July 23, 2012
Elínborg, Inspector Erlender’s female detective colleague, takes charge of a case in Indridason’s subpar seventh Icelandic thriller (after 2009’s Hypothermia). When Elínborg and her team investigate the murder of Runólfur, an inoffensive young man whose half-dressed, butchered body was found in his Reykjavík flat, they find a date rape drug, Rohypnol, on his person and later, during the autopsy, stuffed down his throat. Elínborg’s search for answers leads her to the victim’s village, where she discovers that old sins can cast long shadows and outrage can induce a person to take extraordinary and uncharacteristic measures. While Indridason provides his usual insights into Icelandic society and culture, lucky breaks mark much of the plodding police work, and the meandering forays into Elínborg’s personal life—the demands of raising three children, the pleasure she takes in cooking—may make her more human but don’t add much of interest.