Agatha’s Ghosts

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer

A mystery
By Ragnar Jónasson
Translated by Victoria Cribb
Minotaur Books, 2025

Another year, another mystery from Ragnar. I’ve read several, they are all pretty digestible. You won’t find much poetry in them, but you will usually be rewarded with tightly plotted novels in the Agatha Christie vein. Ragnar is a popular author and he knows how to deliver to his audience. He also knows his classic mystery writers and even has a little meta fun with his own career in the book.

Set in November, 2012, Elín Jónsdóttir, a successful Icelandic crime fiction (author who had retired in the 1990s), has been missing for several days but there is no sign of foul play. Helgi Reykdal, a young detective on leave to pursue graduate work in Akureyrí, is called back to Reykjavík by his boss to conduct an informal investigation as the case as it doesn’t yet require a full police inquiry.

Parallel timelines in 1965, 1976, and 2005 are developed, slowly revealing that the missing author led a more more complex life that it seemed. Helgi’s vengeful ex, Bergthóra, also shows up, further muddling the waters.

There is a fair amount of local color; if you are familiar with central Reykjavík it will add some realistic depth to the book. It's one of the better titles by Ragnar, I enjoyed it for what it was. Victoria Cribb’s translation is, as usual, flawless.

Recommended.

Death on the Island

A novel
By Eliza Reid
Poisoned Pen Press, 2025

Yet another Icelandic mystery author! Eliza Reid is no stranger to FITK, in fact I have met with her IRL as well as a Zoom during the Iceland Writers Retreat in 2021.

This is yet another murder mystery in an Agatha Christie vein, even down to the central event taking place at a dinner party with nine suspects (professional people, politicians, spouses) and the victim sharing a toast at a fancy restaurant in Heimæy, the volcanic island off the southern coast of Iceland. They are gathered here to celebrate the opening of an art exhibit by Hanna, a free spirit with ties to several of the characters. I found it helpful to write down the characters and their position at the table to keep the characters straight. There is a murder and a storm is raging (keeping anyone from escaping), and a young police detective tries to make sense of it all while the suspects suspect each other and do some sleuthing on their own.

This is a competent mystery, more of a construction than an work of literature, which I think is precisely the kind of book Agatha Christie fans desire, I wasn’t too impressed. Ragnar Jónasson does this better, but it is a good beginning. Recommended for fans of the genre, otherwise, no.