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.
Highly Recommended.
