Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Vintage (2013), Edition: First printing of this edition, Paperback, 320 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. Arnaldur Indridason has been crime writing's best-kept secret ... until now. A man is making a crude leather mask with slits for eyes and mouth, and an iron spike fixed in the middle of the forehead. It is a 'death mask', once used by Icelandic farmers to slaughter calves. He has revenge in mind. Meanwhile, with Detective Erlendur absent, his baseball-loving colleague Sigurdur Oli is in the spotlight. A school reunion has left Sigurdur Oli dissatisfied with life in the police force. Iceland is enjoying an economic boom and young tycoons are busy partying with the international jet set. In contrast, Sigurdur Oli's relationship is on the rocks and soon even his position in the CID is compromised: when he agrees to visit a couple of blackmailers as a favour to a friend he walks in just as a woman is beaten unconscious. When she dies, Sigurdur Oli has a murder investigation on his hands. The evidence leads to debt collectors, extortionists, swinging parties. But when a chance link connects these enquiries to the activities of a group of young bankers, Sigurdur Oli finds himself investigating the very elite he had envied. Moving from the villas of ReykjavIk's banking elite to a sordid basement flat, Black Skies is a superb story of greed, pride and murder from one of Europe's most successful crime writers.… (more)
Media reviews
The Toronto Star
As the latest book in Indridason’s absorbing Icelandic series gets under way, the year is 2008, and Erlendur, the dour but resourceful senior homicide detective in Reykjavik’s CID, is still out of action. That means the case of a young woman’s murder by bludgeoning falls to the dyspeptic
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Inspector Sigurdur Oli.
Familiar as the second banana in past books, Sigurdur Oli is abrupt and cranky by nature. He expresses his right wing political views in language that is about as nuanced as Rush Limbaugh’s. Nevertheless, he is reliably dogged, and he tracks the bludgeoning case through a tangle that includes wife-swapping, child pornography and murderous debt collectors.
When Sigurdur Oli’s sleuthing gains momentum, he frequently brushes against Iceland’s financial community. He finds himself put off by the incredible extravagance he sees among the country’s bankers. “The problem,” Sigurdur Oli realizes, “is that few of the people involved in this new big-bucks business have much experience in finance, and some of them aren’t all that bright.”
Bearing in mind it’s 2008, Sigurdur Oli’s observations have particular resonance. Unrealized by him and by almost everybody else, he has touched on the causes behind the economic recession that would crush Iceland’s economy later that year and soon spread around the world. Throughout Black Skies, while Sigurdur Oli gets on with the immediate business of solving a murder case, the message that pounds in the book’s background is all about the greed and stupidity of bankers. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Schatje
I’m a fan of the Icelandic mysteries of Arnaldur Indridason featuring Detective Erlendur. There have been six in the series (commonly known as the Reykjavik mysteries) translated into English. A seventh book, "Outrage", featured Detective Elinborg, Erlendur’s female colleague, because Erlendur
Sigurdur Oli is asked by a friend to intervene on behalf of a couple who is being blackmailed by a woman named Sigurlina Thorgrimsdottier. When Sigurdur Oli goes to speak to her, he finds her “lying on the floor in a pool of blood, with a large gash in her head” (26). The investigation of her death is the major case Sigurdur Oli sets out to solve in this book. There are of course the requisite twists and turns.
Character development is the book’s strong suit. As Elinborg’s character is developed in "Outrage", Sigurdur Oli’s is in this book. He is anything but compassionate: “he rarely felt any sympathy for the luckless individuals he came across in the line of duty. . . . His usual attitude was that these people were responsible for their own plight. . . . He had often been criticized for his cynicism and detachment but this meant nothing to him” (189 – 190). Sigurdur Oli’s relationship with his long-time partner Bergthora is fractured because of his personality: “He had meant to get a grip of himself, to listen to her point of view, to try not to be rigid and difficult” (193), but is unsuccessful. He can only “put on a show of caring” (161) and resolve “to be polite and tactful, though neither was his forte” (211).
