Publication
Vintage Books, c2010 translation c2013
Collection
Series
Status
Available
Description
"[B]egins when a young woman disappears from the frozen fjords of Iceland. In her wake, this woman has left a tempest of lies, betrayal and revenge. Decades later, somewhere in the same wilderness, Detective Erlendur is on the hunt. He is looking for the missing woman but also for his long-lost brother, whose disappearance in a snowstorm when they were children has coloured his entire life. Slowly, the past begins to surrender its secrets. But as Erlendur uncovers a story about the limits of human endurance, he realizes that many people would prefer their crimes to stay buried" --
Media reviews
Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
If I could read an Arnaldur Indridason crime novel every day for the rest of my life I would be a very happy man. I don't know of anyone writing better mysteries than he. He is a master.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lit_chick
A young woman walks into the frozen fjords of Iceland, never to be seen again. But Matthildur leaves in her wake rumours of lies, betrayal and revenge.
Decades after Matthildur’s disappearance, Erlendur is investigating in the same wilderness. He is looking for clues to Matthildur’s fate, but
Indridason once again delivers with a strong crime story, and great secondary characters: Ezra, part of Matthildur’s past, is particularly memorable. But my favourite parts of this final Detective Erlendur novel are the personal insights into the detective himself. While the memories of Beggi’s loss have haunted him forever, he does recall life with his parents and brother before tragedy struck, when they were a happy family of four:
"Occasions like Christmas: his father wearing an Icelandic Yule hat; the tree they had decorated together; listening to a radio serial on a winter’s evening. The images glimmered before his mind’s eye like the dim flickering of a candle ... Summer days. Sitting on a horse; his mother’s hand on the leading rein. The hay harvest. Men drinking coffee and smoking outside the house. He and Bergur playing in the sweet-scented hay in the barn." (Ch 26)
Indridason is my favourite Scandi-Crime writer. This entire series is highly recommended.
Decades after Matthildur’s disappearance, Erlendur is investigating in the same wilderness. He is looking for clues to Matthildur’s fate, but
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also for his long-lost brother, Bergur, who was lost in a violent winter storm when the two of them were young children – a loss that has tainted Erlendur’s entire life. Slowly, as the past begins to surrender its secrets, the detective realizes that these may have been better left buried.Indridason once again delivers with a strong crime story, and great secondary characters: Ezra, part of Matthildur’s past, is particularly memorable. But my favourite parts of this final Detective Erlendur novel are the personal insights into the detective himself. While the memories of Beggi’s loss have haunted him forever, he does recall life with his parents and brother before tragedy struck, when they were a happy family of four:
"Occasions like Christmas: his father wearing an Icelandic Yule hat; the tree they had decorated together; listening to a radio serial on a winter’s evening. The images glimmered before his mind’s eye like the dim flickering of a candle ... Summer days. Sitting on a horse; his mother’s hand on the leading rein. The hay harvest. Men drinking coffee and smoking outside the house. He and Bergur playing in the sweet-scented hay in the barn." (Ch 26)
Indridason is my favourite Scandi-Crime writer. This entire series is highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member missizicks
This was really excellent. Indridason writes the Erlendur character so well. It was quite a gentle story, focusing on past mysteries, and exploring the nature of grief when a body can't be found - the impact that can have on a life. It was quite moving in parts. The ending was enigmatic as well. To
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all intents, this could be the end, but with the book scattered with references to people surviving hypothermia, it equally could just be a pause. As a reader, I'm not ready to let go yet. I can only hope that, as an author, Indridason isn't either. Show Less
LibraryThing member ebyrne41
'Strange Shores' by Iceland's Arnaldur Indridason is the latest, and possibly the last, in the series featuring Detective Erlunder of the Reykjavik police. I say possibly, for the ending certainly leaves room for speculation, and I think too that that is the author's intent, so don't be surprised
While his primary concern is his brother's disappearance, he finds himself investigating another disappearance, that of a young woman in somewhat similar circumstances during the war. Her disappearance during a blizzard occurred the same evening that a number of British servicemen were lost while on military manoeuvres, an unusual aspect of this storyline is that the event involving the British servicemen was in fact a real life occurrence. This investigation, while unofficial, takes him back and forth between a number of individuals still living who had associations with the woman in question. Erlunder is like a dog with a bone when it comes to solving a mystery, in particular when some doubt raises its head as to what in fact happened to her given that her body was never recovered. And dragging up the past is not to the liking of all. Meanwhile the activities of a now dead fox catcher is perhaps the only tenuous link and therefore hope for Erlunder in maybe finding his brother's remains.
