One of Washington Post's "New Mystery Novels to Curl Up With This Fall"
One of Book Riot's "New Mystery, Thrillers, & True Crime for September 2025"

"Cleverly plotted, slyly humorous, and bursting with love for the golden age of detective fiction, this outperforms even its outstanding predecessor."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"A lightning-fast read for fans willing to keep turning the pages till the crucial clues drop."--Kirkus Reviews

"Flashbacks are effectively used as a creative way to tell the backstory of the missing novelist. This Golden Age-style mystery is a definite departure from Jónasson's 'Dark Iceland' series, which was set in an atmospheric small town in Iceland."--Library Journal

"This follow-up to Death at the Sanitarium (2024) is utterly compelling, blending meta classic mystery tropes with darker psychological thriller elements as Helgi is stalked by his violent ex-partner. Fans of Jónasson's Dark Iceland and Hidden Iceland series will appreciate the storytelling centered around Helgi, who links the three series together."--Booklist

"Jónasson, whose novels have sold 3 million books worldwide, writes in his native Icelandic, and as usual, Victoria Cribb has done a fine job of translating his crisp, vivid style."--Associated Press

"Exhilarating and gripping; fans of Agatha Christie and Nordic Noir will find much to enjoy here."--firstCLUE

"A sophisticated new mystery from the land of fire, ice and noir luminaries . . . Ragnar Jónasson is a young Icelandic writer of crime fiction who has proved an agile talent with unimpeachable tenacity to join the great luminaries in the history of Icelandic writers."--Durango Telegraph

"Original, exceptional, clever, compelling, and a fun read for mystery buffs from cover to cover . . . an extraordinary and deftly crafted detective novel that is an unreservedly recommended pick for community library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense collections."--Midwest Book Review

"This book is gorgeously written with all the elements one expects from a superior puzzler. If you like this one, you'll want to read all of Jonasson's earlier books."--The Globe and Mail

"Outstanding . . . Jónasson's adroit follow-up to Death at the Sanatorium cleverly mixes a solid police procedural with a valentine to 1930s and '40s mysteries."--Shelf Awareness