Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...
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The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

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The Icelandic crime writers does not disappoint. I have read another book by Ragnar Jónasson, Rupture, but The Darkness is a different kind of story. They are both set against the wild landscape of Iceland and it gives a certain atmosphere to the stories. In a way, I guess, both books are similarly built up, although totally different. Rupture is set against and old story, cold case, that pops up out of the blue, and there is a dramatic family story to it. The Darkness is slightly different.

Huld Hermannsdóttir is about to retire. She feels she has been neglected by her boss and colleagues and not taken seriously. When the boss tells her she should go earlier due to the arrival of a younger colleague, she becomes devastated. She already has problem coming to terms with retirement. The boss tells her to hand over her cases and maybe look into a cold case for her remaining weeks in the office.

This leads her to the death of a Russian immigrant girl a year earlier. Reported as a suicide she rather quickly realises that it was murder. We follow Hulda on her last quest to solve a murder case. Simultaneously, we get a hint of her own sad background. As often is the case with criminal investigators these days, Hulda is depressed, lonely and does not seem to be able to enjoy life. Hulda little by little finds more evidence of a murder, and as she venture further into the deserted areas of Iceland, something unexpectedly happens. The ending is one big surprise.

I love the Icelandic crime noir and Jónasson is certainly there among the best authors. Although I enjoyed both books, I probably liked Rupture more, due to the old story coming up to the surface. But, again, that is me, love these kind of things. This is the first book in the series of Hulda Hermannsdóttir.

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