The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jonasson Book Review

About the Book:

One winter evening, bestselling crime author Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing.

There are no clues to her disappearance and it is up to young detective Helgi to crack the case before its leaked to the press.

As Helgi interviews the people closest to her―a publisher, an accountant, a retired judge―he realizes that Elín’s life wasn’t what it seemed. In fact, her past is even stranger than the fiction she wrote.

As the case of the missing crime writer becomes more mysterious by the hour, Helgi must uncover the secrets of the writer's very unexpected life.

My Review:

This novel got off to a bit of a rough start for me as the time jumped around as did the focus of the characters. In the end it came together and made sense, however. There are two murder mysteries Helgi is working on, the missing crime writer and the missing police detective he has replaced. He is also having relationship issues. That's much going on and I would have preferred a more focused plot.

Helgi's character is well developed, as there is much about his personal life included. The setting of Iceland was adequately described but the author could have done a better job immersing readers in the culture, landscape and weather as most readers will never visit the country. There were some serious twists near the end. The mystery of the crime writer was solved but little else. We are left with a cliff hanger for Helgi's personal life in the final scene.

I liked it mostly but will not be watching for another mystery from this author.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he works as a writer and a lawyer and teaches copyright law at Reykjavík University. He has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, and, from the age of seventeen, has translated fourteen of Agatha Christie's novels. He is an international Number One bestseller.

Minotaur Books, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)