Bernard Scudder was an acclaimed translator of Icelandic literature, bringing the works of prominent authors such as Arnaldur Indriðason and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir to a wider audience. He was instrumental in the monumental task of producing the English translation of the Complete Sagas of Icelanders, a cornerstone of literary heritage. His sudden passing marked a significant loss to the field of literary translation, leaving a void in the bridge between Icelandic culture and the global literary community.
On a January day the Reykjavik police are called to a block of flats where a body has been found: a young boy frozen to the ground in a pool of his own blood. The discovery of a stab wound on his stomach extinguishes any hope that this was an accident. Erlendur & his team embark on their investigation with little to go on.
At a grand Reykjavik hotel the doorman has been stabbed in the dingy basement room. As the manager tries to keep the murder under wraps, a glum detective takes up residence in his hotel. As Erlendur quietly surveys the cast of grotesques who populate the hotel, the web of malice, greed and corruption that lies beneath its surface reveals itself.
"Alone in the middle of the North Atlantic, Iceland is a world unto itself. It is a land co-existing with the ocean, a country of enchanting nature and dramatic contrasts--volcanoes, glaciers, lakes and waterfalls. Iceland is more than twice the size of Denmark and the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Permanently settled by Nordic people only 1,100 years ago, Iceland has developed a unique society and philosophy of life, while preserving the language and culture of its early days." -- Page [4] cover.