Icelanders are like that . . .

books:


	• Silence of the Grave (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, No. 2) Arnaldur Indridason Picador, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

ilence Of the Grave

This guy can really write. I went back and picked up "Jar City," also very good. Complicated plot that doesn't slow down.

A great sequel to "Jar City"

I greatly enjoyed reading this sequel to "Jar City!" I am a big fan of Henning Mankell's novels, but it was thrilling to discover Arnaldur Indridason! His writing kept me at the "edge of my seat;" his stories are gripping and also provide psychological depth to his characters. Just as Mankell does with Sweden, Arnaldur gives the reader some insight into Icelandic society.
I can't wait to read Arnaldur's future novels!

for more information click here

Dark, brooding, and delightful

I'm not a big fan of this genre. In fact, the only reason I read this book was because they were available, and I was out of other reading material. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself completely engrossed from start to finish. The characters are all disturbingly flawed; haunted by their own personal demons, yet somehow managing to unravel a long-forgotten series of crimes.

I imagine that crime fiction aficionados would find even more to love in this well-written, thought-provoking story.

for more information click here

Icelanders are like that . . .

When I first began reading this author's first translated novel, _Jar City,_ I didn't think I was going to enjoy it. Then I got caught up in it and it's stayed in my mind ever since. This second novel featuring the dour, laconic Detective Erlendur Sveinsson of Reykjavik, isn't as gray in tone and texture as the first one, but it's just as unsettling, . . . not unlike an Icelandic saga, in fact. Again like the first book, the plot hinges on a crime committed long ago, revolving this time on the identification of a body found in a foundation excavation in a new housing subdivision. The story shifts between the present day, in which Erlendur has to deal with a university archaeologist who has undertaken to excavate the body (their forensics expert being on vacation in Spain at the moment), and the days of the Allied occupation during the 1940s, when an entire family is living in continual fear of domestic abuse. Because, even though the cover rather erroneously calls this a "thriller," it's really a story about strained family relationships and all the variations that situation can take. Erlendur has a very iffy relationship with his pregnant, drugged-out daughter, and a twenty-year nonspeaking relationship with his ex-wife. One of his detectives is in the middle of a crisis with his live-in girlfriend, who wants commitment. A vicious wife-beater has a sick relationship with everyone in the house. Another possible victim whose body it might be had a series of troubled relationships with fiancé and family. And on and on. Anyone who has read Henning Mankell will see a resemblance in Erlendur to Kurt Wallender. (Maybe it's a Scandinavian thing.) So, don't expect a lot of cop-type action here, but do expect a very well-written novel.

for more information click here

reviews: 1, page 2, 3, 4

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Best books I've read this month: Apr., 2008

search for books
silence of the, grave, murder, mysteries, reykjavik, silence

Impressum / about us