Customer Reviews

Frozen Assets: An Officer Gunnhildur Mystery

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Bates' debut introduces a rural Icelandic cop, Officer Gunnhildur Gisladottir, 36-year-old widowed mother of two teens, one already working the fishing boats. Gunna is prickly and guarded, but not easily ruffled - or intimidated.

When she finds a body in the harbor that appears to be a drunken accident, she follows her doubts, uncovering another accidental death and a link between them.

Meanwhile, the anonymous Skandalblogger, exposing corruption in high places, enrages the head of a major PR firm and her philandering husband, an environmental minister, both of whom are steeped in shady deals and quick money.

It's 2008 and the action moves around the small country from rural seaside to Reykjavik, encompassing fishermen and finance ministers in the reckless greed and optimism of development. But hints of uncertainty multiply as building sites go idle, rumors fly and tensions build towards the crash that readers know is coming.

British author and sometime Icelandic resident Bates embeds his well-paced mystery in this strange time, making (some) sense of it for American readers while introducing us to a heroine we could enjoy for the long haul. He doesn't skimp on the plot either, intertwining Gunna's investigation with the killer's movements and ratcheting up suspense as he brings it all together in a rousing finale.

This English-born first-time author, who splits his time between Iceland and England, undertook to write this murder mystery around a contemporary idea: the collapse of Iceland's monetary and banking system [which to date has not recovered], coupled with massive political corruption. As a murder mystery it works fairly well for an initial effort. On the other hand, the economic/political aspect left, to this reader, much to be desired.

The novel is written with two voices. Interspersed with a fairy well-written mystery are a series of "blogs," gossipy items that were supposed to supply background and set the stage for the story, but which are more confusing than helpful in moving the plot forward. Some good editing or rewriting might have salvaged the effort, but more likely just eliminating them and using narrative might have been more effective.

A small town policewoman doggedly chases a three-time murderer while effectively being hamstrung by higher-ups. The murderer is an employee of an international aluminum company in partnership with a corrupt minister and his wife, the head of a public relations agency and front for the insiders who seek to profit from a new plant and hydroelectric facility. It's too bad; the novel could have been up there with the best of Icelandic and Scandinavian books, but falls too short. But, hey, the author shows promise, and we'll probably hear from him again.

Reading this book definitely made me want to visit Iceland and see what it's all about--the cute villages, the fishy soups, the self-elected last names (wow). Frozen Assets has the small-town familiarity of a Jessica Fletcher-like mystery story, but hard-boiled big-business background.

Does the world need another series of police procedurals set in Iceland? The author and publisher of "Frozen Assets" is about to find out. It is quite a bit different from the work of Arnaldur Indridason or Yrsa Siguršardóttir. Quentin Bates is English so his work doesn't need to be translated. He lived in Iceland for years and still has many contacts/friends there. He has a less dour and dark view of things than Icelandic authors, not quite as affected by the national mood of depression and angst.

Social and political issues are woven throughout the book: privatization of state enterprises, control of the power supply, legal and illegal immigration with the banking collapse and economic catastrophe just over the horizon--that will clearly be a major part of the next books in the series as Iceland adjusts to being poor.

There are a lot of characters in "Frozen Assets", a few too many names to keep track of for comfort although Bates may simply be introducing most of the cast of the rest of the series. The protagonist, Gunna the cop, has many of the hallmarks of the modern fictional detective: she is a recovering alcoholic who keeps a bottle of cognac in the back of her refrigerator, has a slightly rebellious daughter who may become a problem as the series progresses (but no husband--he died on a fishing trawler a few years before) and is constantly at odds with her immediate superior. A possible love interest is introduced, relationships with cousins from all over the island are discussed and every bit of her home and office is described.

"Frozen Assets" is a good procedural that will appeal to fans of the genre--like me.

The story flows smoothly and keeps you interested.
The only difficulty is attemtping to pronounce the names of the characters.

