The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson Narrator: Cicely Whitehead, Jane Slavin, Rufus Wright
Series: Helgi Trilogy #2
Published by Macmillan Audio on September 9, 2025
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Mystery
Length: 5 hrs 54 mins
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook
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One winter evening bestselling crime author, Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing.
There are no clues to her disappearance and it is up to young detective, Helgi, to crack the case before it's leaked to the press.
As he interviews the people closest to her – a publisher, an accountant, a retired judge – he realises that Elín’s life wasn’t what it seemed. In fact, her past is even stranger than her stories.
As the case of the missing crime writer becomes more mysterious by the hour, Helgi must uncover the secrets of a very unexpected life . . .
I have not read anything by Jónasson, including the first in this trilogy, which maybe was a mistake. We get enough background that I knew what was going on, but at least one subplot is carried over into this one and I might have been more invested in the characters.
Famous crime author Elín S. Jónsdóttir is missing and our Detective Helgi is assigned the case. Helgi is a fan of Golden Age mysteries and turns to them for inspiration occasionally, which I enjoyed. Helgi interviews those her friends, in the hopes of solving the case before the press find out and we get bits and pieces of an interview she gave in 2005 that has yet to be published. Maybe she’s just taking some time away, which she’s done before. The book also shows us a bank robbery that took place in 1965 that probably has a connection to the disappearance because why else would it be introduced.
I didn’t really enjoy this one. I didn’t care about the mystery or Helgi. The ending was abrupt and while we do find out what happened to Elín, we’re left with a couple of cliffhangers, which always annoys me.
I listened to the audiobook which was a good choice. I’m not sure I would have finished it in print. The three narrators each handle their portion well and the sound effects like the click and hiss of tape recorder used in the 2005 interview were fun.
About Ragnar Jónasson
Ragnar Jonasson is the award winning Icelandic author of the international bestselling Hulda series, the Dark Iceland series, and standalone crime fiction, with five million copies sold across 36 territories. Ragnar was also an executive producer of the CBS Studios TV series “The Darkness”, based on the first novel in his Hulda series, starring Lena Olin and directed by Lasse Hallström. His novel “Outside” is being developed for the screen by Ridley Scott.
The Times selected The Darkness as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945, and Snowblind has been selected as one of Top 100 Crime Fiction of all time.
His books have been on bestseller lists across Europe and the USA, and won multiple prizes. He has also won a special jury recognition for his poetry in Iceland.
Ragnar has furthermore translated fourteen of Agatha Christie’s novels into Icelandic, starting at the age of 17.
Ragnar has a law degree and teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University. He also serves as a board member of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and as the Deputy Chair of the Writers’ Union of Iceland. Ragnar is the co-founder and co-chair of the literary festival Iceland Noir, held annually in Reykjavik.
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