07 February 2021

Books in January 2021

New Year, new challenge.

So, 2021 is upon us and I've set myself the same reading challenge as last year; a book a week, be it a novel, non-fiction or roleplaying. So far, I'm ahead, but it was hard going at first.

The sixth and final part of the series.

I've only read one novel this month, "Winterkill" by Ragnar Jonasson. This is a satisfying return to the 'Dark Iceland' Icelandic detective series. The story is set over an Easter weekend when Ari Thór, now the Police Inspector in charge of Siglufjörður, is planning to spend time with his estranged partner and their son when then come back from Denmark for the weekend. As the weekend approaches, a young girl is found dead, apparently having killed herself after jumping off a second storey balcony. Ari starts to investigate but some aspects of the death don't make sense. We have the juxtaposition of an incoming storm, a deepening investigation and the complications of his domestic situation, all over a long weekend. The plot comes to a satisfying conclusion. Don't expect hard edged Scandi-Noir with this; this is a more subtle, darker tale of people's secrets in a small town. It would be possible for the author to continue the series after this, but he has no intention of doing so. 

I spent most of the rest of the month working through Marina J Lossetter's 'Noumenon Ultra', also the final part of a series, but you'll have to wait until next month to find out what I thought of that.

7 February 2021

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