Much of the story too involves Erlunder looking back on events of that fateful night where we meet really for the first time the young Erlunder and his parents, and where we get too a real sense of the tragedy that befell them and shaped the rest of their lives.
This is yet another class work from Indridason. A well constructed plot is at its core, but of equal measure is the character of Erlunder and the long time effect of his brother's disappearance on him. Indeed personal loss and its effect on people are central to the story, and you can't help but be engrossed in this well written story from start to finish. I can highly recommend it.
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if like Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole you see another in the series. In this Erlunder revisits a haunting event from his past, namely the disappearance of his younger brother during a snowstorm, in an attempt to bring some closure. Erlunder survived that snowstorm and largely blames himself for his brother's disappearance. That event has served to haunt him ever since. Erlunder is absent from the previous two titles in the series (Outrage, Black Skies); it might in fact be that events here happen in parallel with the storyline of the previous title. While his primary concern is his brother's disappearance, he finds himself investigating another disappearance, that of a young woman in somewhat similar circumstances during the war. Her disappearance during a blizzard occurred the same evening that a number of British servicemen were lost while on military manoeuvres, an unusual aspect of this storyline is that the event involving the British servicemen was in fact a real life occurrence. This investigation, while unofficial, takes him back and forth between a number of individuals still living who had associations with the woman in question. Erlunder is like a dog with a bone when it comes to solving a mystery, in particular when some doubt raises its head as to what in fact happened to her given that her body was never recovered. And dragging up the past is not to the liking of all. Meanwhile the activities of a now dead fox catcher is perhaps the only tenuous link and therefore hope for Erlunder in maybe finding his brother's remains.
Much of the story too involves Erlunder looking back on events of that fateful night where we meet really for the first time the young Erlunder and his parents, and where we get too a real sense of the tragedy that befell them and shaped the rest of their lives.
This is yet another class work from Indridason. A well constructed plot is at its core, but of equal measure is the character of Erlunder and the long time effect of his brother's disappearance on him. Indeed personal loss and its effect on people are central to the story, and you can't help but be engrossed in this well written story from start to finish. I can highly recommend it.
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LibraryThing member smik
I remember well reading the first novel by this author, JAR CITY (aka TAINTED BLOOD), first published in English in 2004, and I've been a follower ever since.
Some reviewers are saying this is his best ever. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it is certainly memorable. Detective Elendur has been
The story of the disappearance of Matthildur during a similar snow storm is one that Erlendur seems to have known all of his life. He is on holidays in the area that he grew up in, and takes the opportunity to try to find out what people remember about Matthildur's disappearance. At the time some people didn't voice their suspicions and there were some who knew the truth.
Although this is not an official police investigation Erlendur puts a lot of energy into it and eventually solves the puzzle. But can justice be done?
This is an excellent read. Indridason leads the reader through layers of investigation, so that eventually we understand for ourselves what happened to Matthildur, and Elendur is able to come to terms with his role in Beggi's disappearance.
My rating: 4.6
Elendur has actually been missing from the most recent novels in the series: BLACK SKIES and OUTRAGE, and it seems that STRANGE SHORES will actually be his final appearance - apart from the fact that REYKJAVIK NIGHTS published in 2014 is actually a prequel to the series. The first two novels in the series published in 1997 and 1998 have never been translated into English. There also appears to another novel in the Erlendur series, published in Icelandic in 2011, Einvígið, that has never made it into English.
