Book Deview of Kalmann and the sleeping mountain by Joachim Schmidt (trans Jamie Lee Searle)

Name of Book: Kalmann and the sleeping mountain 

Author: Joachim B Schmidt 

ISBN: 978-1-916725-00-3

Publisher: Bitter lemon press 

Part of a Series: Kalmann series

Type of book: Covid, 2020-2021, mysterious death, USA, election, Jan 6 insurrection, FBI, Iceland, possible mysteries,, motives, pollution 

Year it was published: 2024 (2023) 

Summary:

The return of Kalmann, the oddball hero of the bestselling novel of the same name. Set first in West Virginia and Washington at the time of the 2021 riots at the US Capitol Building and then in the far north of Iceland where Kalmann, the self-appointed Sheriff of a small fishing village, is faced with murders leading back to US shenanigans in Iceland during the Cold War.

It all begins with Kalmann in very hot water. He’s at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, arrested during the Jan 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol Building. All he wanted was to visit his American father in the US for the Christmas holidays – but his dad takes him (and a group of MAGA friends) to the protests in Washington to “regain the house which is ours”. He is promptly arrested of course. Thanks to sympathetic FBI agent Dakota Leen, he’s soon on a plane back to Iceland. But not before Dakota informs him that his recently deceased grandfather was on an FBI list of suspected Russian spies working in Iceland during the Cold War.

Back home, Kalmann begins to suspect that his grandfather’s death from “heart failure” was a murder. His maverick investigation uncovers another assassination and takes him to the site of a US radar station abandoned in the 1970s. So, there are now two murders to be solved and the threat of more to come. Much to do for our unlikely amateur detective who somehow never loses heart. As usual he has everything under control. There’s no need to worry.

Characters:

Main character was definitely Kalmann, the self appointed Sheriff of Raufarhofn who is more wise than intelligent. He tends to be naive but is also surprisingly insightful and is loyal to his loved ones. He is also determined. There are plenty of secondary characters such as Kalmanns American side of his family ( his father, his uncle and half sisters) a friend and some other locals. I really enjoyed Kalmanns American trip (  minus the Jan 6 insurrection) and I also enjoyed finding out more about Kalmanns grandfather. 

Theme:

Trust instinct 

Plot:

The story is told in first person narrative from Kalmanns point of view. The tale begins on the aftermath of January 6th when Kalmann faces the FBI then goes back to few months ago when he lost someone dear to him and learns his father wants to reconnect. After catching up to aftermath of January 6th, Kalmann goes back to Iceland and then the story picks up from some earlier threads. The tale is also deceptive in that it makes the reader think one thing but in the end it ends up somewhere else. Kalmann remains Kalmann and just like in previous book, I hope to meet him soon. 

Author Information:
( From goodreads) 

N/A

Opinion:

Having been introduced to Sheriff of Raufarhofn in the previous book titled KALMANN, I was very excited to get my hands on the sequel and reconnect to my favorite sheriff/detective as well as a lot of beloved characters such as Kalmanns grandfather, his mother and few colorful locals. Most of all, back to Kalmann. My experience reading it has been as good as previous book, especially with Kalmann getting involved in Jan 6th insurrection (long story...) I also hope that in the future novels some of Kalmanns American family will show up. Yes, a definite delightful read. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)