This was a pleasant read and as always with this author there was a nice Icelandic feel with the financial crash still affecting everyone. The problem is that, although the characters did some surprising things, there was no mystery/suspense at the core of the story. In addition, if you have not read previous installments in the series, you will not appreciate the characters and their relationships. ( )

Yes, this is an Officer Gunnhilder novel, but no, it's not nearly as satisfactory as the earlier entrants in the series. Gunna and her colleague Helgi are there, but only on the periphery of the novel. The real focus is on Logi, a carpenter whose outstanding debts drawn him into an increasingly violent situation, and eventually into criminal acts in his own defense. Gunna and Helgi show up when these acts come to the attention of the police, with Gunna leading the investigation into the central crime. It's interesting enough, but I would rather have more Officer G. and less about Logi and his associates, some of whom are extremely unpleasant. Most critically, the ending is a real disappointment -- it is so abrupt that I checked my Kindle edition to be sure a final chapter or two hadn't been left out. Part of the satisfaction of mystery fiction is that -- in contrast to real life things do get wrapped up and explained at the end of the book, and justice is served. Here, not. ( )