GRANT NICOL - THE MISTAKE (2015)

Synopsis/blurb....

Everybody makes mistakes. 

A mutilated body is found on a lonely street in Reykjavík. Detective Grímur intends to see that justice is done. 

Kjartan Jónsson vows that his daughter’s killer will be punished. And that the punishment will fit the crime. 

Prime suspect Gunnar Atli desperately needs to prevent his own dark secrets from coming to light. And he’s not the only one. 

Fine lines separate truth, justice and vengeance. Put a foot wrong, and any one of them could be making the biggest mistake of his life. 

In Iceland, the winter shadows grow long...

"A tense and atmospheric Nordic Noir. Another belter from Number Thirteen Press." -Paul D. Brazill (author of Guns of Brixton and A Case of Noir)


One of my favourites so far from the Number 13 canon of novellas. 

A trip to Iceland, a dead girl, a confused witness-cum-suspect who is not entirely truthful, an angry father and a detective who is trying to make sense of it all.

Setting, pace, plot, characters, resolution - all here in spades and all done and dusted in a couple of hours intense and engrossed reading. Apparently 164 pages long but it seemed to positively fly by, so I'm unsure of the accuracy of the page count.

Secrets, history, estrangement, power, control, arrogance, prostitution, family, death, revenge, justice, mental health, violence and sadism all combined in a splendid mix.

4.5 from 5

The Mistake was my first taste of Grant Nicol's work but not my last. Another three Grimur Karllson detective mysteries are out there - On a Small Island, A Place to Bury Strangers and Out on the Ice.

Read in July, 2018
Published - 2015
Page count - 164
Source - purchased
Format - kindle


The Mistake was the third in Number 13 Press's collection of 13 publications. Fahrenheit Press has recently re-issued or is in the process of re-issuing all of them.