Some reviewers are saying this is his best ever. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it is certainly memorable. Detective Elendur has been
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haunted all of his life by the loss of his 8 year old brother in a snow storm, when he himself was only twelve, and by the impression that he was somehow at fault. Beggi's body was never found despite an extensive search. At times Erlendur relives that time when he was waiting in the cold snow for someone to find him, and he realised that he was no longer holding Beggi's hand.The story of the disappearance of Matthildur during a similar snow storm is one that Erlendur seems to have known all of his life. He is on holidays in the area that he grew up in, and takes the opportunity to try to find out what people remember about Matthildur's disappearance. At the time some people didn't voice their suspicions and there were some who knew the truth.
Although this is not an official police investigation Erlendur puts a lot of energy into it and eventually solves the puzzle. But can justice be done?
This is an excellent read. Indridason leads the reader through layers of investigation, so that eventually we understand for ourselves what happened to Matthildur, and Elendur is able to come to terms with his role in Beggi's disappearance.
My rating: 4.6
Elendur has actually been missing from the most recent novels in the series: BLACK SKIES and OUTRAGE, and it seems that STRANGE SHORES will actually be his final appearance - apart from the fact that REYKJAVIK NIGHTS published in 2014 is actually a prequel to the series. The first two novels in the series published in 1997 and 1998 have never been translated into English. There also appears to another novel in the Erlendur series, published in Icelandic in 2011, Einvígið, that has never made it into English.
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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
Inspector Erlendur is solo in this ninth series installment. The two Erlandur trademarks, his fascination with people disappearing in the Icelandic moors (primed by his brother Bergur’s disappearance during a blizzard when Bergur was 8 and Erlandur 10) and unsolved cold cases are in full force.
Having been absent in the previous two mysteries (Outrage and Black Skies), Erlandur fans will not be disappointed with his return. His doggedness and unconventional methods are in rare form. Readers of Nordic mysteries as well as police procedurals will also find this book and series satisfying. While Erlandur veterans get more insight on Bergur’s disappearance, no knowledge of the back story is required for full enjoyment.
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Camping out in the dilapidated remains of his childhood home, Erlandur has unsettling dreams of Bergur’s disappearance. He is reminded by a local hunter of a young woman who, after purportedly setting off through the mountains to visit her sister in January 1942, disappeared when a blinding snow storm materialized. Erlandur’s curiosity gets the best of him and he begins questioning the woman’s few remaining relatives and long-time residents of the small town in which she resided, dredging up memories that to most of those involved are better left buried. But, Erlandur is nothing if not persistent.Having been absent in the previous two mysteries (Outrage and Black Skies), Erlandur fans will not be disappointed with his return. His doggedness and unconventional methods are in rare form. Readers of Nordic mysteries as well as police procedurals will also find this book and series satisfying. While Erlandur veterans get more insight on Bergur’s disappearance, no knowledge of the back story is required for full enjoyment.
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LibraryThing member ritaer
Inspector Erlendur has been haunted since childhood by the loss of his younger brother in a blinding snowstorm. A visit to the old homestead leads him into an informal investigation of an earlier disappearance. Will solving this case give him insight into his own past. Another slice of the
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dark-insights into tortured souls. Nordic noir indeed. If you have been following this series you must read this volume, if not, start earlier if possible. Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
This 11th entry in the Scandanavian mystery about Iceland's Inspector Erlendur was a bit slow getting started but built up to a powerhouse finale. However, I don't think it would have the same impact if read as a stand-alone.