All I needed to know before I purchased it was that it was set in a country I know little about. I find most mysteries do a good job of integrating the reader into the atmosphere.

I am awaitng the next from this author!

Having lived in Iceland for over ten years, Quentin Bates had a chance to observe political corruption there with fresh eyes, and he now uses his outrage as the basis of this complex and unusual murder mystery, which illustrates how some elected officials are able to parlay their connections into illegal gains and large personal bank accounts. Officer Gunnhildur, a widow described as a "big fat lass with a face that frightens the horses,' has been with the police department for sixteen years and now runs the police station in the small village of Hvalvik. Smart and conscientious, Gunna has had to work hard to gain the respect that she deserves, usually taking care of business through her knowledge of the community.

This is a time of economic crisis, and everyone is worried about their diminishing resources, the falling housing market, a jittery business environment, a health system which may be privatized, and unemployment, so Gunna's ability to gain one more investigator to help her and her assistant is welcomed when the body of an unidentified young man is found in the water beside the docks. Department higher-ups want to write this off as the death of an intoxicated person who fell off the dock and drowned, but when Gunna discovers that one of the victim's close friends was killed in a road accident the previous spring, she becomes sure that it is murder. Both men had been interested in Clean Iceland, an organization which promotes clean energy and keeps an eye on dams, the environment, and power sources. At issue is a contract to build a privately run smelting company across the bay, and that company and its public relations offshoot, Spearpoint, are directly connected to the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and his wife.

Author Bates keeps the action and interest high as he handles many subplots simultaneously. A mysterious "Skandalblogger" posts regular updates on political scandals and rumors, often chiding recognized politicians. A young magazine writer is "shadowing" Gunnhildur for a story he plans to write about her, and he often discovers information that is helpful to her. One of Gunna's own relatives, previously mixed up in crime, may now be involved with the murder suspect. Whether the suspect is colluding with politicians is another open question. Gunna, with two fatherless children, has home responsibilities, and as she becomes more and more involved in this investigation, she must also consider an offer a job as chief of a tiny station on the other side of the country.

Over two dozen characters, all having unfamiliar Icelandic names, nicknames, and aliases, are involved in action that takes place on many levels at once, in a variety of places which also have unfamiliar names. As the characters move from the murder subplot into other areas of the story, their exact roles become less clear and may overlap, forcing the reader to stay alert for small clues and bits of information. Dialogue is especially important here in conveying personality and motivation and is a key to helping the reader stay abreast of the interrelationships as the action unfolds. Complex, full of detail, and very carefully planned, the various subplots all come together effectively at the end. The first of a new series starring Officer Gunnhildur, Frozen Assets sets a high bar for the additional mysteries which are expected to follow. Mary Whipple

"Frozen Assets" turned out to be a little gem of a story and I was disappointed to find that Quentin Bates doesn't have a whole series of Gunnhildur books for me to obtain and devour. What impressed me most was the simplicity of the story without needless romance or side intrigues. The book is well crafted and the pace builds nicely.

How many times have you started a paragraph and just skipped to the end of it? For me it happens too often. This book has no filler. The people seemed real, good or bad, and the build-up in tension was nicely rendered with all of the story taking place in a country so small that one blogger can really shake things up. The translation had the Icelanders sounding British which is fine.

Gunna is a character that could have a series built around her and I hope that Mr. Bates continues (quickly!) to write more books.

This is the first novel in a series that features a woman from Iceland who is a Sergeant in the police force. She is from a very small town, Helvaik, that usually has as its major crime theft or some misdemeanor. However, Sergeant Gunnhildur, is a smart, strong woman who does not put up with fools. She is the kind of woman you would want to cover your back. Her boss is a thin skinned man who does not want to upset any apple cart or cause any waves. Gunnar as she is known, is a widow, and has two children, a son who sails, and a daughter in high school. She likes her town, and she likes her job, and then one day.

