Ævar Örn Josepsson, Uden synd (2008)

Dette er den islandske forfatters anden krimi, og den foregår i Reykjavik.

Jeg har virkelig givet Jósepssons bog en chance. Jeg har læst de første 100 sider, men nej, jeg tror stadig ikke på, at en halv-forsumpet alkoholiker får lov at sidde død i sin lejlighed i over et år. Manden har to voksne børn, en nabo som kigger ind af og til (for at nasse sig til sprut), og er aktiv som en slags frivillig elektriker i en kristen sekt. Nogen ville rent bogstaveligt have lugtet sig frem til liget efter nogle dage og uger. Desuden har hans fjernsyn kørt uafbrudt, og lyset har været tændt.

Hvem har betalt lys, varme og husleje? Hvem har hævet hans pension? Og så videre.

Men hvis personerne og plottet fængede, så havde jeg sikkert gladelig slugt den, selv om jeg aldrig har troet på denne præmis. Det gør de bare ikke. Medlemmerne af sekten er selvoptagne og vamle, politiet er vrantne, og mordet på den irriterende, drikkende, prækende Ólafur interesser mig ikke rigtigt. Det er bare for nemt at slå sådan en person ihjel, som ingen gør sig den ulejlighed at savne.

Som sidste udvej har jeg endda forsøgt at læse de sidste sider. Jeg skal nok lade være at røbe noget – lige bortset fra, at de var mere forvirrende end fængende.

Ævar Örn Jósepsson, Without Sin.
The works of this Icelandic author have not been translated into English. “Without Sin” is his second crime story.

I have really given this book a fair chance. I have read the first one hundred pages, but no, I still don´t believe that a half-seedy alcoholic could lie dead in his Reykjavik flat for more than a year. The victim has two adult children, a neighbour who visits him occasionally (to scrounge booze), and he does voluntary work for a Christian sect. Someone would certainly have ´smelled the rat´ after some days or weeks. Besides his TV and his light have been on all that time.

Who has paid for the light, heating, rent? Who has withdrawn his pension? Etc.

But if the characters and the plot were engaging, I would probably have read on, despite my incredibility. But they aren´t. The members of the sect are self-centred and repellent, the policemen are grumpy, and the murder of annoying, drinking, preaching Ólafur does not really interest me. It is too easy to kill someone off that no one is going to miss anyway.

As a last resort I even tried to read the last pages. I won´t spoil anything – apart from their leaving me more confused than thrilled.