Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

A snobbish Danish literary author is challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days, travelling to a small village in Iceland for inspiration, and then the first body appears...

Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually reads them, and frustrated by writer’s block, Hannah has the feeling that she’s doing something wrong.

When she expresses her contempt for genre fiction, Hanna is publicly challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjörður – a quiet, tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colourful local characters – for inspiration.

But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman’s young son is pulled from the water ... and what begins as a search for plot material quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to uncover secrets that put everything at risk ... including Hannah.

About the author

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of Denmark’s most acclaimed scriptwriters (including the international hits Rita and Follow the Money) and is known as an advocate for better representation for sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. She recently made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater) and her debut literary thriller, Thirty Days of Darkness, first in an addictive new series, won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year and was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key Award. She lives in Denmark with her young family.

Review

‘Thirty Days of Darkness’ is fantastically atmospheric, its content is a reflection of the darkness and cold of the start of an Icelandic winter. This is a debit novel that doesn't read like a debut novel, if that makes any sense?! It was a beautifully plotted narrative, full of exceptional writing and brilliant characters. I loved it!

Hannah is a darling of the Danish literary circle, but she isn't happy with her life or her level of books sales (practically non-existent). She also has writer's block. Whilst at a trade fair she is sitting listening to a panel featuring a popular crime novelist she expresses contempt about the genre and is publicly challenged to writing a crime novel in 30 days! She accepts in the heat of the moment but then when her agent makes her follow through, she finds herself on a plane to Iceland within hours! Hannah is to stay with Ella in the tightly-knit village of Húsafjörður in order to seek inspiration and have time to write. But two days after her arrival the body of a fisherman’s young son is pulled from the water. Hannah decides to use this as inspiration but is soon pulled into a messy investigate which might be dangerous for both her and her book…

Hannah is one of those authors which you see at literary festivals and kind of avoid, well I know I do! Snobbish and bitter about their work. But in this case I ended up really liking Hannah. Yes, she is an idiot but she is my idiot. She is useless as an investigator, just walking round the local area hoping that clues are going to fall into her lap, which annoyingly they do! You can help but like someone who has this vulnerability running through them. Although she may be blunt at times she also is caring and kind. There is a point mid-way through the novel where Hannah becomes serious about both the book and the mystery and I felt that this was reflected in the writing - it went up a gear and also started to read as a more serious crime novel. Yes, the literary prose and melodic rhythm continue into this section but it was a heightened experience now for both Hannah and the reader.

This is a funny novel! You won't get that from the cover or the blurb but at times I was laughing out loud and there was a lot of internal smiling! The scenes between her and Jorn Jensen who is the charming crime author she hates are hilarious. I would read a whole series of books with the two of them being the protagonists!

Let me know if you pick this one up!