Operation Napoleon

Like an Icelandic Stieg Larsson, Arnaldur Indriđason is well known internationally for his Reykjavik Murder Mystery novels. Preceding that series yet only just published is Operation Napoleon, a pacy thriller set amid the vast, desolate landscape of Indriđason's homeland.

The premise is thrilling indeed: in 1945 a plane crashes on a glacier in Iceland, containing both American and German military. The reason for their joint presence, as eventually revealed by Indriđason during the course of his novel, is a juicy conspiracy theory that is outrageous, yet thrillingly believable.

Caught in a fierce storm, the plane remains hidden until some 50 years later when the shifting glacier starts to spit out its secret. Those in the know are determined to keep the plane hidden, but when an Icelandic civilian, Kristin, inadvertently discovers its presence, she becomes the subject of a murderous manhunt.

In some ways a conventional thriller in terms of writing style, it is none the less refreshing to read a story that illuminates a country about which little is widely known. Iceland's fraught yet dependent relationship with America, and the stigma attached to Icelandic women's fraternisation with American men are among the issues touched upon by Indriđason. His heroine, Kristin, may at times be frustratingly tenacious, but the author's characterisation of minor figures is particularly successful, bringing humour and depth to what could otherwise be a drier novel.

If Indriđason is a touch too subtle in his eventual account of the plane's secret - some loose ends are not entirely explained - he nevertheless delivers a punchy conclusion that provides a crystal clear full