Ragnar Jónasson

It is 1956 and fifteen-year-old Lara Marteinsdottir has disappeared without a trace. She was spending the summer working as a maid on the island of Viday off the coast of Reykjavik for prominent lawyer Ottar Oskarsson and his wife. Her parents got worried when she didn’t make her weekly phone call home and they called the police. Police officer Kristjan Kristjansson investigated but no body was ever found thus no charges ever placed. Oskarsson said that one day Lara abruptly gave her notice and just up and left their employ with no warning, leaving them high and dry. Speculation was that she made her way back to Reykjavik or drowned but there was no proof. If she drowned, at least her luggage would have remained on shore but none was recovered.

Reykjavik newspapers resurrected the case 1966 and again in 1976 but it was basically a rehash of what was printed at the time of the disappearance. No new evidence had come to light.

In 1986, however, fledgling reporter Valur Robertsson decided he was going to make a difference and started researching the case and interviewing all the people associated with it as well as those acquainted with Oskarsson. The weekly newspaper he worked for, Vikubladid (veek-oo-blaa-thith), printed several articles, but while new information was uncovered, it was still a cold case with no solution in sight.

That all changed when Vikubladid editor, Dagbjartur (daak-byar-toor) Steinsson, prematurely announces that the case was close to being solved and there would be a final answer in the upcoming edition in a week. Robertsson suddenly received an anonymous phone call stating the caller knew where the body was buried.

That one announcement led to a series of both disastrous and enlightening events.

Authors Jonasson and Jakobsdottir ably interweave in this historical cold case novel the events at the time including Reykjavik’s 200th anniversary, the introduction of privately owned radio and television stations and the historic summit meeting between U.S. President Reagan and USSR President Gorbachev held in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik: A Crime Story has received several starred reviews and has repeatedly been described as a slow-burn, spellbinding mystery. I concur. The book has interesting characters, a good plot and a surprise ending. While there is little in the way of violence and it certainly is not a gruesome read, it is not a cozy mystery and there is constant action. It is recommended for fans of Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole mysteries. I’d also recommend it for fans of Arnuldur Indridason, although it is not as dark as his noir novels.… (mere)