Death at the Sanatorium

Death at the Sanatorium is a very well written procedural mystery thriller by Ragnar Jonasson and a promising series starter (or else!). Released 10th Sept 2024 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in early Sept. 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Told in three parallel timelines, the story is written around a framework of events which took place at a tuberculosis sanatorium, in the 50s, the 90s (when it had been closed and the hospital buildings used for administrative purposes) and 2012. The author has undeniable skill with characterization and setting, there's a brooding menace throughout much of the story that will leave readers dreading a jump scare.

Readers who hate cliffhangers should be aware going in that although the main mystery in this book is resolved in this volume, it ends on a fade-to-black cliffhanger that will have readers growling in frustration.  

Originally published in Icelandic in 2019, the translation work on the English edition (presumably, but not explicitly stated, by the author himself) is seamless. It flows very well in English translation, and in fact the author's afterword talks a bit about his earlier experiences translating classic crime fiction of the Golden Age (Christie, Ngaio Marsh, etc) into Icelandic provide some added nuance to the read.

Aside from the solid mystery, the main character, Helgi, is a huge crime fiction fan and the book's peppered with lots and lots of titles and background for avid readers to check out. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours 42 minutes and is very capably read by Sam Woolf. He has a cultured and well modulated tenor voice and does a good job with the disparate accents including a credible Icelandic accent. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read. 

Four stars. Annoyance at the cliffhanger fade-to-black ending shouldn't dissuade readers from enjoying a good procedural with bleak and well described isolated settings, lots of three dimensional characters, and a (mostly) good and subtle resolution and denouement. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.