My first foray into the crime world of Iceland comes through this debut novel by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason. This is a well paced and atmospheric crime novel which starts when Detective Erlendur is sent to the crime scene of an older gentleman found dead in his apartment.
There is little evidence on the scene save a picture of a little girl’s grave and a note with the cryptic message “I Am Him.” As Erlendur and his partner Detective Sigurdur Oli start investigating they find that the seemingly innocuous man, had been accused of a rape and was never brought to charge. The investigation opens the possibility that maybe his past has caught up with him.
Detectives Erlendur and Sigurdur Oli must challenge a decades old case, modern science and even detectives with more seniority.
Along with the mystery of the crime there are also glimpses into Erlendur’s personal life and the hard decisions he’s made in the past. His children are estranged from him although every so often his daughter appears on the scene to ask for money to use for drugs. Erlendur copes with his daughter’s behavior and attitude but he doesn’t like it.
I wish we could have been given more glimpses into the character of Detective Sigurdur Oli but I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel to see what happens. In any event this novel is much more than a simple mystery, it is a work of suspense and complex characters.