Book Review: Ragnar Jonasson channels Agatha Christie in his latest puzzle mystery

Icelandic author Ragnar Jonasson loves Agatha Christie’s mysteries, so it’s no surprise that his latest, “Death at the Sanitorium,” contains the intricate plotting and startling twists Christie was known for. As the story begins, a student is researching a 30-year-old murder for his thesis project. The case had been declared solved, but when he asks questions about it, he is greeted with suspicion and lies. So his academic exercise soon morphs into a full-blown reinvestigation of the case. AP reviewer Bruce DeSilva says the story was originally written in Icelandic, but that the translator does a fine job of preserving Jonasson’s crisp prose style.