LibraryThing member Lori_Eshleman
I have long been a fan of the mysteries of Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason, especially of his Inspector Erlendur series. In Strange Shores, the author takes us to the remote and wintery ruin of Erlendur's childhood home and the daunting terrain where his brother disappeared as a child. The
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scenes in the ruined farmhouse will recall to mind many readers' lost childhood homes and our desire to know what has become of them. In the novel, the ruin becomes a symbol of the past and the familiar people who once lived there, and more than that, a portal into another world. Weaving together two missing persons cold cases with visits to eccentric witnesses and an old cemetery, Strange Shores is the climax of Erlendur's years-long obsession with these remote fjords and his brother's disappearance. Of all the detectives in Scandinavian mysteries, Erlendur is perhaps the most tormented. And of all Indridason's novels, this one is perhaps the most visionary. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarltonC
A fittingly melancholy novel to end the excellent atmospheric Inspector Erlendur series of crime novels set in Iceland.
Our protagonist headed east to his homestead near Eskifjodur and Egilstaddir at the end of Hypothermia, although he is mentioned in passing in Outrage and Black Skies. We find him
I enjoyed this novel for its setting away from urban Reykjavik and for resolving the unhappiness at the centre of Erlendur's life.
A sad but satisfyingly powerful culmination to his story if you have followed Erlendur in previous novels.
Our protagonist headed east to his homestead near Eskifjodur and Egilstaddir at the end of Hypothermia, although he is mentioned in passing in Outrage and Black Skies. We find him
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brooding on the death of his brother, who was lost in a snow storm from which Erlendur was rescued, and researching the disappearance of a woman in a similar snow storm in 1942. This is not a police investigation, but is driven by Erlendur's need for some form of closure for his brother's death, whose body was never discovered.I enjoyed this novel for its setting away from urban Reykjavik and for resolving the unhappiness at the centre of Erlendur's life.
A sad but satisfyingly powerful culmination to his story if you have followed Erlendur in previous novels.
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LibraryThing member Schatje
Having read and enjoyed the entire series of Icelandic mysteries by Indridason, I was excited when this latest installment was translated. Erlendur, the unhappiest of detectives, made no appearance in the last two novels and, sadly, this will apparently be his last.
Erlendur is in remote
Of course, the investigation into Matthildur’s death parallels Erlendur’s search for answers to what happened to Bergur: “His sole intention was to uncover the truth in every case, to track down what was lost . . . ” (221). And every night Erlendur returns to the derelict farmhouse which had been his childhood home: “part of him would forever belong to this place, a witness to the helplessness of the individual when confronted by the pitiless forces of nature” (21).
Though the book is a mystery, it is also an examination of loss and grief: “When a loved one went missing time changed nothing. Admittedly, it dulled the pain, but by the same token the loss became a lifelong companion for those who survived, making the grief keener and deeper . . .” (280). It is this observation that explains much of Erlendur’s behaviour, both in terms of Matthildur’s case and in terms of his choice at the end.
Sadness permeates the entire novel. Obviously, the loss of Matthildur and Bergur overshadows all events: the “dismal plight” of survivors “doomed to live on in the wreckage” and relationships “denied a chance to blossom” (188-189). There is also, however, the loss of Iceland’s past and the destruction of her pristine environment. At one point Erlendur observes, “He couldn’t understand how on earth an unaccountable multinational, based far away in America, had been permitted to put its heavy industrial stamp on a tranquil fjord and tract of untouched wilderness here in the remote east of Iceland” (8). Later, he bemoans the loss of “the old Icelandic storytelling tradition . . . linking man to his environment . . . [and instilling] respect for the land and the forces latent within it” (38).
There are some unlikely coincidences that tarnish the plot, but the book is a fitting ending to the series. What happens may surprise some readers, but I found the ending is perfectly in keeping with Erlendur’s character as developed throughout this series. In fact, I would argue that this ending was inevitable from the very beginning.
