Russell James has been named “the Godfather of Noir” by Ian Rankin. Russell writes crime novels - about criminals and victims, not the cozy procedural or whodunnit. He is the editor of Great British Fictional Detectives.
Second in the Kalman series, based on one the most unlikely heroes in crime fiction. Kalman, the very likeable narrator, was born and raised in an Icelandic fishing village, and is regarded affectionately by the residents as ‘retarded’ – despite which they have designated him as their supposed sheriff (his duties being little more than looking after the small supermarket car park).
His narrative voice and behaviour, superbly drawn by Schmidt, seems classically autistic, and in this tale Kalman’s suspicion that his grandfather was murdered leads him, via his absent American father, across the Atlantic and into the heart of the 2021 Capitol riots. Back in his Icelandic village and now even more of a celebrity, Kalman finds himself dragged into the aftermath of a Cold War mystery that once involved his grandfather, the Americans, and Russian spies – and what began as a gentle and amusing story finally changes pace and sails off to an explosive climax.
Easily the most addictive crime book I have read this year.
Editorial Note: translated by Jamie Lee Searle
