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Ragnar Jónasson Books in Order

Browse Ragnar Jónasson's crime novels in order with quick summaries, background on his Icelandic series, and simple guidance on the best books to start with.

Last updated: July 20, 2026

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Ragnar Jónasson books in publication order

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18 books

Snowblind

by Ragnar Jónasson

2010

In the isolated fishing town of Siglufjörður, rookie policeman Ari Thór takes his first posting far from Reykjavík and his girlfriend. When a famous writer dies after a fall and a young woman is left bleeding in the snow, he must solve the case as an avalanche seals the town.

Blackout

by Ragnar Jónasson

2011

During an ash-darkened summer on Iceland’s north coast, a construction worker is found bludgeoned near a fjord. Ari Thór and his team investigate alongside ambitious journalist Ísrún, exposing tangled secrets that link the quiet town to Reykjavík.

Rupture

by Ragnar Jónasson

2012

Decades after a young woman dies in mysterious circumstances at an isolated farm in Hedinsfjörður, a forgotten photograph surfaces. As Siglufjörður sits under quarantine, Ari Thór and reporter Ísrún reopen the old case and uncover fresh danger in the present.

Whiteout

by Ragnar Jónasson

2013

Two days before Christmas, a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of near-deserted Kálfshamarsvík. Ari Thór and former boss Tómas are drawn into a family’s dark history when they learn her mother and sister died at the same spot years earlier.

Guilty Parties

by Martin Edwards & Ragnar Jónasson

2014

A Crime Writers’ Association anthology, Guilty Parties collects new crime stories from a wide range of member authors. Ragnar Jónasson contributes “Party of Two,” alongside tales by Martin Edwards, Peter Lovesey, Kate Rhodes, and other mystery writers.

Nightblind

by Ragnar Jónasson

2014

Years after first arriving in Siglufjörður, Ari Thór is settled with his family when his new inspector is shot at close range in an abandoned house. Working with returning mentor Tómas, he must untangle local politics and old grudges to find the attacker.

The Darkness

by Ragnar Jónasson

2015

Forced into early retirement, sixty-four-year-old detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir is given one last cold case. She chooses a young Russian asylum seeker found dead on a remote shore, and soon uncovers other vanished women and a truth her own colleagues would rather ignore.

The Island

by Ragnar Jónasson

2016

A decade earlier in Hulda’s career, four friends reunite on isolated Elliðaey island off Iceland’s coast; by the weekend’s end, one has fallen from the cliffs. Hulda’s investigation exposes long-held secrets and echoes an unsolved murder in the distant Westfjords.

CWA Anthology of Short Stories

by Martin Edwards, Ragnar Jónasson & Vaseem Khan

2017

This Crime Writers' Association anthology gathers short mysteries from authors around the world, including a story by Vaseem Khan. The collection ranges from holiday crimes to dark journeys abroad, offering quick, varied slices of suspense in one volume.

The Mist

by Ragnar Jónasson

2017

In 1987, a desperate stranger knocks on the door of an isolated farmhouse during a brutal snowstorm. The couple who let him in soon face a night of mounting dread, and years later Hulda must piece together what really happened in the blizzard.

Winterkill

by Ragnar Jónasson

2020

Over Easter weekend, tourists flood snowy Siglufjörður as nineteen-year-old Unnur falls from a balcony onto the main street. With a blizzard cutting power and roads, Ari Thór probes her quiet life and a disturbing message from a nursing-home patient who insists she was murdered.

The Girl Who Died

by Ragnar Jónasson

2021

Una, a struggling substitute teacher in Reykjavík, accepts a winter post in the tiny village of Skálar, population ten. Alone in a creaking attic room and hearing a child’s ghostly singing, she’s drawn into the community’s secrets after a sudden death shakes the town.

Outside

by Ragnar Jónasson

2022

Four old friends reunite for a hunting trip in Iceland’s highlands, only to be caught in a whiteout and forced into an emergency hut. Inside they find a silent stranger with a shotgun, and as the night wears on, buried resentments and deadly choices surface.

Reykjavík

by Ragnar Jónasson & Katrín Jakobsdóttir

2023

In the 1950s, teenage maid Lára disappears from the only house on the small island of Viðey, just off Reykjavík, and the mystery becomes Iceland’s most famous cold case. Thirty years later, journalist Valur Róbertsson reopens the file, uncovering buried scandals in the capital’s corridors of power.

Death at the Sanatorium

by Ragnar Jónasson

2024

At a former tuberculosis sanatorium in northern Iceland in 1983, a nurse is murdered and the chief doctor soon dies in a suspicious fall. Nearly thirty years later, young criminologist Helgi Reykdal revisits the case for his thesis and new police job, discovering lies among the surviving staff.

Birds, Strangers and Psychos

by Maxim Jakubowski, Lee Child, M. W. Craven, Sophie Hannah, Ragnar Jónasson, Vaseem Khan, A. K. Benedict, Guy Adams, Peter Lovesey, Kim Newman, Nadine Matheson, James Grady, David Thomson, Jerome Charyn, Anne Billson & Denise Mina

2025

Edited by Maxim Jakubowski, this anthology assembles twenty-four original crime and suspense stories inspired by Alfred Hitchcock. Established and emerging writers reinterpret the moods, twists, and memorable premises associated with films such as Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and The Birds.

Book cover for "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer" by Ragnar Jónasson

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer

by Ragnar Jónasson

2025

When bestselling Icelandic crime writer Elín S. Jónsdóttir vanishes, young detective Helgi investigates before the disappearance reaches the press. Interviews with those closest to her reveal a past more enigmatic than the fiction that made her famous.

