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"Nightblind" by Ragnar Jonasson



I gave Nightblind two stars on Good Reads -- I originally gave it three, but while writing this I realized shouldn't have graded on a curve.  The mystery was almost nonexistent.  There wasn’t a real investigation. And the part of the book that was probably meant to be Very Important (whole chapters set in italic!) is boring. I don't understand the 4- and 5-star reviews the book has gotten.

Our policeman protagonist – Ari Thor -- suffers from the flu through the first half of the book, making him sluggish and whiny. Then he figures out who the murder is through a chance remark. And we’re done! (The book is only 200 pages – short for this type of novel.) Between the flu and the murderer’s confession, we get odd side stories about drugs, partners considering leaving other partners, those italic pages, and Ari Thor wondering if he’s ever going to get a promotion. Many people read police procedurals because we like the detective, but Ari Thor isn't even likable in this book. I don't know why it was published, let alone written.

Icelanders and others who aren't reading this book after Snowblind might feel differently, though. Nightblind is listed as book No. 2 in the Dark Iceland series. There’s an author’s note that explains it takes place five years after Snowblind, book No. 1 in the series (I liked that one). The next book to be published will be Blackout, which takes place right after Snowblind. And then there will be two more books that will link Snowblind to Nightblind. So the publishing order in Iceland (and maybe other parts of Europe) was different, but it seems a shame to follow up Snowblind here in the States with such a nothing of a book.

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