Into Oblivion by Arnaldur Indriðason
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The second inspector Erlendur novel and as far as I can see this completes my reading of this series having started with the third book in the series. Well that is what I thought but after reading Crime Lovers guide to Inspector Erlendur this novel and its predecessor are in fact prequels. The article implies that the author Erlendur Indridason decided to revisit his character Erlendur and explore his beginnings. I can say that have been very pleased about this the previous installment Reykjavik Nights felt like I was back in the saddle.
Oblivion doesn’t disappoint either a body discovered in a lake frequented by people taking advantage of a lake for therapeutic reasons. The investigation proceeds slowly as they become stalled by American military personnel. What becomes apparent is the Icelandic people’s dislike of the American presence and the discord that it causes. There are many references to local food and material shortages. This is all compounded by an illicit trade in cigarettes alcohol and illicit drugs.
As is the method of Erlendur novels there is a cold missing persons case that he investigates in his spare time. The unravelling of the missing persons has parallels to the contemporary investigation. In this novel contemporary is 1970’s Iceland.
Of note is Erlendur’s relationship with his boss. Erlendur is conservative and from the country and he likes traditional food boiled sheep heads and fermented shark. That is not for the faint hearted .
I won’t spoil the outcome but I enjoyed this novel. There is according to Crime Lovers another novel written in 2011 that is being translated into English, here is hoping.