Death on the Island

 

Death on the Island by Eliza Reid (2025), 336 pages

I really wanted to like this book. I read Kara's review and thought, "I like Nordic Noir - I'll give it a read." Unfortunately, I found it to be on the level Murder She Wrote. This is not an insult as I like Murder She Wrote, but the TV show level writing is perfect for MSW, not for Death on the Island. I kept hearing Jessica Fletcher's voice every time the protagonist, Jane, spoke. The supporting cast felt like that - a supporting cast. It was so hard to connect with anyone as all the characters seemed performative and caricatures of various tropes. There are so many great Nordic Noir's out there, I suggest reading one of them. 

Death on the Island

Death on the Island by Eliza Reid, 336 pages

When a group of international luminaries gathers at a fancy restaurant on a tiny island off the coast of Iceland, they're expecting good food, experimental drinks, and politically charged conversation where everyone is angling for support of their specific cause. However, they also get a murder, as one of their number doesn't survive the post-dinner drinks. Trapped on the island by bad weather, the ambassador's wife sets out to catch the killer with the help of a couple other diners.

This book melds the locked-room vibes of Agatha Christie with the atmosphere of Nordic noir, and for the most part, it works. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that the end didn't really work for me. If you pick it up and want to chat though, I'm here and ready to talk. :)

A Haunting in the Arctic

A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke, 340 pages

A shipwreck on the northern coast of Iceland since a horrific incident in the 1970s, the Ormen is scheduled to be demolished soon. Travel Tiktoker Dominique has decided to make a midwinter trek to document the former whaling ship-turned-research vessel's history and last days. Not long after she arrives, three more influencers do too with the same idea, though none of them seem to be seeing or hearing any of the supernatural things Dominique does. Interspersed with Dominique's story is the tale of Nicky, the daughter of a whaling tycoon who wakes up aboard the Ormen in 1901, trapped on a boat full of men that only want one thing from her...

This book swings between horrific and eerie, depending on whose story is being told. It's chilling (literally — it's the Arctic, it's right there in the title — though there are definitely a few questionable elements as the twists at the end are revealed. Not a bad book to read, though I much prefer Cooke's The Lighthouse Witches.

The Night Guest

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, 194 pages

In this short Icelandic horror novel, Iðunn wakes up every morning more exhausted than she was when she went to bed. Several trips to various doctors show that nothing's wrong, though that certainly isn't stopping her exhaustion. Then she starts discovering mud on her feet and mysterious bruises...and the neighborhood cats keep going missing...

This is a quick, propulsive read that took me only a couple hours to zoom through. It's unsettling, and unclear, and while the ending was a bit more confusing than I'm used to, I have a feeling it's appropriate for Icelandic horror. Worth a read, if you have a free afternoon.

Jar City

 

Jar City: A Reyjavik Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason 278 pp.

Inspector Erlandur Sveinsson and his team investigate the murder of a man in his home. The more they dig into the man's history in hope of a clue to the murderer, the more awful things they learn about the victim. The least of the awful things is his history as a rapist and the consequences of those rapes on his victims. In addition to the murder investigation, Erlandur is unofficially investigating a runaway bride who happens to be known by his daughter. There's a lot of sordid stuff in this well written mystery. I've read a couple others by this author and will seek out more.

Silence of the Grave

Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indriðason, translated from Icelandic by Bernard Scudder 293 pp.

This is the second book in the Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson mystery series. A skeleton is discovered at a construction site in a remote area outside Reykjavik, where there was once a WWII military base. Because nothing is known about the body it is being treated as both a crime scene and a possible archaeological find. As the body is slowly unearthed by the archaeology crew, Erlendur and his staff begin investigating the possible crime. The story flashes back to the past with the stories of an abused wife and the missing fiancé of a local resident. The investigation is hampered by the slowness of digging out the skeleton which prevents them from knowing if it is of a man or woman. Meanwhile Erlendur's once estranged, drug addicted daughter is in a coma after losing the baby she was carrying. He splits his time between the investigation and hours sitting at the hospital. This is one of those stories where you think you have solved it, then you don't, then you think you were right previously, but then you change your mind . . . . I've read one other in this series and plan to read more.

The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning

The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning by Hallgrimur Helgason, 256 pp.

No, this is not a companion piece to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It is the tale of a hitman from Croatia with the nickname "Toxic". He is a professional with 66 successful hits to his, um...credit. When he accidentally kills the wrong man he is forced to flee the U.S. and murders a clergyman in an airport restroom to assume his identity and tickets to Iceland, not realizing the clergyman is a t.v. evangelist due to appear on Icelandic television. In Iceland he stays with a married couple who run a religious television network but when his identity is discovered ends up being tracked by the police and the mobsters who want him dead for the bad hit. During all this he realizes it's time to "retire" from the hired killer business and tries to begin a new life with the daughter of the the evangelist couple. Convoluted but entertaining. The Icelandic author chose to write this novel in English rather than his native tongue and have it translated. The latter method might have improved the flow and the dialogue.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy / Margot Livesey 447 p.

I don't have a lot to add to Linda's post on this novel. I agree with her that the story would almost have worked better as a stand-alone, rather than a re-working of Jane Eyre. (Although it wouldn't have gotten as much press, I bet.) On the one hand, Gemma is more accessible and less masochistic than Jane, which comment I know may upset some Jane Eyre fans at UCPL. On the other, modernizing Rochester into Mr. Sinclair and giving him a believable 20th century secret rather than a madwoman in the attic sort of deflates him. Gemma's story as an individual is great: her search for her parents' history in Iceland, her boarding school experiences, and her love of nature are novel-worthy in their own right.