A body is found floating in the harbor. After an initial inspection Gunnar does not think this was an accident, and she must now set out to find the murderer. Her investigation uncovers corruption at multi levels that seem to be connected to the business and banking communities. In the interim, a new crime journalist asks to follow her for a day to see what crime is like in the supberbs. Most intetresting of all is a blogger who remains anonymous, but talks about trouble brewing, and seems to know the business and the personal lives of the big rollers. And, then another murder and a cousin goes missing. Gunnar is up to her ears in trouble and questions. Her boss finally gives her more assistance, snd with her expertise, she is noticed. What begins with a man found in the water, moves into the financial collapse of the banks and businesse in Iceland, and all the ramifications that entails.

The author, Quentin Bates says of his book:

"Much of what became Frozen Assets took shape during Iceland's financial boom. Reykjavík prospered and the country's bankers were hailed as financial wonders who appeared to have dug up a whole cache of Philosopher's Stones. Hopefully Frozen Assets captures the desperate atmosphere in Iceland as its economy skidded toward the rocks. Without question, the fallout in the aftermath of the crash will reverberate through the rest of the series, just as it will for the residents of Iceland for many years to come."

This is the start of a series that is more than entertaining. The writing is superb, the characters are likable and professional. What we think we know, is not what we finally come to believe. The first book has me hooked!

Highly Recommended. prisrob 02-13-12

Cold Comfort: An Officer Gunnhildur Mystery (Officer Gunnhildur Mysteries)

Frozen Out

First Line: Water gurgled between the piles of the dock and the car's tyres juddered over the heavy timbers.

It's an open-and-shut case: the young man was drunk, stumbled off the dock late at night, and drowned. But Police Sergeant Gunnhildur wonders why on earth he'd get drunk in Reykjavik and then drive a hundred miles to fall into the harbor in her town and drown? Resources are tight, and although she's advised to stop looking into this death, Gunnhildur is nothing if not stubborn. The further she digs, the more she finds-- and the information and clues are leading all the way to Iceland's business and banking communities.

While Gunnhildur and her team investigate, a rookie crime journalist attaches himself to her in an attempt to get a scoop, and everyone in the country is wondering who's dishing all the dirt at Skandalblogger.com. When a second murder occurs, Gunnhildur knows she and her team must move even faster to catch a very wily killer.

Bates makes the landscape and weather of Iceland a brooding character in Frozen Assets. The economy, which worsens daily, highlights Iceland's precarious situation as a small country with very limited resources.

The secondary characters (with the exception of two spoiled rich sisters) are a bit two-dimensional, but the two main characters certainly aren't. The killer is ruthless and very, very smart if a bit arrogant. Having heard Officer Gunnhildur referred to as "the fat policewoman" once, he continues to dismiss her as such-- even when he discovers that she's more than a match for him.

Gunna is the single mother of two children. Her thirteen-year-old daughter is still in school while her nineteen-year-old son is working as a deckhand on a fishing boat. The reader knows that she's a bit out of the ordinary right from the start when she insists that the young man's death is not a case of accidental drowning, and then when the case is given to another policeman who wants to pin the death on his favorite suspect. As soon as she sees which way the wind is blowing, she refuses to have any part in it.

When Gunna knows she's right, she will not back down, regardless of whose face she has to get into, what she has to say, or how many hours she has to work. She's good at thinking on her feet, and she does an excellent job of running the investigation and keeping everyone focused and looking in the right directions. The best part of this book was watching the battle of wits between Gunna and the killer.

If there was any one thing that disappointed me in reading this book, it was that I found the tone to be curiously dispassionate. I found it difficult to become fully engaged in the story. That is a minor quibble however, as there is plenty to like in Frozen Assets. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Officer Gunnhildur, and I won't have to wait long. The second book in the series, Cold Comfort, just became available.

This was a great read! I can't wait to read more by Quentin Bates. Very fast paced and kept my attention well.