THE CASE OF THE MISSING CRIME WRITER - Ragnar Jónasson

Elín S. Jónsdóttir is a bestselling, popular crime fiction author. When no one hears from her for days she is reported missing and Detective Helgi Reykdal is assigned to the case. But Helgi is in for more than he bargained for as his investigation introduces him to a number of people who knew the reclusive woman.

During his time on the case, Helgi is going through some personal trials. He is trying to put an abusive relationship behind him (and he recognizes that it's unusual for the man to be the victim in an abusive relationship) while looking ahead to a potentially new relationship.

While I have a fondness for Nordic mysteries and 'Nordic Noir' fiction I've come to realize that I'm just not a big fan of Ragnar Jónasson. This is my third time reader a Jónasson book and the third time I was left just slightly unsatisfied.

The book jumps around and it took a lot of effort to focus and to follow along. And that doesn't always pay off. We expect the two stories will tie together, that one will be important to the other in some way, or that at the very least this revealed information about Helgi's personal life will come into play, but the connections are tenuous at best.

Helgi's interviews with people, to try to get background on the missing writer, are interesting, but it does become too much of the same thing.

The personal story of Helgi's being in an abusive relationship is by far the more interesting story. The interest is on multiple levels: the idea that it's the male being abused but also the fact that it's someone in the police service who's in the abusive relationship. Police are human and can suffer the same afflictions as any other human. We often forget this, thinking "they should know better."

While both stories are interesting, this just didn't hold my attention. In a case like this, I often wonder if it's the author's story, or the translation that falls flat. 

I've given Ragnar Jónasson a pretty decent shot now and all three books have been really average reads. This is the sort of book that, if I were renting a cabin or AirBnB for a week and needed something to read and this was on the shelf, I'd happily pick it up. But this is not the sort of book I'll be looking forward to reading.

Looking for a good book? The Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson has two interesting stories running side by side, but the book is too slow moving to keep me engaged.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The Case of the Missing Crime Writer

author: Ragnar Jónasson

publisher: Minotaur

ISBN: 9781250408266

hardcover, 320 pages

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