Death at the Sanatorium

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.
One Murder.

Five Suspects.

S
tep into Death At The Sanatorium . . .

An old sanatorium. A terrifying murder. Five suspects and a case that never closed . . .


Akureyri, Northern Iceland, 1983.

High up in the most northern part of Iceland stands The Akureyri Sanatorium. Once a hospital dedicated to treating tuberculosis, it now sits haunted by the ghosts of its past.

One wing of the hospital remains open and houses six employees: the caretaker, two doctors, two nurses and a young research assistant.

Despite the wards closing decades ago they remain at the hospital to conduct research. But the cold corridors, draughty windows and echoey halls are constant reminders of the building’s dark history.

When one of the nurses, Yrsa, is found brutally murdered, they discover that death has never left this place – and neither did its secrets. None can escape this terrifying legacy.

Despite just five suspects the case is never solved and remains open for two decades. Until a young criminologist named Helgi Reykdal attempts to finally lay the ghosts of the hospital's past to rest . . .

'Is this the best crime writer in the world today?' THE TIMES

'An automatic must-read for me' LEE CHILD

'Master of the Icelandic thriller' NEW YORK POST

'The story never stops moving . . . reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock' MORGUNBLADID, ICELAND

'Skilfully told on different time levels, and with an ending that promises more' GÖTEBORGS-POSTEN, SWEDEN

©2024 Ragnar Jónasson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

Ragnar Jónasson is no ordinary writer [. . .] Death at the Sanatorium is a knowing, unnerving mystery [. . ..] fans of Jónasson will be delighted

The Times

This is Jónasson on top form

FT.com

Superbly told and packed with subtle nods to crime writers of the past, this is exquisite, delicate storytelling

Irish Daily Mail

A meticulously plotted whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie

Publishers Weekly

Death At The Sanatorium deftly straddles multiple timelines in pursuit of the killer of a nurse at a remote Icelandic sanatorium. Ragnar Jònasson brings alive his native Iceland, reaching into the past to construct a meticulously plotted puzzle. A devilish combination of locked room mystery and cold case investigation

Vaseem Khan

The best new books out in August

i

If you haven’t read Ragnar Jónasson, pick his books up. They’re so good . . . His new book has a whole Agatha Christie vibe . . . a terrific book

Ryan Tubridy, Virgin Radio UK

This is Jónasson on top form

Barry Forshaw, Financial Times

Few books of the Golden Age actually dealt in cold cases but Jónasson pulls it off with clever sleight of hand and delivers an entertaining modern perspective on a classic tradition

Crime Time

Jonasson echoes the mystery queen’s tight pacing while adding his own touch of Icelandic noir

Washington Post, one of the five best mystery novels to read this season

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