In the isolated town of Raufarhöfn, Kalmann Odinsson — a neurodivergent man who wears a cowboy hat, gun, and badge given to him by his long-gone American father — is the self-appointed 'sheriff'...He relishes his role and the comfort of carrying the objects, though he does not in any sense function as a law-enforcement officer...Instead, he makes a living as a shark hunter, carrying on the profession taught to him by his beloved grandfather, who made Iceland’s best hákarl, a delicacy featuring fermented shark meat...His world is so ordered and stable, in fact, that a tourist sitting at Kalmann’s customary table in a local restaurant upends his equilibrium...Naturally, the arrival of a policeman from Reykjavik to investigate the blood and missing person catapults Kalmann far outside his comfort zone, sweeping him up in a possible homicide investigation...Kalmann is a whodunit, but it’s far more than that...On one level, author Joachim B. Schmidt has set up the dying town as a critical character, playing on the remote, unusual setting and its inhabitants...These are people whose existence is challenged daily by the elements...They rely on the sea but also each other...Truly, their survival depends on their interconnectedness both with one another and the water.
Kalmann is a deceptive, engaging, seemingly simple mystery, set in a remote, slowly dying Icelandic fishing village, with lyrical descriptions of the land and sea, weather and animals...The narrator is Kalmann Odinsson, dismissed by many as 'the village idiot,' who explains in detail his views on life and principles, especially the importance of keeping promises, and discourses on his work hunting fox and fishing for shark...In public, he's easily flustered and tongue-tied and sometimes batters himself and others in rage, hurt and embarrassment...But he has a heart of gold and somehow has a way of being at or near the center of a series of murderous events, starting with his discovery in the snow of a pool of blood from the man who has been doing the most to try to revive the town through tourism--but also through some crooked deals that are revealed only slowly...In the course of events, readers become acquainted with a range of eccentric, entertaining townspeople, as well as Kalmann's beloved grandfather, now mostly incommunicative in a nursing home, who was the only person who fully understood Kalmann as a child and who taught him how to hunt and fish...Kalmann has a distinct, engaging voice that may not be as reliable as it seems, yet by the end of this tale, all mysteries are cleared up in surprising and satisfying ways.
Kalmann Ódinsson, the 33-year-old neurodivergent man and self-proclaimed sheriff of the remote village of Raufarhöfn, Iceland, who narrates this endearing slice-of-life mystery, Swiss Icelandic author Schmidt’s English-language debut, fills his days hunting Arctic foxes and catching sharks to ferment into the delicacy called hákarl...Lonely, Kalmann longs for another close relationship like the one he shares with his ailing grandfather, who helped raise him to be empathetic and independent...Kalmann’s discovery while hunting of a frozen pool of human blood coincides with the disappearance of a wealthy but debt-ridden local hotel owner whose influence and shady business dealings touch many of Raufarhöfn’s residents...The narrative charms of Schmidt’s unlikely detective will keep readers turning the pages...Nordic crime fans won’t want to miss this unusual take on a familiar story.
