This is a solid start to a promising Nordic crime fiction series. It has convincing characters - the protagonist is a "big fat lass with a face that frightens the horses and known to every man and his dog as Gunna the Cop" - and a great rural setting, with lots of insight into Icelandic corruption, politics, economy, social issues, amongst others. For a debut, Bates writes like an old hand. If you are looking for a well-paced thriller to read this summer, I would recommend none other than Frozen Assets.
Blurb: An unidentified body is found floating in the harbor of a rural Icelandic fishing village. Was the stranger's death an accident or something more sinister? It's up to Officer Gunnhildur, a sardonic female cop, to find out. Her investigation uncovers a web of corruption connected to Iceland's business and banking communities. Meanwhile, a rookie crime journalist latches on to her, looking for a scoop, and an anonymous blogger is stirring up trouble. The complications increase, as do the stakes, when a second murder is committed.
About the author: Quentin Bates lived in Iceland for ten years. In 1990, he moved back to the UK where he became a full-time journalist at a commercial fishing magazine. He and his wife frequently return to Iceland, where they have many friends, including several in the Reykjavik police.
Frozen Assets (USA) aka Frozen Out (UK) (2011) is Bates' debut in the Officer Gunnhildur mystery series set in a fictional village in Iceland. It is followed by Cold Comfort (2012).
For more information, go to graskeggur.com
Rating: 5/5
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