The Murder Pool, Nordic Watchlist reviews Stella Blómkvist’s latest instalment.
A Stella Blómkvist book always sees the forthright lawyer juggling multiple cases, yet in The Murder Pool, her fourth book to be translated into English, those multiple threads are tempered by perhaps the most vulnerable portrait we have yet seen of the acid-tongued Icelander.
Written in the first person, and with the mystery of who is behind the Stella nom de plume still raging, The Murder Pool presents a more vulnerable Stella than previous instalments.
The dogged determination is still there, along with the desire to get justice for those who have so far been denied it.
One murder case sees the son of a previous client accused of the brutal axe murder of a famous artist, whose latest work – a full-on nude study of the young man – hints at more than an artist-model relationship. Stella is, of course, there to ask the difficult questions, as the artist’s past and unconventional family relationships suggest there is more than just murder to be investigated here. What begins as a killing becomes an excavation of guilt, silence, and institutional failure.
Stella is, of course, not afraid to confront the uncomfortable or to pursue justice long after others have given up hope, something a fast-rising politician discovers to his cost when Stella takes up the fight over an unresolved rape case. The police have dismissed the case after only a cursory investigation, yet Stella exposes explosive evidence that threatens to bring down both police and politicians. Each case tightens the grip, drawing the reader into darker and riskier territory.
Alongside the frenetic casework, though, the Icelandic lawyer is facing her own demons – a partner becoming increasingly ill, a daughter beginning to ask questions about her paternity, and encounters with Iceland’s murky underground that put Stella’s own life at risk.
Sure, the trademark cavalier attitude and acerbic put-downs remain. The unconventional routes and blatant disregard for rank or process are still a key part of her modus operandi, yet something more fragile now seeps through the bravado, adding texture to a heroine long defined by force and defiance.
It is subtle, just the faintest hint, but the human side of Stella begins to peer through the formidable armour she usually clothes herself in. Stella Blómkvist is allowed, at last, to be human without ever losing her bite.
Blómkvist’s writing – and Quentin Bates’s translation – remain as razor-sharp as ever. The pace is relentless, and the myriad characters come thick and fast, yet there is also a sense that Stella is at a crossroads. How does the mother and wife sit alongside the powerhouse lawyer role she has so carefully cultivated?
Perhaps that reflects the mysterious authorship as well. Do the dual Stellas – author and protagonist – also have a balance to find? Is this an autobiography, cataloguing achievements and battles already won, or is the author now allowing their fictional creation to grow into something more than previous works suggested?
Whatever the reason, and whatever the truth of the authorship, a Stella Blómkvist novel always promises to upend the traditional Nordic noir blueprint, and The Murder Pool is no exception – a multi-threaded thriller that balances ferocity with surprising emotional depth.
Do not expect any gentle introductory exposition here. Blómkvist hits the page running, and that frenetic energy lasts to the final page. Does she cram too many plots into one novel? Potentially. But one thing is certain: by combining blistering pace with moral bite, The Murder Pool proves Stella Blómkvist remains one of crime fiction’s most uncompromising voices.
“By combining blistering pace with moral bite, The Murder Pool proves Stella Blómkvist remains one of crime fiction’s most uncompromising voices.”
The Murder Pool by Stella Blómkvist, translated by Quentin Bates, published by Corylus Books is out now