New

The Body in the Bath

by Ragnar Jónasson

2026

Grieving the death of his girlfriend, Reykjavík detective Helgi Reykdal returns to work and investigates the disappearance of his predecessor, Hulda. When Helgi’s former girlfriend is found dead in her bath, he becomes the chief suspect and must clear his name.

Where to start with Ragnar Jónasson

If you want to start with Ari Thór in Siglufjörður: SnowblindNightblind
If you like complex, character-driven investigations: The DarknessThe IslandThe Mist
If you prefer eerie standalone stories: The Girl Who DiedOutside
If you want his latest puzzle-style mysteries: ReykjavíkDeath at the Sanatorium

Dark Iceland books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Snowblind"

    Snowblind

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2010Dark Iceland, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Blackout"

    Blackout

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2011Dark Iceland, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Rupture"

    Rupture

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2012Dark Iceland, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Whiteout"

    Whiteout

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2013Dark Iceland, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Nightblind"

    Nightblind

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2014Dark Iceland, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Winterkill"

    Winterkill

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2020Dark Iceland, Book 6

Dark Iceland books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Snowblind"

    Snowblind

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2010Dark Iceland, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Blackout"

    Blackout

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2011Dark Iceland, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Rupture"

    Rupture

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2012Dark Iceland, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Whiteout"

    Whiteout

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2013Dark Iceland, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Nightblind"

    Nightblind

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2014Dark Iceland, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Winterkill"

    Winterkill

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2020Dark Iceland, Book 6

Helgi books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Death at the Sanatorium"

    Death at the Sanatorium

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2024Helgi, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer"

    The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2025
  3. Book cover for "The Body in the Bath"

    The Body in the Bath

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2026

Helgi books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Death at the Sanatorium"

    Death at the Sanatorium

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2024Helgi, Book 1

Hidden Iceland books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "The Darkness"

    The Darkness

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2015Hidden Iceland, Book 3
  2. Book cover for "The Island"

    The Island

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2016Hidden Iceland, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Mist"

    The Mist

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2017Hidden Iceland, Book 1

Hidden Iceland books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The Mist"

    The Mist

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2017Hidden Iceland, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Island"

    The Island

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2016Hidden Iceland, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Darkness"

    The Darkness

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2015Hidden Iceland, Book 3

Ragnar Jónasson collections, short stories, and related book types

Anthologies

  1. Book cover for "Guilty Parties"

    Guilty Parties

    by Martin Edwards & Ragnar Jónasson

    2014
  2. Book cover for "CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour"

    CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour

    by Martin Edwards, Ragnar Jónasson & Vaseem Khan

    2017Mystery Tour
  3. Book cover for "Birds, Strangers and Psychos"

    Birds, Strangers and Psychos

    by Maxim Jakubowski, Lee Child, M. W. Craven, Sophie Hannah, Ragnar Jónasson, Vaseem Khan, A. K. Benedict, Guy Adams, Peter Lovesey, Kim Newman, Nadine Matheson, James Grady, David Thomson, Jerome Charyn, Anne Billson & Denise Mina

    2025

Standalone Ragnar Jónasson books

  1. Book cover for "CWA Anthology of Short Stories"

    CWA Anthology of Short Stories

    by Martin Edwards, Ragnar Jónasson & Vaseem Khan

    2017Mystery Tour
  2. Book cover for "The Girl Who Died"

    The Girl Who Died

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2021
  3. Book cover for "Outside"

    Outside

    by Ragnar Jónasson

    2022
  4. Book cover for "Reykjavík"

    Reykjavík

    by Ragnar Jónasson & Katrín Jakobsdóttir

    2023

Author bio

Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavík in 1976 and grew up in the capital, surrounded by stories and the dark winters that would later shape his crime fiction.

He studied law, worked for the National Broadcasting Service on radio and TV news, and went on to practice as a lawyer while teaching copyright law at Reykjavík University.

For years he balanced courtrooms, lecture halls and late‑night writing sessions.

At seventeen he began translating Agatha Christie’s novels into Icelandic, eventually completing fourteen of them; those tight puzzles and small, closed communities strongly influenced how he thinks about crime stories.

His breakout Dark Iceland novels grew from long summers spent visiting grandparents in Siglufjörður, the remote northern fishing town that became the snowbound stage for Ari Thór Arason’s investigations in Snowblind and the later books.

Across that series and the later Hidden Iceland trilogy, he leans into isolation, shifting weather and quiet everyday pressures rather than high‑tech gadgets or nonstop action, grounding each mystery in recognisable work, family and community life.

The Hidden Iceland books introduce Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir, an older Reykjavík investigator whose story is told in reverse, starting with The Darkness and moving back through The Island and The Mist to explore how her past shapes her cases.

More recently he has written standalones such as The Girl Who Died and Outside, the cold‑case novel Reykjavík co‑written with Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and a new Helgi Reykdal series that links back to Hulda’s world through books like Death at the Sanatorium.

His work now reaches readers in dozens of languages and has moved to the screen, from a television adaptation of The Darkness to a planned film adaptation of Outside backed by a major international production team.

Alongside writing, he helped found the Reykjavík crime festival Iceland Noir, set up an overseas chapter of the Crime Writers’ Association, and has stayed closely involved in the wider crime‑writing community.

He still lives in Reykjavík with his family, dividing his time between corporate law, teaching copyright, festival work and the next mystery on his desk.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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