Death at the Sanatorium

A Mystery

By: Ragnar Jónasson

Narrated by: Sam Woolf

This program is read by actor Sam Woolf, known for his roles on Call the Midwife, Humans, The Crown, and The Witcher. He currently stars in the World War II drama We Were The Lucky Ones

Fresh off his career-changing standalone co-written with Icelandic PM, Reykjavík, #1 Icelandic bestseller Jonasson presents a riveting new thriller spinoff from The Darkness, soon to be a TV series.

1983

At a former sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward, an old nurse, Yrsa, is found murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir and her boss, Sverrir, are sent to investigate her death. There, they discover five suspects: the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and the caretaker, who is arrested following false testimony from one of the nurses, but subsequently released.

Less than a week after the murder, the chief physician, is also found dead, having apparently fallen from a balcony. Sverrir, rules his death as suicide and assumes that he was guilty of the murder as well. The case is closed.

2012

Almost thirty years later, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, has been studying criminology in the UK, but decides to return to Iceland when he is offered a job at the Reykjavik police department—the job which detective Hulda Hermannsdottir is about to retire from.

He is also a collector of golden age detective stories, and is writing his thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. As Helgi delves deeper into the past, and starts his new job, he decides to try to meet with the original suspects. But soon he finds silence and suspicion at every turn, as he tries to finally solve the mystery from years before.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2024 Ragnar Jónasson (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Another meticulously plotted whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie . . . With scrupulously fair-play plotting, Helgi’s tumultuous relationship with his live in girlfriend as an emotional anchor, and a worthy payoff, this is another winner from Jónasson.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Another brilliant who dunnit from the master of Agatha Christie type suspense . . . [Jónasson] once again has himself another bestseller.”—Leslie Zemeckis

“Ragnar Jonasson must have had terrific fun creating this brilliant gem of an homage to the best of Golden Age whodunit mysteries. I loved Death at the Sanatorium and am certain his millions of other fans shall as well.”—Jeffrey Siger, international bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series

Unlikeable Characters

The storyline okay, the narrator okay-though his depiction of female voices all tend to be breathy sounding and not very convincing. The characters were unlikeable in varying degrees and I had a hard time investing in the plot overall. There were a few interesting twists and turns, probably not enough for me to return to the series.
I have been to Iceland and did enjoy the reference to the 2 main cities there, I wouldn’t have minded more reference to the long days or short days, the geography and weather.

Fantastic Mystery

Brilliant story that has a connection to the Author’s “Hidden Iceland” Trilogy about a retiring detective named Hulda. The narrator is absolute genius and kept me enraptured.

Boring

It started out with an exciting premise but dragged from beginning to middle. I gave up

Hulda's replacement and flaws

I was so upset at the Hulda story and now there MAY be a hint of what is to come. Her replacement is nether a plodding detective nor a brilliant one. But his dreamy love of crime novels does not necessarily aid in his ability to see real people around him as they are. I hope the next in the series is already in the can. I need it now.

Not compelling

This is just an ok listen. The story was somewhat plotting, and the ending was not satisfying. I’ve read other things by this author that were very good, and this is not up to his usual standards.

So this really does end in the middle of a word

I, of course, thought there was a problem with the audiobook, but I think I’ve confirmed through other reviews that there is a very abrupt ending to the book. It’s not a spoiler, per se, as it has nothing to do with the case at the heart of the book. But I would say it is safe to say this is the first book of the series. I very much enjoyed the narrator. He did a great job. The story itself is less “cozy crime” (which I had anticipated) and very much Christie. Very slow pace. And I mean very slow. But I thought it came together very well and was a very loving homage to Christie. And you can’t go wrong with Iceland. I would recommend this book. Just be aware of what you are getting. I’ll be curious to listen to the next book.

Not up to golden age standards

I read this book following a good interview I heard with the author and eager to see how the author was inspired by golden age writers like Agatha Christi. What I got was a somewhat plodding novel with cardboard thin characters. The story picked up in the final third, but it was more that the detective stumbled into the solution than brought much brain power to it. The so-called final twist was laughable and seemed to be completely tacked on. Narration was good, but overall this book is a disappointment.

template writing

pathetic story. wooden personages, boring plot line. Template writing.
AI could do much better, i’m afraid.