Arnaldur Indridason, Jar City

Jar City

Arnaldur Indridason

St. Martin's, October 2006, $14.00

ISBN: 0312426380

In an apartment in Reykjavik, Iceland, Detective Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson looks at the corpse of a seventy year old man whose head suffered quite a blow, when his partner Sigurdur Oli and a female officer Elinborg arrive at the scene. The murder object is a large ashtray, and the killer left behind the note "I am HIM" adding to the sleuth's thought that a crime of passion occurred. When the victim turns out to be a loner, Holberg, who allegedly raped and killed many young females, Erlendur believes passion was actually vengeance.

The three cops quickly learn of a documented alleged Holberg rape case thirty years ago in which the victim reported the crime, but the cop in charge let the accused go while blaming the woman. Meanwhile as the police dig through mountains of records to find more information on Holberg's horrific past, Erlendur struggles with his thirty year old pregnant daughter Eva Lind, who uses drugs in spite of the impact on her unborn; he also worries about his other offspring Sindri Snaer who is barely doing better than her sibling. Two new cases involving an assault of elderly twin sisters and the disappearance of a bride just after she married somewhat pulls Erlendur off the homicide. Still, he believes the past holds the key to solving the murder mystery, so unhappy Sigurdur and less enthusiastic Elinborg dig through mountains of files seeking names linked to Holberg, who Erlendur hopes are available for questioning.

This is a terrific Icelandic police procedural starring a dedicated detective whose personal problems with his daughters lifestyles distracts him somewhat, but not enough from trying to solve the three cases. Readers will appreciate the realism of Sigurdur and Elinborg as they do the menial but critical tasks of going through old files. The vanished bride case contains a fun twist that adds to a wonderful mystery novel.