It's 2008 and the Icelandic economy is imploding, so Ari Thór Arason is thrilled to be offered a police job straight out of the academy. His girlfriend is not so excited to learn that the job is in Siglufjörður, a remote northern fishing village closer to the Arctic Circle than to Reykjavik, and so she stays behind.
Siglufjörður is surrounded by fjords, and the only road access is through a narrow tunnel. This seems charming at first, but quickly gives the already lonely Ari a mounting sense of claustrophobia. Then, in quick succession, a retired, famous author is found dead at the bottom of the local theater's staircase, apparently the victim of an unfortunate stumble, and a woman is found lying in the snow, half-naked, bleeding and barely alive.
As an avalanche blocks the road, Ari becomes convinced that the two incidents might be related, and that the elderly writer's fall was no accident. But small-town prejudices are playing against Ari the newcomer, and he must race to catch a killer before the road reopens. His suspect pool is small, but they seem to be protecting each other.
A blend of Agatha Christie's classic crime stories and Arnaldur Indridason's Icelandic thrillers, Snowblind aptly depicts Ari's tension and terror as he grows ever more isolated. Perfectly capturing the pressures of rural life and the freezing, deadly Icelandic winter, Snowblind will keep readers on the edge of their seats--preferably snuggled beneath a warm blanket. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm