I’ve really come to enjoy books by foreign authors set in foreign landscapes because I feel like I learn something every single time I read one. In this case, I had no idea that in Iceland, they don’t use surnames like we do. See, that’s something you just don’t learn on TV. Nor did I know that Iceland has a genetic database of its entire population, which is something that would certainly never fly in the U.S. Anyhoo, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill whodunnit. There is a murder that Erlendur and his partner Sigurdur Óli are trying to solve, but the story ends up being much more about the victim and what he did in his past. This is one case where the victim perhaps got what he deserved. Erlendur is somewhat of a drab character on his own, but I enjoy his interactions with others, especially with his wayward daughter, Eva Lind. I think there’s a lot of room for growth in the series, and I look forward to reading the next two.
