Reykjavik by Ragnar Jónasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir

One of the most popular Icelandic writers, Ragnar Jónasson teams up with the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, on the mystery of a young girl who vanished over 30 years ago. What happened to Lára?

1956. Fifteen-year-old Lara Marteinsdottir took a summer job for a couple living on Videy Island, minutes off the coast of Reykjavik. Only 3 kilometers long, Ottar and Olaf are its only inhabitants, the sparse village abandoned after the war. How did she get off the island, if at all, never to be seen again?

A police investigation yields nothing. The public is captivated by her disappearance; everyone grew up with the story and photo of Lara. Every ten years, the papers resurrect interest but raise no new clues.

In 1986. Vidar is a young newspaper reporter writing a weekly feature, something to stir memories. Papers fly off the shelves around the anniversary. The Videy couple wants nothing to do with it - they are adamant they know nothing. Lara's parents have given up hope they will ever find the truth. Vidar's only leads are friends of Olaf and Ottar from the time, who claim to have never visited the island - Hogni is a slick housing developer, Pall a city council member who helps Hogni bend permits, and Finnar a wealthy importer who just died of cancer. No one believes these respectable men would have anything to do with it. Vidar confides in his sister Sunna, even sharing his notebook. A sensational ending to his feature would be solving one of the biggest secrets of the last half-century. Perhaps she is still alive?

I felt this peak halfway, when Sunna takes over the investigation, poring over the notes and 30 years of news clippings. She is crafty at accessing people, and seeing the indignant outrage of Hogni and Pall, she knows she is doing something right. Sunna is tenacious and eager—with a new discovery, a woman's name on a paper: Arnfridur Leifsdottir.

There is a lot to recommend, taking place on the eve of Reykjavik's 200th anniversary, complete with a 200-meter cake and fireworks. This had a typical Nordic Crime theme (unearthing a death in the past, linked to powerful men who believe they are above unpleasantness), but what matters to readers is how it is constructed, and I was captivated and entertained by the characters and the writing. Recommended.

Besides his many crime novels, Ragnar has translated 14 Agatha Christie mysteries and co-founded the Icelandic Noir crime writing festival. Katrin is the Prime Minister of Iceland and chair of her political party, the Left-Green Movement, with a master's degree in Icelandic literature. Reykjavik is dedicated to Agatha Christie.

2022 / Hardcover / 384 pages