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renee_pompeii's review against another edition
4.0
A great, engrossing page turner with all the twists and complex relationships you'd expect from Arnaldur. Awesome!
msoblong's review against another edition
3.0
I won a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
This is the first Erlendur Sveinsson book I have read and Im curious to learn more about him. I'll be taking a look around for his other books to get some more background information on the character.
I did enjoy it but it was rather slowly paced. It took me twice as long to read than it normally takes me to finish a novel of its size. There was a lot going on but so much of the book took place in the past that there wasnt anything immediate to keep me from putting the book down.
This is the first Erlendur Sveinsson book I have read and Im curious to learn more about him. I'll be taking a look around for his other books to get some more background information on the character.
I did enjoy it but it was rather slowly paced. It took me twice as long to read than it normally takes me to finish a novel of its size. There was a lot going on but so much of the book took place in the past that there wasnt anything immediate to keep me from putting the book down.
malena_t's review against another edition
4.0
this was my first Icelandic novel, I picked one at random just to understand the fuss about Nordic authors and I wasn't disappointed. However, all the "minor" stories combined with the main plot could sometimes be a little bit confusing at the beginning, in particular the details about the detective's personal life (but it's partly my fault I guess since I didn't start with the author's first novel). Overall, it's an entertaining book, worth reading
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
3.0
The title Hypothermia could refer to a tragic incident in Inspector Erlendur's childhood when he and his younger brother were lost in a sudden blizzard while out helping their father look for the family's sheep. The two brothers became separated in the storm and the younger one was never found. He was presumed dead. Erlendur survived - barely. He was covered by several feet of snow and suffering from hypothermia and frostbite when found, but the searchers were able to save him.
The title could also refer to a technique of deliberately lowering the body's temperature to the point that the heart stops and the person is clinically dead. If not too much time has passed, the person can then be revived by medical personnel and brought back to life. Supposedly, while the person is "dead," he can visit "the other side" and see what, if anything, waits for us there. As it turns out, such a medical experiment plays a part in the mystery which Erlendur is called upon to investigate in this entry in Arnaldur Indriðason's Icelandic mystery series.
Erlendur is just as much of a morose sad sack as ever, but, for some reason, I did not find him as annoying as he has been in previous books. He seemed somewhat more sympathetic this time around and I felt that I could understand his motivations just a bit better. Perhaps he has good reasons for his irascible personality.
Erlendur and his team are called out to a holiday cottage on a lake where the body of a woman has been found hanging from the ceiling. Maria had suffered from depression and various neuroses and had never recovered from her grief over the death of her mother two years before. Her death at first seems a straightforward case of a distraught person unable to face continued life and deciding to put an end to it all. There is no evidence to suggest anything other than suicide. And yet, something about the situation seems off to Erlendur.
That feeling of discontent stays with him even after the verdict of suicide is returned. Then, he is contacted by one of Maria's friends who gives him more information about her terror of the dark and about the fact that she had been visiting mediums in an attempt to contact her mother and get proof of whether there is life after death. He begins an unofficial investigation which uncovers painful family secrets going back many years to the death of Maria's father. When she was just a child, he had drowned in the lake by the cabin in which she later died.
While Erlendur pursues his off-the-record inquiries, he is also consumed by two missing persons cases from long ago. In fact, from around the same time that Maria's father died. The cases have long gone cold with no leads to give a clue as to what happened to the two people. The cases were separate. There was never anything to connect the two people who disappeared, but after reinterviewing family and friends, Erlendur begins to suspect that the cases may be related.
The process by which the inspector pursues these separate cases is slow and methodical and revelatory of his dour, melancholic personality. While he is putting together the puzzle of what happened, he is interrupted by his own family matters. His daughter, Eva, a recovering addict, is obsessed with trying to get her two parents to be friends or at least to talk to each other - something which they haven't done for years. To please his daughter, Erlendur finally reluctantly agrees to meet with his ex-wife. It is not a happy encounter.
In addition to Erlendur seeming more fully human and humane in this entry, his two grown children, especially Eva, were also considerably less annoying. There were definitely fewer histrionics this time, an improvement all around.
The title could also refer to a technique of deliberately lowering the body's temperature to the point that the heart stops and the person is clinically dead. If not too much time has passed, the person can then be revived by medical personnel and brought back to life. Supposedly, while the person is "dead," he can visit "the other side" and see what, if anything, waits for us there. As it turns out, such a medical experiment plays a part in the mystery which Erlendur is called upon to investigate in this entry in Arnaldur Indriðason's Icelandic mystery series.
Erlendur is just as much of a morose sad sack as ever, but, for some reason, I did not find him as annoying as he has been in previous books. He seemed somewhat more sympathetic this time around and I felt that I could understand his motivations just a bit better. Perhaps he has good reasons for his irascible personality.
Erlendur and his team are called out to a holiday cottage on a lake where the body of a woman has been found hanging from the ceiling. Maria had suffered from depression and various neuroses and had never recovered from her grief over the death of her mother two years before. Her death at first seems a straightforward case of a distraught person unable to face continued life and deciding to put an end to it all. There is no evidence to suggest anything other than suicide. And yet, something about the situation seems off to Erlendur.
That feeling of discontent stays with him even after the verdict of suicide is returned. Then, he is contacted by one of Maria's friends who gives him more information about her terror of the dark and about the fact that she had been visiting mediums in an attempt to contact her mother and get proof of whether there is life after death. He begins an unofficial investigation which uncovers painful family secrets going back many years to the death of Maria's father. When she was just a child, he had drowned in the lake by the cabin in which she later died.
