Murder Most Miserable

The global image of Iceland over the past few years has been shaped by a generation of brash young entrepreneurs, self-styled Vikings of business, who jetted around Europe snapping up companies and finding ever new ways to get rich. Their world collapsed this fall, along with Iceland's economy. So it's fitting that another — and very different — Icelander is stepping in to take their place on the world stage. His name is Erlendur Sveinsson, and he's a gloomy, introverted and thoroughly unhappy man who dislikes the way Iceland has been modernizing. His family life is a mess, with a divorced...

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