Book Review: Icelandic detective stars in 'The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer'

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When we last saw Icelandic police detective Helgi Reykdal, he was lying unconscious in a pool of blood after being bashed in the head by his violent alcoholic wife in last fall’s “Death at the Sanatorium.”

But now, in the opening of Ragnar Jónasson’s “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer,” the cliffhanger has been resolved. Helgi has recovered from his injury and is enjoying life with a new girlfriend named Anita.

Jónasson is a devoted fan of puzzle mysteries by Agatha Christie and other writers from the genre’s golden era and has given Helgi the same obsession, so the young detective is thrilled to investigate the sudden disappearance of best-selling crime novelist Elin S. Jonsdottir.

The tale is told in three timelines. In 2005, a journalist is interviewing Elin, who reveals much about her life and work before finally disclosing a dark secret. In 2012, Helgi is searching for her. And in 1976, Helgi’s predecessor, detective Hulda Hermannsdottir (who subsequently also went missing) is investigating a bank robbery that may or may not have some connection to Elin.

Jónasson, whose novels have sold 3 million books worldwide, writes in his native Icelandic, and as usual, Victoria Cribb has done a fine job of translating his crisp, vivid style.

The author spins his tale swiftly, but the search for Elin comes off as a low-stakes mental exercise that generates little sense of urgency. What tension there is comes from a few short sections in which Helgi’s violent ex, Bergthora, stalks Anita.

In the end, Helgi appears to learn Elin’s fate, but Jónasson leaves doubt that the case has actually been resolved. This time, however, one cliffhanger isn’t enough. Jónasson has Helgi ponder whether he should look into why Hulda vanished, and he leaves Anita lying injured (or is she dead?) in the street. For answers, readers must await the third novel in the Helgi series.

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Bruce DeSilva, winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including “The Dread Line.”

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