While Erlendur pursues his off-the-record inquiries, he is also consumed by two missing persons cases from long ago. In fact, from around the same time that Maria's father died. The cases have long gone cold with no leads to give a clue as to what happened to the two people. The cases were separate. There was never anything to connect the two people who disappeared, but after reinterviewing family and friends, Erlendur begins to suspect that the cases may be related.
The process by which the inspector pursues these separate cases is slow and methodical and revelatory of his dour, melancholic personality. While he is putting together the puzzle of what happened, he is interrupted by his own family matters. His daughter, Eva, a recovering addict, is obsessed with trying to get her two parents to be friends or at least to talk to each other - something which they haven't done for years. To please his daughter, Erlendur finally reluctantly agrees to meet with his ex-wife. It is not a happy encounter.
In addition to Erlendur seeming more fully human and humane in this entry, his two grown children, especially Eva, were also considerably less annoying. There were definitely fewer histrionics this time, an improvement all around.
jamestomasino's review against another edition
2.0
I was really into this story at the beginning. I'm absolutely obsessed with Iceland and the setting drew me in quickly. I could place myself at each location and I loved meeting the cast of characters. That is, for the first third of the book.
After that things began to turn. The book fell into a repetitive pattern with the interview style dialog. Not much was revealed naturally. So much was force-fed and the revelations became tedious and drawn out. The revolving door of characters became more two dimensional and before I knew it I had lost all drive to know the conclusion.
After that things began to turn. The book fell into a repetitive pattern with the interview style dialog. Not much was revealed naturally. So much was force-fed and the revelations became tedious and drawn out. The revolving door of characters became more two dimensional and before I knew it I had lost all drive to know the conclusion.
kimb2's review against another edition
5.0
Wondering about whether there is life softer death is not something I spend my time pondering. Yet, this author draws you in with this very subject. A woman, determined to learn whether life exists after death, is found dead, seemingly at her own hand. But did she die at her own hand? Atmospheric and gripping.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
5.0
Love/Hate?: Subtle love
Rating: 5/5
Did you finish?: Couldn't finish fast enough!
One-sentence summary: Icelandic police investigator is nagged by a suicide that doesn't seem right.
Why did you get this book?: Goodreads Giveaway
Do you like the cover?: Eh -- I don't hate it, but it doesn't stick out in my mind.
First line from book: Maria hardly registered what was happening during the funeral.
Review: Apparently this is the 6th book in a series, which I didn't know when I requested this book. (I likely wouldn't have requested it then as I hate arriving at a series in the middle.) However, this book easily reads as a satisfying standalone thriller, and I didn't feel at anytime that I was lost or missing an inside joke or reference.
I've seen this book compared to Larsson's Millennium trilogy, but other than both being Scandinavian authors, I fail to see the similarities. Larsson's hero is in his prime, slightly disreputable but clearly moral, irresistible to women; Indridason's Erlendur is in his 60s, reticent and withdrawn, emotionally distant. The pacing of this book is different than Larsson as well: we're treated to flashbacks leading up to Maria's death, breaking up Erlendur's careful investigation. The tension comes from the slow, inevitable confirmation of what we -- and Erlendur -- suspect and fear. It's not an exciting book, per se, but it's definitely not boring.
Tropes?: Distant daddy, angry daughter, smothering mother-in-law
FTC Disclosure: I received this book via GoodReads First Reads giveaway.
Rating: 5/5
Did you finish?: Couldn't finish fast enough!
One-sentence summary: Icelandic police investigator is nagged by a suicide that doesn't seem right.
Why did you get this book?: Goodreads Giveaway
Do you like the cover?: Eh -- I don't hate it, but it doesn't stick out in my mind.
First line from book: Maria hardly registered what was happening during the funeral.
Review: Apparently this is the 6th book in a series, which I didn't know when I requested this book. (I likely wouldn't have requested it then as I hate arriving at a series in the middle.) However, this book easily reads as a satisfying standalone thriller, and I didn't feel at anytime that I was lost or missing an inside joke or reference.
I've seen this book compared to Larsson's Millennium trilogy, but other than both being Scandinavian authors, I fail to see the similarities. Larsson's hero is in his prime, slightly disreputable but clearly moral, irresistible to women; Indridason's Erlendur is in his 60s, reticent and withdrawn, emotionally distant. The pacing of this book is different than Larsson as well: we're treated to flashbacks leading up to Maria's death, breaking up Erlendur's careful investigation. The tension comes from the slow, inevitable confirmation of what we -- and Erlendur -- suspect and fear. It's not an exciting book, per se, but it's definitely not boring.
Tropes?: Distant daddy, angry daughter, smothering mother-in-law
FTC Disclosure: I received this book via GoodReads First Reads giveaway.
librarylove4eva's review against another edition
5.0
Another excellent entry in the Inspector Erlendur series. Two unrelated missing persons cases from 30 years ago haunt the inspector and finally get connected and solved by the depressive detective in this Icelandic mystery. The detective's son and daughter figure more in this book than others I have read, with Eva Lind (daughter) requesting a meeting between her long separated parents. There is also a suspected "suicide" being investigated off-the-books. With his obvious police intuition, Erlendur smells and discovers something fishy. Again, excellent read and definite recommend to fans of mystery, Indridason or Erlendur.