Author Ragnar Jónasson has signed a two book contract with Michael
Joseph at Penguin Random House UK. Orenda also a UK based publishing
house, published Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series but MJ acquired UK and
Commonwealth rights, including audio, to two new crime novels;
The Darkness (Dimma) and
The Island (Drungi). According to The Bookseller’s report, the new series revolves around female detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir, who in
The Darkness is called to investigate when the body of a young Russian asylum seeker is found and the second book;
The Island deals
with the investigation of two murders, 10 years apart. “The series is
set across a variety of Icelandic landscapes, in Reykjavik, the
Icelandic highlands, in an isolated fjord and on one of Iceland’s
islands.” according to the report. “Ragnar Jónasson has fast become one of the most respected authors of
the crime genre and is one of the most talented. In this new series he
promises even more. Hulda is a fantastic creation, a memorable, complex
and emotionally engaging character, and one we are sure readers in the
UK and beyond will want to follow for many books to come.” according to
MJ publishing director, Maxine Hitchcock. Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavik where he works as a writer and a
lawyer. He also teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University, has
previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV-news
reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service and has
translated 14 of Agatha Christie’s novels into Icelandic. He is the
co-founder of the Iceland Noir festival which takes place in Iceland in
November and recently set up the first overseas chapter of the CWA, in
Reykjavik.
IceNews Ragnar Jónasson
