by Joachim B. Schmidt (Translated by: Jamie Lee Searle)
SYNOPSIS
Kalmann is the self-appointed Sheriff of Raufarhöfn. Day by day, he treks the wide plains which surround the almost deserted village, hunts Arctic foxes and lays bait in the sea ― to catch the gigantic Greenland sharks he turns into the Icelandic fermented delicacy, hákarl. There is nothing anyone need worry about. Kalmann has everything under control. Inside his head, however, the wheels sometimes spin backwards. One winter, after he discovers a pool of blood in the snow, the swiftly unfolding events threaten to overwhelm him. But he knows that his native wisdom and pure-hearted courage will see him through. There really is no need to worry. How can anything go wrong with Kalmann in charge? He knows everything a man needs to know about life – well almost.
REVIEW
Kalmann lives in the small village of Raufarhöfn in Northern Iceland. After his grandfather was moved to a care home he continued to live alone in their tiny house (the oldest in the village) and makes his living catching Greenland sharks.
Living with an undiagnosed neurodivergent condition, Kalmann is often on the edge of his community, never fully knowing whether the other villagers are laughing with him or at him. One day, after hunting an arctic fox, he discovers a large pool of blood (which may belong to the missing local hotel owner Robert McKenzie), and this discovery tests his relationship with all of the people he grew up with in Raufarhöfn, as well as with the police who don't really understand his unusual and idiosyncratic behaviour.
Kalmann is so different to other Icelandic crime novels I've read which tend to be very dark, and often violent, serial killer thrillers. This was a murder mystery, but it was a much more subtle investigation, told from the perspective of a man who didn't fully understand the severity of the situation he found himself in. At times this could be frustrating, but the overwhelming feeling for me was of desperation. I was constantly willing the police and residents to listen to Kalmann and take him seriously and not confuse his disregard of the law and the police investigation as an admission of guilt.
This book reads like a Coen Brothers film - slow, understated and character driven and this created such a fantastic atmosphere. I truly felt like I was a part of the village and I was captivated by the main character whose aim was to live and die in Raufarhöfn, protect his home and the other people who live there - it was just so endearing.
Will I be recommending Kalmann to all of my crime fiction loving friends? Correctamundo!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joachim B. Schmidt, born in 1981, emigrated from Switzerland to Iceland in 2007. He is the author of several novels and short stories and is also a journalist and columnist. Joachim, who is Swiss and Icelandic, lives in Reykjavik with his wife and their two children.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, Bitter Lemon Press - @bitterlemonpub and Joachim B. Schmidt @JoachimB5scmidt for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Crime / Mystery / Nordic Noir / Icelandic Noir
Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
ISBN: 978-1913394684
Pages: 304pp
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