Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson Narrator: Sam Woolf
Published by MacMillan Audio on September 10, 2024
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 6 hours, 41 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
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1983 At a former sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward, an old nurse, Yrsa, is found murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir and her boss, Sverrir, are sent to investigate her death. There, they discover five the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and the caretaker, who is arrested following false testimony from one of the nurses, but subsequently released. Less than a week after the murder, the chief physician, is also found dead, having apparently fallen from a balcony. Sverrir, rules his death as suicide and assumes that he was guilty of the murder as well. The case is closed.
2012 Almost thirty years later, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, has been studying criminology in the UK, but decides to return to Iceland when he is offered a job at the Reykjavik police department—the job which detective Hulda Hermannsdottir is about to retire from. He is also a collector of golden age detective stories, and is writing his thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. As Helgi delves deeper into the past, and starts his new job, he decides to try to meet with the original suspects. But soon he finds silence and suspicion at every turn, as he tries to finally solve the mystery from years before.
I haven’t read this author previously but wanted to read about Iceland plus I enjoy police procedurals. Death at the Sanatorium was interesting and not what I expected. I did read that this is sort of a spinoff from a television show The Darkness so maybe that is why some things seemed odd. It didn’t feel like there were a lot of things specific to Iceland.
The story alternates between 1983 when murder occurs at the sanatorium and 2012 when Helgi is finishing his dissertation on those murders and has an offer to join the CID as a detective. The primary perspectives we get are Helgi, the graduate student and Tina, a nurse who discovered the bodies.
Helgi was alright, if maybe a bit of a slacker but when he did decide to do something he was pretty skilled. I think it was more he was young and trying to decide what to do rather than being lazy. He had been a police intern so he knew the ropes. He didn’t really have official standing or protection of any kind as he talked to people though. There is also his personal life and disruptions with his partner. Again, while he didn’t decide quickly I think he did the right things.
Tina thought she was better than others, and told lies to get attention. She was ambitious and did work hard. I just wasn’t happy with the dishonesty. I didn’t like her at all.
The detective in charge of the initial case was relatively young, didn’t think the lodgings were up to his standards and wanted to get back to the bigger city. He didn’t do much of a job of solving the case or spend much time on it. Hulda, his partner, wanted to take more time and gather more evidence but he was in charge.
Now Hulda is retiring. Helgi plans to talk to her but they never actually meet which I found stupid. Helgi is actually taking over her position. Although the police don’t really support him, his investigation is solid and he solves what really happened. I also disliked the abrupt ending which left Helgi’s personal life in question.
So I enjoyed this while reading. The pace was a bit meandering, perhaps because Helgi was. But I thought he had good intentions and skills. I would have liked Hulda being a bit more a part of things, really in both timelines. I would have appreciated a few less loose ends.
Narration:
I have not listened to this narrator previously. I felt very comfortable with his performance, allowing me to stay in the story. The voices were clear and understandable even with different people and ways of speaking. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
Kudos to you for trying something different. Glad you enjoyed, Anne💜
I liked it but there were a few areas I wanted more developed or loos ends finished up. I’ll have to check if this relates to another book or check out the tv series.
I’m glad your new Icelandic try went well. The characters and situation sounds interesting.
I wish it had a little more but it was good.
Icelandic fiction feels very different to me, even though I haven’t read a lot of it. I’m glad you found some things to enjoy. I see this author’s name everywhere!
It felt rather European to me but I know it is Icelandic. The story was more focused on the people and the case than the setting .
I’d be annoyed with the dishonesty, too. Other than that, sounds like a nice start to a series. Maybe it’ll feel more Icelandish in the next one?
I hope it is the start of a series. We’ll see.
A meandering pace can be rough
yes, it can make it harder to keep reading or to put together the clues in a mystery.
The meandering might keep me from reading it. Not that I read a ton of procedurals like this anyway. Glad you enjoyed it, great review!
In the end I enjoyed the story but the pacing was a bit slow.