Blackout (26 page)
Authors: Ragnar Jónasson
Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavík, and currently works as a lawyer, while teaching copyright law at the Reykjavík University Law School. In the past, he’s worked in TV and radio, including as a news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. Before embarking on a writing career, Ragnar translated fourteen Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, and has had several short stories published in German, English and Icelandic literary magazines. Ragnar set up the first overseas chapter of the CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) in Reykjavík, and is co-founder of the international crime-writing festival Iceland Noir, selected by the
Guardian
as one of the ‘best crime-writing festivals around the world’. Ragnar Jónasson has written five novels in the Dark Iceland series, which has been optioned for TV by On the Corner. He lives in Reykjavík with his wife and two daughters. Ragnar’s debut thriller
Snowblind
became an almost instant bestseller when it was published in June 2015, with
Nightblind
following soon after.
Rupture
will be published by Orenda Books in 2017.
Visit him at
www.ragnarjonasson.com
or on Twitter @ragnarjo
Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language, a new profession as a seaman, and a family before decamping
en masse
for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, net-maker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism largely by accident. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (
Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort
and
Thin Ice
), which have been published worldwide. He’s currently working on translating the next title in Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series:
Rupture
.
Visit him at
www.graskeggur.com
or on Twitter @graskeggur
Orenda Books
16 Carson Road
West Dulwich
London SE21 8HU
www.orendabooks.co.uk
First published in Icelandic as
Myrknætti
, 2011
This ebook published by Orenda Books, 2016
Copyright © Ragnar Jónasson 2011
Translation copyright © Quentin Bates 2016
Map copyright © Ólafur Valsson 2016
Ragnar Jónasson has asserted his moral right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–1–910633–47–2
Typeset in Garamond by MacGuru Ltd
The author would like to thank the people of Siglufjördur for their wonderful setting, and would like to point out that the characters and the story are entirely fictional. Grateful thanks are due to prosecutor Hulda María Stefánsdóttir for her invaluable insight into police work. I would also like to thank the city of Stockholm’s cultural programme for the use of a guest apartment at Villa Bergshyddan, where
Nightblind
was partly written.
This book has been translated with financial support from
