The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason

Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson and his colleagues Sigurdur Oli and Elinborg are called to a lake outside of Reykjavik after a hydrologist finds a skeleton in a drained lake. After some preliminary studies, it appears that the bones (with a hole in the skull) have been there since the 1970's. An old Soviet listening device is also found underneath the body. To try and identify the skeleton, the detectives focus on men who went missing in the early 1970's. Interpersed throughout the novel is the story of Tomas, who went to study at the University of Leipzig in his socialist youth. Are the bones somehow connected to spies in Iceland years ago? Indridason's story of Icelanders during the Cold War is particularly intriguing and, as usual (this is the fourth in the series), the insight into Erlendur's life, the foreign setting and the absorbing mystery make for compelling reading.