Erlendur is in remote
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northeastern Iceland where he lived until his younger brother disappeared in a snowstorm. Erlendur feels responsible for what happened to his brother Bergur but has borne “his guilt in silence” (181). Nevertheless he “came back for a visit every so often when he felt the urge” (11). During one of those visits, he has an encounter which sets him to investigating the disappearance of a woman in a snowstorm sixty years earlier. “Innate curiosity and an obsession with missing-persons’ cases had led him to delve more deeply into an ancient incident than he had ever intended, but he hadn’t been seeking out a crime: in this instance the crime had found him” (204-205). Of course, the investigation into Matthildur’s death parallels Erlendur’s search for answers to what happened to Bergur: “His sole intention was to uncover the truth in every case, to track down what was lost . . . ” (221). And every night Erlendur returns to the derelict farmhouse which had been his childhood home: “part of him would forever belong to this place, a witness to the helplessness of the individual when confronted by the pitiless forces of nature” (21).
Though the book is a mystery, it is also an examination of loss and grief: “When a loved one went missing time changed nothing. Admittedly, it dulled the pain, but by the same token the loss became a lifelong companion for those who survived, making the grief keener and deeper . . .” (280). It is this observation that explains much of Erlendur’s behaviour, both in terms of Matthildur’s case and in terms of his choice at the end.
Sadness permeates the entire novel. Obviously, the loss of Matthildur and Bergur overshadows all events: the “dismal plight” of survivors “doomed to live on in the wreckage” and relationships “denied a chance to blossom” (188-189). There is also, however, the loss of Iceland’s past and the destruction of her pristine environment. At one point Erlendur observes, “He couldn’t understand how on earth an unaccountable multinational, based far away in America, had been permitted to put its heavy industrial stamp on a tranquil fjord and tract of untouched wilderness here in the remote east of Iceland” (8). Later, he bemoans the loss of “the old Icelandic storytelling tradition . . . linking man to his environment . . . [and instilling] respect for the land and the forces latent within it” (38).
There are some unlikely coincidences that tarnish the plot, but the book is a fitting ending to the series. What happens may surprise some readers, but I found the ending is perfectly in keeping with Erlendur’s character as developed throughout this series. In fact, I would argue that this ending was inevitable from the very beginning.
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LibraryThing member jimrbrown
I have been a fan of Indridason's books since reading Jar City several years ago. Just got round to reading Black Skies and Strange Shores after a couple of years break from him. It seems that this is the end of Erlendur but what a finale. A sad and poignant tale which grabs the heart strings and
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highlights Erlendur's dogged detective work as he unearths the 60year old mystery in Eastern Iceland. I'm going to read the two prequels but somehow they won't be the same. Farewell Erlendur. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mijk
To begin with I thought this was great, then I felt that Indridason was simply undulging his best-known character, but by the end I realised it was about something else entirely, and is quite profound. Ageing, memory, the function of enquiry and knowledge for it's own sake regardless of emotional
It's not Indridasson's best, but it's not the worst either. What I really don't understand is how the blurb on the back cover managed to get the leading story so wrong that it sounds as if it's about another book... but that's publishers.
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consequences. I have to say I found the ending rather unsatisfactory, and unlikely that these characters would accept what they come to in those final, brief three pages that are so rushed they give the impression Indridason didn't want to write them, as though the task of solving the mystery were enough when of course we know it isn't because we have spent the entire series of Erlendur novels learning that closure is unattainable. Erlendur's story ends instead with a curious admixture of reason and magic. I guess that is quite Icelandic in some senses.It's not Indridasson's best, but it's not the worst either. What I really don't understand is how the blurb on the back cover managed to get the leading story so wrong that it sounds as if it's about another book... but that's publishers.
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LibraryThing member TheCrow2
With this irregular 'investigation ' inspector Erlendur tries to uncover the case of someone went miss half a century ago meanwhile fighting with his own past.
LibraryThing member auntmarge64
The moving and powerful conclusion to the original Erlendur series (there is now a Young Erlendur series from his early years with the police). Erlendur, a very private and morose detective in Reykjavik, has great empathy for others but is so haunted by the childhood death of his little brother
The last three Erlendur books take place simultaneously, weeks after the events detailed in the fourth-from last volume. These four (Hypothermia, Outrage, Black Skies, and Strange Shores) can be read as a single unit. "Hypothermia" is last case on which the 3-person team work together, and then each of the final three books focuses on one member of the team. Those of us coming to the series now have the pleasure of reading them as one story instead of awaiting new publications a year or two down the road.
