Jar City Arnaldur Indridason St. Martin's ISBN 0-312-34070-2 288 pages $21.95 Available now

Erlendur, that's his first name, almost everyone goes by their first name in Iceland, is a police detective. He's senior enough that he can get his way around the bureaucracy and smart enough to know he's come upon something that isn't as his partner puts it, a 'typical Icelandic murder' (that being careless, and sloppy, on the murderer's part and solved the same day by the police). This one's different. First, there's the note. Then, there's the fact that no one seemed to know the victim. This one they'll have to 'work'. Erlendur and his team are soon digging into past crimes to solve their murder in the present.

Iceland's scientists are in the forefront of genetic information gathering. This story has much to do with that but don't worry, there's very little 'science' to digest. This is a straight ahead police procedural and a good one at that. Arnaldur's second book Lady In Green is on its way from St. Martin's. I'm certain It'll be just as interesting and enjoyable.

Dave Biemann