The book-packing journey staggers to a finish in Iceland in this Scandi-style crime novel.
Police detective Elma, after a few years working in Reykjavik CID, has returned to her hometown of Akranes, to the west of the capital. It is a knee jerk response to the breakdown of a relationship, but she has steered clear of her parents’ house, opting for a smart but soulless apartment in town. And now her transfer has come through and she starts her new job with the local police investigating a body on the waterfront near the lighthouse.
Cue a police procedural as Elma works with fanciable colleague, Saevar, to identify the woman (a stranger), work out what she was doing in town, and find out who done it. Cue also Elma’s attempts to find her feet back in the family fold, and to explore new, potentially romantic, relationships.
The setting is reliably atmospherically Iceland – dark nights, falling snow, and thick clothing. The plot is satisfyingly intricate with the case having possible links to a thirty-year-old unsolved death. Relevant flashbacks are teasingly eased into the main narrative as it progresses. The characters are lightly sketched, presumably leaving scope for development as the series (this is the opener) moves forward.
Though a resolution
is reached in respect of the crime, elements of a full reckoning remain
outstanding. A reason, along with the quality of writing, to move on to book
two, and maybe tie up those loose ends.
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