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that he is incapable of forming lasting personal relationships. Every few years he takes off for the rural area in which he was raised and where his 8-year old brother disappeared in a sudden blizzard forty years ago, and there he wanders the hills, no longer expecting to find bones but compelled to at least be present. On this trip, he gets involved with solving an even older disappearance and in the process inadvertently finds some evidence of his brother's fate.The last three Erlendur books take place simultaneously, weeks after the events detailed in the fourth-from last volume. These four (Hypothermia, Outrage, Black Skies, and Strange Shores) can be read as a single unit. "Hypothermia" is last case on which the 3-person team work together, and then each of the final three books focuses on one member of the team. Those of us coming to the series now have the pleasure of reading them as one story instead of awaiting new publications a year or two down the road.
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LibraryThing member jon1lambert
Taphophobia is the key to this story which is gruesome and gripping. You can feel the cold and the hypothermia setting in. It is difficult to put down.
LibraryThing member crosbyp
Is this the end of Erlendur? A logical end to the series. It has been a deep character study of a man unable to let go because he let go once. In this one I picked up an interesting hint--did Erlendur let go of his brother on purpose? Is that the true source of the guilt and self-destruction? Well,
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among gloomy Scandinavian mysteries, this series has shown to be the gloomiest. Show Less
LibraryThing member TomDonaghey
Strange Shores (Inspector Erlendur #9) by Arnaldur Indridason. Another book in the fine Icelandic series of crime novels featuring Inspector Erlendur. Following close after the events of the last novel which had Erlendur having thoughts about his childhood on the rugged lands of the eastern fjords,
While rambling the hills where his brother disappeared so long ago he meets a hunter which strikes up another thought process. In a terrible storm a troop of British soldiers got lost, all but one finally found. But during that same storm a young woman named Matthildur was also lost, her body never recovered. Now his personal search has this other mystery added to it. Was she lost in the storm or did she fall afoul of her husband’s wrath and the storm used as cover for a greater crime?
Erlendur likes to talk with people and when he smells a story he is compelled to follow it to the end, no matter what that end may mean to the people involved. There are still relatives of the woman about the fjords. They may be reluctant to talk about events so long in the past, but they do talk. It is a curious path the Inspector must follow to reveal the truth, and along the way he finds other answers to his own questions.
This is a busman’s holiday story, slow paced as there is no crime that is being followed up on, but relentless in it’s pacing. And there is the scenery of the rugged east Icelandic coast that is a fitting setting for the hard lives of the people in this tale. A nice addition to this very popular crime series.
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and the loss of his younger brother during a miserable blizzard, he decides to head out from his home in Reykjavik and try to discover what had happened. That was almost 40 years age and there is little hope of discovering anything new, but the search might soothe the ache he has felt for a long time. While rambling the hills where his brother disappeared so long ago he meets a hunter which strikes up another thought process. In a terrible storm a troop of British soldiers got lost, all but one finally found. But during that same storm a young woman named Matthildur was also lost, her body never recovered. Now his personal search has this other mystery added to it. Was she lost in the storm or did she fall afoul of her husband’s wrath and the storm used as cover for a greater crime?
Erlendur likes to talk with people and when he smells a story he is compelled to follow it to the end, no matter what that end may mean to the people involved. There are still relatives of the woman about the fjords. They may be reluctant to talk about events so long in the past, but they do talk. It is a curious path the Inspector must follow to reveal the truth, and along the way he finds other answers to his own questions.
This is a busman’s holiday story, slow paced as there is no crime that is being followed up on, but relentless in it’s pacing. And there is the scenery of the rugged east Icelandic coast that is a fitting setting for the hard lives of the people in this tale. A nice addition to this very popular crime series.
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Language
Original language
Icelandic
ISBN
9780099563341
Original publication date
2010
2013 [English: Cribb]