Myrká by Arnaldur Indriðason
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another good novel from Iceland's Arnaldur Indridason. This time Erlendur is out of the plot and Sigurdur Oli plays only a minor part. This solid police procedural plus glum Northwest Scandinavian psychological novel features Elinborg, who - to me - is the most interesting character of the trio. She is, thankfully, no "profiler"; she is just a down-to-earth, hardworking detective, who follows her instinct and manages to extract the important leads from the scarce evidence in the case of a strange rape/murder case, where the presumed rapist was found under the influence of Rohypnol. Elinborg reminds me of Marge Gunderson in Fargo, as played by Frances McDormand.

I have been fascinated with Iceland for many years, and this novel adds a lot to my vision of this country. Thanks to Indridason I feel like I almost have been to Iceland. Elinborg is not only a detective; she is also a cookbook writer. There are some really funny fragments about boiled air-cured haddock. I can't imagine any blander food than that.

"Outrage" is not as good as Indridason's masterpieces "The Draining Lake" or "Silence of the Grave", but it is a very good book.

Four solid stars.


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