Marilyn Stasio’s column “Crime” in the Sunday NYT’s 
always offers great reviews of new mysteries. Recently, she reviewed a new Nordic crime fiction novel by Arnaldur Indridason. She characterizes his novels as being less gruesome than many other Scandinavian mystery writers.
This new novel is a prequel to Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson’s previous outing. Set in 1974 during Iceland’s 1,100 anniversary of settlement, the book features Sveinsson’s as a rookie cop. On his rounds he meets Hannibal a homeless tramp, who is later found dead. Having often locked him up on drunk-and-disorderly charges, he came to know the man’s history. A year after his death, Erlendur comes to the conclusion that Hannibal’s death was murder.
Erlendur becomes a champion of Reykjavik’s lost souls after his investigation in the tragic death of Hannibal. An unusual setting and a main character who is a compassionate policeman will attract many mystery readers.