Jonasson is one of Iceland’s most popular authors, with good reason. The Body in the Bath reads like an homage to golden-age mysteries, and brings several characters he’s previously written about to the forefront.
It’s a snowy December and detective Helgi is depressed after the death of his girlfriend, Anita, who has been run down by his ex-girlfriend, Bergpora and so far, gotten away with it.
Back at work now, but with his mind distracted, he is haunted by the disappearance of his detective whose desk he now inhabits. Hulda Hermannsdottir had retired and suddenly disappeared, and he starts to investigate that in earnest when the unthinkable happens: Bergpora is found dead in her bathtub, and the key suspect is Helgi.
Now the young detective must not only clear his own name, but find a reasonable alternative to Bergpora’s killer, all the while he mourns Anita. The climax is one readers will not see coming and may be my favorite of Jonasson’s books to date.
This is chock full of clever, meticulous plotting, with an excellent translation that retains the hallmarks of Jonasson’s Icelandic noir, as well as his reverence for the golden age of detective fiction.
Cheers to Sara Paretsky for bringing readers a new book AND a remarkable new protagonist in the form of Lily Sedako.
In her 70s, Lily’s retired from her life as a CIA field agent focused on Central Asia countries. Lily is making the most of her retirement in Chicago, volunteering for a local student drama group, where her expertise and contacts in makeup and creating a new identity are soon put to the test.
Lily’s most remembered posting was to the tiny country of Hayalistan, out from under the thumb of the USSR, but still controlled to a large extent by nefarious people. An excellent linguist, Lily learned the difficult local language, and had integrated into the culture of the mountain tribes, until she’d been moved to India when a coup removed the democratically elected president Lily had grown close to, and this tribal leader she loved was presumed killed.
She still thinks fondly of their time together, and of her time in Hayalistan. Then her world is turned upside down when she receives a magazine with an article that shows a photo of Lily in the midst of a hidden women’s rite. The implication is that Lily, besides now being exposed as helping the people, leaked their secrets to aid the coup.
This starts an international ride for Lily, who becomes determined to set the record straight while finding evidence of what really happened back then and who was responsible, because Lily knows it wasn’t her.
But who within the company can she trust? The misogyny of the CIA, the scapegoating, and the destruction of lives from within all come into play. Lily will need to call on all of her rusty skills and connections from that life, not just to unveil the real culprits, but to save her own life, endangered now that it’s clear she’s on the hunt for the lengthy coverup in Hayalistan.
Readers will be quickly drawn to Lily with her stamina and determination. She is a wily character, and being in her age range, Auntie M is envious of how quickly she can devise a plan and carry it out. The characters around her are finely drawn as well, but it’s Lily who steals the show effortlessly. And here it’s Paretsky who gets the gold medal, with a plot as finely drawn as her characters.
With a fast-moving plot, dialogue that often stings, and a touch of wry humor, this is a powerful and often disturbing story that will grab readers by the throat as they barrel through the pages.
It’s no wonder Paretsky is one of only four living writers to have received both the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America as well as the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain. Solid gold.
