Rekjavik Nights by Arnaldur Indriðason

Published in Iceland in 2012; published in translation by Minotaur Books on April 21, 2015

Arnaldur Indriðason wrote a series of novels about Iceland's Inspector Erlendur. Not all of them have been translated into English. He began the series in 1997 and concluded it in 2010, but reprised the character in a new series that focuses on the young Erlendur, before he became an inspector. Rekjavik Nights is the second in the new series.

Kids discover a dead body in a pond. Hannibal, a homeless alcoholic, apparently drowned by accident, but the pond is so shallow that an accidental drowning is vaguely suspicious. A year later, the Reykjavik police have discovered no evidence of wrongdoing, not that they are giving a high priority to a vagrant's death. Erlendur, who encountered Hannibal on his beat from time to time, is troubled by the death, having brushed off Hannibal's complaint that someone tried to set fire to the cellar in which he had been staying.

As a junior traffic officer, Erlendur spends most of his time with domestic disturbances, bar fights, drunk drivers, and traffic accidents. He is not yet a detective but, due to a family tragedy, he has a special interest in cases involving missing persons. Having little else to do (life in Reykjavik seems boring, or maybe it's just Erlendur), he begins to investigate Hannibal's death. Eventually he stumbles upon a tenuous link between Hannibal and a missing woman.

Erlendur is in a relationship of sorts, and it may be time to move it to the next level, or not. That bit of domestic drama adds little to a decidedly undramatic plot. There's no suspense here and the mystery is no better than average. We are given a choice of three of four suspects, misdirection is employed, and the killer is revealed. The reveal is not much of a surprise.

The story moves quickly and Indriðason's translated prose is serviceable, but the characters and plot are just a little dull. Indridason doesn't bring Reykjavik or the characters alive. Fans of the original series might be happy to see the character in his younger days. I am new to Erlendur and would not, on the strength of this novel, go out of my way to read another, but the original series might well be better.

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