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brontherun's review
4.0
Another great Icelandic mystery. This time Erlendur is left to sort things out as he is without his CID team, and the reader learns more about our melancholy detective's past. A haunting page turner!
eldiente's review
3.0
This is a haunting continuation of the "Erlendur" series by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason. I enjoyed the ongoing search for meaning that the main character pursues in search of an adolescent tragedy. This book seemed to lead to some resolution of that ongoing search. Visiting Iceland someday is on my bucket list.
dave37's review
3.0
This is an odd duck in the series, and I'm still not 100% sure I liked it. There are three main story arcs - one new, and two that carry over from prior books in the series.
The new one involves Erlunder going off on his own to unofficially investigate a seemingly open and shut suicide that strikes him as slightly suspicious. While the facts that ultimately come out about the case make for an interesting crime, the way that Erlunder just happens across so many of the clues struck me as too convenient and contrived. Not particularly satisfying for my tastes.
One of the continuing arcs involved Erlunder tying up two of the lingering missing persons cases that had plagued his conscience. Again, they are tied up very neatly, and a bit too conveniently for my taste.
Finally, we get more exploration of Erlunder's family background. Good information in the sense of giving us more of a picture of why Erlunder is who he is, but not a particularly compelling read.
The new one involves Erlunder going off on his own to unofficially investigate a seemingly open and shut suicide that strikes him as slightly suspicious. While the facts that ultimately come out about the case make for an interesting crime, the way that Erlunder just happens across so many of the clues struck me as too convenient and contrived. Not particularly satisfying for my tastes.
One of the continuing arcs involved Erlunder tying up two of the lingering missing persons cases that had plagued his conscience. Again, they are tied up very neatly, and a bit too conveniently for my taste.
Finally, we get more exploration of Erlunder's family background. Good information in the sense of giving us more of a picture of why Erlunder is who he is, but not a particularly compelling read.
laurakatarooma's review against another edition
4.0
Jos kaipaat superrauhallista dekkaria ni lue tämä.
snoutling's review
3.0
There's nothing quite like an Icelandic thriller (in Large Print) to get me back into fiction.
pattieod's review
4.0
The term "thriller" (from the cover: "An Icelandic Thriller") doesn't exactly apply to this slow, atmospheric, character-driven police procedural, but it's still Indridason's best yet. It's somewhat more enjoyable if you're already familiar with Erlendur, Eva Lind and Sindri Snaer, and but it's still written to be accessible for those new to the series. Even if you're not a mystery fanatic, you still might want to give this a go.
valy_buki's review against another edition
2.0
Read it in Dutch. The translation was not so good. It was a fast read but the story was very slow paced.
chrispyschaller's review
4.0
A mystery about nagging suspicions and long-cold cases. With additional glimpses of Erlendur's shaky family life.
ebbrooks78's review
4.0
I purchased this book for .50 at a thrift shop and thought why not...crime....Iceland...
Happy that I did! Rare to find a Scandinavian crime series I’m not a fan of. Moody and offbeat in all the right ways. I may not have a clue how to pronounce the locations...but the to-the-point description led me directly there!
Now off to find the earlier books of this series!
Happy that I did! Rare to find a Scandinavian crime series I’m not a fan of. Moody and offbeat in all the right ways. I may not have a clue how to pronounce the locations...but the to-the-point description led me directly there!
Now off to find the earlier books of this series!
bgg616's review
4.0
A quick read and satisfying. I will say though the Icelandic police don't seem to be able to prosecute crimes that we could and would in the US. Also Icelandic police seem to have a lot of free time on their hands to do their own investigations without permission.