Death at the Sanatorium

Author: Ragnar Jónasson
Genre: Nordic Noir, Thriller, Crime Fiction
320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books
Translator: Victoria Cribb

Synopsis
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 suspects: 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.

My review
Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson was a fast-paced and somewhat engaging read for me. Jónasson skillfully navigated between characters and timelines and it was extremely easy to follow. The storyline built nicely but I thought the frequent references to the main character’s interest in classic detective fiction and whodunnits throughout was a little overdone. Despite its early promise, I felt the story was a bit flat and didn’t quite deliver the unexpected twists and turns or red herrings I typically expect in an exciting thriller.

Jónasson is a solid storyteller and he successfully created the eerie atmosphere of a small town in Northern Iceland. Where this story fell short for me was creating any tension, mystery, or puzzle-solving, and I found the characters to be flat and mostly unlikable. Helgi, the protagonist, was interesting and had potential to become a compelling character but there was something missing and I couldn’t get emotionally invested in his story arc or personal struggles. While the novel moved at a steady pace, it lacked a sense of urgency, and I felt more like an observer of the story as it unfolded rather than being fully drawn in. Additionally, some of the dialogue felt stiff and formal, which might be due to the translation rather than Jónasson’s writing.

Overall, Death at the Sanatorium is a fast-paced, easy read. Unfortunately, it lacked the complexity and tension I usually expect in Nordic Noir and crime thrillers, and I finished the story feeling like it simply ended without any urgency or surprises.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books, and Ragnar Jónasson for an advance copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

My recommendation: skip it. Ragnar Jónasson has other novels that are more thrilling!