CLOSED FOR WINTER was exactly the kind of read I hoped it would be. When I picked up this book, I was in a bit of a reading slump, looking for a slow-burning Scandinavian crime novel to pull me out of it. This book absolutely did the trick! CLOSED FOR WINTER is detailed and immersive, making great use of the author’s personal experience to craft a true-to-life and methodical police procedural.

Ragnar Jonasson’s BLACKOUT is arguably the perfect crime novel. I have loved the previous books in Jonasson’s Dark Iceland series, but BLACKOUT took my obsession to a new level. This story perfectly balances murder mystery with character development and present-day plotlines with flashbacks, and delivers a read that’s emotional, intriguing, and impossible to put down. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: one of my favorite moments as a reader is when you pick up a book by an author who is totally new to you, and you feel instantly at home in its world. I read BURNED on my flight from Iceland back to New York, and was completely absorbed in this fast-paced read.