A review by liberrydude
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indriðason

5.0

I've read all in this series and this one stands out. The solitary Erlendur is on a personal quest outside the scope of his official duties. His usual sidekicks make fleeting appearances. He seeks answers on decades old cold cases of two missing persons while also making discrete inquiries on a cut and dry suicide case. He had reluctantly taken up the suicide case after listening to a tape of the deceased at a seance and his quest quickly escalates into a crusade. At the same time his personal life is being rocked by his daughter's attempt at effecting some sort of reconciliation with his ex-wife. He is also reliving the pain of losing his brother as a child in a blizzard. Life after death, not freezing to death is the theme of this book- although there is a connection between the two. Erlendur is compassionate, solitary, and quirky as always. It's too bad this series hasn't been able to do for Iceland what Mankell's Wallander has done for Skane, Sweden; however,I'm getting more and more interested in visiting Iceland especially after Googling some of the Icelandic place names that defy pronunciation and seeing their stark and surreal images on Icelandic Flikr accounts.