The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

Book Review

"...the visions of the past haunting her, the fear of the future looming over her."

The Darkness will be released in the UK on 15th March 2018. It is written by Ragnar Jónasson and published by Michael Joseph.

I really wanted to like The Darkness, I've never read any Ragnar Jónasson before but have heard good things about the Dark Iceland series. So, when this popped up on NetGalley, part of the new Hidden Iceland series, I thought I'd give it a go.

Dark Pines by Will Dean

Book Review

"Something just died. I don't know how I know this but I do. The air has changed around me."

Dark Pines will be released in the UK on 4th January 2018. It is written by Will Dean and published by Point Blank.

I really enjoy thrillers that are reliant on their setting. I recently read The Dry (review to come) and the harsh and arid landscape is integral to the plot. Dark Pines is the same, but with a completely different environment. A small Swedish town on the edge of a mighty pine forest, where stepping off the path can be deadly, yet most of the inhabitants' livelihoods depend on the forest.

It's an ideal place to set a murder mystery and Will Dean does this brilliantly in Dark Pines (which is also a perfect name for the book). You really feel the forest setting the whole way through, and it just wouldn't be the same if it was set somewhere else. It's intensely claustrophobic yet there is a power and energy both in the setting and the story.