iceland","tag-minotaur-books","tag-ragnar-jonasson","tag-robin-agnew","tag-the-mysterious-case-of-the-missing-crime-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6620"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6639,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6620\/revisions\/6639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}