Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir

I did not discover the work of Icelandic writer Ragnar Jónasson until the spring of 2019, and since then have read all his mystery novels, including this fall, the most recent, Reykjavík.

A number of books published this fall were written during the pandemic when everyone lived a life of isolation. For Ragnar Jónasson it was the opportunity to have some fun with a new novel. Having had lunch with a friend in early 2020 and discussing “our mutual interest in crime fiction” the pair embarked on a story about the disappearance of a young girl on the island of Videy, most of which is set in the 1980s when both friends were pre-teens. Ragnar Jónasson has a well won reputation as one of Iceland’s best and most well-known writers of mystery novels. His partner in this project “holds a master’s degree in Icelandic literature and is now the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir”.

We begin in the summer of 1956 on the island of Videy, not far offshore from Reykjavík. A husband and wife are the summer residents of the otherwise uninhabited island. Though the Danish Colonial mansion still stands, along with a church, the village on the tiny island has been abandoned since the Second World War.

Lara Marteinsdóttir is a 15-year-old girl, employed as summer help by the couple. She has been on the island since May, and now in early August she has disappeared. Her employers claim that Lara, much to their annoyance, gave notice and left the island, taking all her belongings. Her parents, who she spoke with each week, had no idea that Lara had left her job, and only became concerned when she did not make her weekly phone call.

There is a search, no body is found, nor any trace of Lara or her suitcase. The following days and weeks and months in 1956 reveal nothing more. The investigation is at a dead end. Kristján Kristjánsson, the policeman in charge, is convinced that Lara will be found alive. The case never leaves his mind.

The decades pass until we reach 1986 and, as has sometimes happened in the previous three decades, a reporter decide to write yet another article on this case that has long fascinated all Icelanders. Valur Róbertsson in fact thinks with enough research into the past investigations and fresh interviews with all involved he may be able to discover the truth of the disappearance of Lara.You will find out if he is correct!

The novel is dedicated to Agatha Christie, a master of the red herring and far too many suspects, and just as good a read! She would have enjoyed reading this novel – and so will you.