Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen is a highly recommended Nordic Noir thriller and the first book in a new series by the Danish author. The edition I read was translated by Megan E. Turney.

Copenhagen author Hannah Krause-Bendix Hannah is an acclaimed writer who is currently suffering from writer's block. At a book fair she openly displays contempt for wealthy successful crime writer Jørn Jensen. Hannah claims anyone can write a crime novel. The public encounter results in Hannah accepting Jensen's challenge to write a crime novel in thirty days. Her friend and editor sends her off to stay with a friend in Iceland where she becomes part of an actual murder mystery.

Hannah comes across as an old disgruntled curmudgeon in the beginning of the novel and then settles into a character who seems younger than her age, forty-five. The plot is an author following and inserting herself into a real life murder mystery as she writes about it. As she stumbles about the small village of Húsafjöður trying to solve the crime, her character becomes more human and relatable because she clearly doesn't know the inhabitants and their histories.

It is unclear if she is actually helping the local police officer, Viktor or not. Her host, Ella, does not speak Danish and Hannah barely knows Icelandic. The two communicate through written notes, which adds a level of difficulty. The murder victim was Ella's nephew, Thor, which places Hannah close to the investigation, which probably wouldn't happen in real life as most guests would leave, not stick around to write a crime novel about it.

This is an entertaining novel that has some action and humor that will hold your interest throughout. There are a few other events in the novel where readers will have to set disbelief aside. It basically shows crime fiction as formulaic rather than a compelling thriller with unexpected twists in the plot. At the halfway point I knew the direction it was going. 3.5
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Orenda Books via Edelweiss.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/11/thirty-days-of-darkness.html ( )

The central figure in the book, Hannah goes to an isolated village in Iceland to find the peace and quiet she need to write a crime novel she as agreed to complete in thirty days. As we know, this is a Nordic Noir novel, so, of course the village turns out to be not so peaceful and quiet. Author attempts to fit in all the classic characteristics of crime fiction with variable success. ( )

This book has received many positive reviews, so I’m in the minority, but it just didn’t resonate with me. As I was reading, I kept thinking that it was intended as a parody of crime fiction, since it offers little that is original and relies so heavily on the tropes of that genre. But the book is being marketed as the first in a new series?

Hannah Krause-Bendix is an established literary writer in Denmark. Though disdainful of crime fiction, she accepts the challenge to write a crime novel in 30 days. Her editor sends her to a remote village in Iceland where she is the houseguest of a woman named Ella. Shortly after Hannah’s arrival, the body of Thor, Ella’s nephew, is pulled from the water. Looking for inspiration, Hannah inserts herself into the investigation.

Hannah is not a likeable character. She is a judgmental, arrogant, and rude. She behaves appallingly, even breaking into her host’s study, though she hopes that Ella won’t notice her vandalism. When she starts investigating, she proves to be rash, insensitive, and inept. The author goes to lengths to show that Hannah does experience personal growth: she becomes less standoffish both personally and professionally. She becomes less self-centred, even starting to show concern for others, and less dismissive of commercial fiction. My problem is not an unlikeable protagonist but the fact that she is 45 years of age. Some of her behaviour is more appropriate to a teenager than a middle-aged person.

I understand that some readers find comfort in the use of the tropes of crime fiction, but I found that this book follows so many of them that the book feels imitative and unoriginal. Of course, Hannah is going to have a drinking problem. Of course Viktor, the town’s sole policeman, is not going to be up to the task. Of course there will be a blizzard which will isolate the town. More than once I thought of Trapped. The only thing that surprised me is that Hannah doesn’t research these tropes to help her in her writing.

More than one event stretched my credulity. We are supposed to accept the arrival of Hannah’s nemesis in this remote town as plausible? Vigdis and Ella are supposed to be close, yet Vigdis knows so little about her sister? Seriously injured people are able to undertake physically demanding tasks? Some of the murderer’s actions seem ridiculous and the motive for so much mayhem seems weak: the killer’s willingness to kill someone who was so obviously also a victim makes no sense.

I love Nordic crime fiction, but this example fell flat for me; the plot is unimaginative and borders on the absurd, and most of the characters remain one-dimensional. Hannah describes crime fiction as formulaic and unoriginal; unfortunately, that describes this book for me.

But as I said at the beginning, I'm in the minority. The novel won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )

A snobby author is challenged to write a crime novel in a month, and goes off to Iceland to do so, whereupon she ends up entwined in a murder in the village. Great book within a book fun, great characters. Translated from Danish. Read my full review on my blog here: https://annabookbel.net/thirty-days-of-darkness-by-jenny-lund-madsen ( )