OUTRAGE – Arnaldur Indridason

OUTRAGE is an Inspector Erlendur book without Erlendur.  He has taken some time to investigate another case, using personal time and leaving Detective Elinborg in charge.  The author has given her colleagues time off as well and Elinborg owns this story.

Elinborg and her team are called to the apartment of Runolfur, a man who works in the telecommunications industry, has lived a quiet life, has never been in trouble, and is unknown to the police.  He is a frequent patron of many of Reykjavik’s most popular bars and he never leaves home without a supply of Rohypnol in his pocket.  Runolfur is a serial rapist, drugging his victims to guarantee their compliance and their amnesia.  In this case, the circumstances have been flipped.  There is evidence that a female was with Runolfur but he is dead and the woman is gone.

While looking for Runolfur’s killer, Elinborg finds herself drawn into a cold case, the disappearance of a teenage girl six years before.  One of the suspects in that case is Edvard, a teacher who is a close friend of Runolfur.  Are the cases connected?

OUTRAGE is a character driven story and the author devotes much of the book to presenting characters who are people in full.  Elinborg brings the readers home with her, witnesses to her strong relationship with her husband and the loving/challenging interactions with her children.  Indridason creates people familiar to readers in every country and culture.  The story goes back in time, proving again that the past is always present for good or for ill.  OUTRAGE will pull  readers in from the first page and will not let go till the last.

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