The Island

A Thriller

By: Ragnar Jónasson

Narrated by: Amanda Redman

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

"Narrator Amanda Redman gives an adept performance as she takes on the various characters in this Icelandic thriller." (AudioFile Magazine)

The newest superstar on the Icelandic crime fiction scene has arrived with a superb follow-up to The Darkness.

Short-listed for the Crime Novel of the Year Award in Iceland
Third Place, Novel of the Year Award 2016 in Iceland, selected by booksellers
One of the best-selling novels in Iceland in 2016

Autumn of 1987 takes a young couple on a romantic trip in the Westfjords holiday - a trip that gets an unexpected ending and has catastrophic consequences.

Ten years later a small group of friends go for a weekend in an old hunting lodge in Elliðaey. A place completely cut off from the outside world, to reconnect. But one of them isn't going to make it out alive. And Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is determined to find the truth in the darkness.

Ragnar Jonasson burst onto the American scene with Snowblind and Nightblind, the first two novels in the Ari Thor thriller series, and the praise was overwhelming. With The Darkness, he launched a new series featuring a completely new sleuth, Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Reykjavik police department. The Island is the second audiobook in this series.

©2016; 2019 Text copyright Ragnar Jonasson; Translation copyright Victoria Cribb (P)2019 Penguin Books Ltd.

HATED IT!

I bought in in hopes of learning SOMETHING about the ending of the first book. NOPE. Learned about how she solved a 20 y/o case. probably not a good idea to kill off the main character in the first book of the series. Sorry about the spoiler but don't want another avid reader to be sucked in and end up totally frustrated.

Confused

I concur with Tara’s review: why was the protagonist killed in the first book of the series, only to be well and alive in the second? I found the first book to be confusing and disappointing — the second even more so. The author shows promise, but not really good, yet.

Beautiful setting

Way too many plot-holes. It's a wonderful place to stage a mystery though, and I gave it as much room as I could. The narrator does a good job.

Outstanding

This is one of the best, most uniquely well written mysteries I’ve ever read.
Each and every character is so well developed it’s as if you can see them standing in front of you.
Only Ragnar Jónasson has perfected the art of combining atmospheric mystery/police procedural/hints of the paranormal in this clever and brutal way.
This trilogy is utterly perfect.
The writing is further enhanced by the incredible Amanda Redman, who manages to portray a twenty something Icelandic girl, or a seventy something southern American man with equal precision.
This is a wonderful, creepy, interesting, and beautifully written book.
Best series in my library, hands down…

5

Hands down a fascinating police
procedural. A death ruled murder
and our lead detective starts talking everyone. She holds so many leads in her head I felt like I was watching a Master bridge player
clean the board and win. This is a quiet, tight, intelligent, no frills mystery
with a really good cop sorting
everything out. No blood and guts, car chases, gun battles.

Noir

Definitely noir, but not gory . Interesting read that focuses on both good & not so good qualities of people. I do not recommend this book for anyone still grieving a loss; i believe it could cause a setback in your grief. It is a great book for someone who enjoys noir. Not sure what percentage of people living with such dark winters, but a.
amongg the books I've read,, many are somewhat dark.
I could not tolerate th.e grey winters in the northeastl & left for sunnier climes. I prefer to read about it.

Great Rad

I had finished all of Ellie Griffiths' books and was searching for another author I'd like as well as I liked her. I found him. Ragnar Jonasson is an exceptional writer. I've read "The Darkness" and "The Island," and both are excellent.

Lovely Icelanic Descriptions

The highpoint of The Island is the detailed descriptions of Iceland. For this alone I would recommend reading it. The murder mystery was interesting, but any mystery fan will be disappointed by the complete lack and logic of a forensically supported police investigation. This is where the story, although engaging, falls apart. Read it for the information about life in Iceland. If you are looking for a true murder mystery, you will be disappointed.

Good Mystery

Exceptionally good plot twists. Great first book Ina series. Looking forward to listening to book 2

Great read

Loved it exciting storyline and the reader was clear and had great emotion with her words. highly recommend