Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson translated by Victoria Cribb

AN OLD SANATORIUM. ONE TERRIFYING MURDER. FOUR SUSPECTS. AND A CASE THAT NEVER CLOSED.

WELCOME TO THE SANATORIUM

High up in the mountains stands a 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 four 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…

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Death at the Sanatorium is something of an unusual crime novel.  It moves between 2012 and 1983, with the occasional vignette from 1957.  In 2012, we see young criminologist, Helgi Reykdal, begin investing a crime from 1983 to use as the basis for his thesis.  He hopes to bring a modern policing lens to the investigation which was solved at the time, albeit a little too conveniently as the murder of a nurse was pinned on the doctor who, presumably consumed by guilt, subsequently committed suicide, if that is indeed what happened.  Helgi immediately sees the flaws in the original investigation, and begins investigating in earnest – contacting those who were involved at the time, but in my opinion overstepping the mark in what a student would be allowed access to. 

Helgi is a character that I struggled to warm to initially, despite his love of books and old detective fiction that should make him a more endearing character.  I struggled with his attitude at times, particularly his impatience and his smarm as he tries to get the information he needs.  I did come to sympathise with him later in the novel.  Helgi has a lot more going on in his life than his thesis and the investigation, and Jónasson proves deft at misdirecting the reader initially before revealing the truth of the situation which I won’t spoil for anyone.  By the end of the novel, I was more firmly in his court.

The 1983 sections show the reader the investigation into the murder of Yrsa and the subsequent death of her colleague, Dr Fridjón, at a research station previously used to treat tuberculosis.  These sections are mostly told from the perspective of Tinna – a young and ambitious nurse who has the misfortune to discover both bodies.  I’d sympathise, but she’s an awful character.  She enjoys the attention that these discoveries result in, and feels no qualms in exaggerating and even lying to the police, going as far as to blame another colleague for Yrsa’s murder with no evidence.  She has set her sights upon Sverrir, the detective leading the investigation, and seems to care less about the loss of her colleagues than having the case closed quickly so that she can pursue the detective in earnest. 

As to the crime itself, I have mixed views.  The initial investigation was clearly rushed by a Detective thinking less with his head than with another piece of his anatomy.  Helgi sees these flaws and approaches it properly, despite it being almost 30 years later, eventually solving it and gaining a confession from the culprit although that ending feels a little rushed.  Despite that, I felt a little cheated.  I wasn’t convinced that there was enough information revealed throughout the novel to allow the reader to solve it themselves and to appreciate the motive behind it.  With hindsight, I can see how the reader was led in the right direction, but I personally felt it stopped a little short of giving the reader sufficient detail to make that leap.  Maybe I’m just not cut out for armchair sleuthing! 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

One aspect that I did enjoy in this novel was the opportunity to revisit one of Jónasson’s previous characters, Hulda Hermannsdóttir – the protagonist of his Hidden Iceland trilogy.  Hulda assists Sverrir on the case in 1983, and we once again see a brilliant detective passed over for promotion and the top jobs simply because she is a woman.  Even Sverrir admits that she’s a strong detective, and keeps her on side for the advantage it gives him in solving the case.  The Hidden Iceland series saw Hulda about to retire, somewhat reluctantly, from her job to make way for a new detective, and we now see that it’s to make room for Helgi as he accepts a job with Iceland’s CID.  I love little connections like this between books.

Overall, my thoughts on this novel are mixed.  Death at the Sanatorium has an interesting set up and offers the reader something a little different, but I found it ultimately a little unsatisfying.  Having said that, I am somewhat tempted by the follow on, The Death of the Mysterious Crime Writer, which is published in August in the UK.  With Helgi now working in a more formal capacity, I’m curious as to if and how that might change his approach, and I’m intrigued as to how his other problems will evolve.

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Book 1 of 15 Books of Summer 2025.