We are given insight into why Sigurdur Oli is as he is. He spent most of his childhood living with a mother who thought her son “was too good for that, meaning the police” (6) and “’far too good for Bergthora’” (245). It takes him by surprise when Bergthora tells him, “’You’re both so . . . cold. Such snobs’” (52) but later he realizes he must try to be “Not like his mother” (193). He also has another epiphany: “Sigurdur Oli knew that he had been blind and was painfully aware why: he had believed himself to be sufficiently tough, sufficiently impartial and a sufficiently good policeman . . . But it had turned out that he was none of these” (306). The inclusion of a dynamic character makes this book more than just an entertaining mystery.
The book is also interesting in terms of its touching on Iceland’s monetary crisis. Sigurdur Oli is told, “’Some people say we’re heading for a crash if we go on like this. The incredible expansion we’ve been witnessing is based almost entirely on foreign credit and there are various signs that these sources are either going to be blocked soon, or just dry up. If this global recession they talk about does happen, the banks will be in big trouble. . . . Icelandic tycoons who have acquired large holdings in the banks via their companies are taking loans from them . . . And having carved up all the biggest companies in the country between them, they’re now busy buying anything they can lay their hands on abroad, all funded by cheap borrowing. Not to mention all the games they play to boost the value of their companies, which is often based on nothing more than an illusion. On top of that they make inroads into public companies by selling their own assets to them at inflated prices. Meanwhile the bank executives award themselves options worth hundreds of millions of kronur, and then gamble by taking out loans to buy shares in the banks themselves. . . . It’s always the same handful of people doing these deals, giving and taking loans. The danger is of course that if one link is broken, the whole edifice will come tumbling down like a house of cards’” (242 - 243). What a clear, concise summary!
At the end of the book, Erlendur is still missing. His daughter is concerned because before he left, “’He seemed so down’” (55) and she hasn’t been able to contact him. Neither Elinborg nor Sigurdur Oli have heard anything (132 – 133). Will the next book in the series be an investigation into Erlendur’s disappearance?
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has gone missing, ostensibly visiting the East Fjords, but no one has heard from him. "Black Skies" is a parallel to "Outrage", covering the same time period during Erlendur’s absence. The focus this time is on Sigurdur Oli, Erlendur’s male colleague.Sigurdur Oli is asked by a friend to intervene on behalf of a couple who is being blackmailed by a woman named Sigurlina Thorgrimsdottier. When Sigurdur Oli goes to speak to her, he finds her “lying on the floor in a pool of blood, with a large gash in her head” (26). The investigation of her death is the major case Sigurdur Oli sets out to solve in this book. There are of course the requisite twists and turns.
Character development is the book’s strong suit. As Elinborg’s character is developed in "Outrage", Sigurdur Oli’s is in this book. He is anything but compassionate: “he rarely felt any sympathy for the luckless individuals he came across in the line of duty. . . . His usual attitude was that these people were responsible for their own plight. . . . He had often been criticized for his cynicism and detachment but this meant nothing to him” (189 – 190). Sigurdur Oli’s relationship with his long-time partner Bergthora is fractured because of his personality: “He had meant to get a grip of himself, to listen to her point of view, to try not to be rigid and difficult” (193), but is unsuccessful. He can only “put on a show of caring” (161) and resolve “to be polite and tactful, though neither was his forte” (211).
We are given insight into why Sigurdur Oli is as he is. He spent most of his childhood living with a mother who thought her son “was too good for that, meaning the police” (6) and “’far too good for Bergthora’” (245). It takes him by surprise when Bergthora tells him, “’You’re both so . . . cold. Such snobs’” (52) but later he realizes he must try to be “Not like his mother” (193). He also has another epiphany: “Sigurdur Oli knew that he had been blind and was painfully aware why: he had believed himself to be sufficiently tough, sufficiently impartial and a sufficiently good policeman . . . But it had turned out that he was none of these” (306). The inclusion of a dynamic character makes this book more than just an entertaining mystery.
The book is also interesting in terms of its touching on Iceland’s monetary crisis. Sigurdur Oli is told, “’Some people say we’re heading for a crash if we go on like this. The incredible expansion we’ve been witnessing is based almost entirely on foreign credit and there are various signs that these sources are either going to be blocked soon, or just dry up. If this global recession they talk about does happen, the banks will be in big trouble. . . . Icelandic tycoons who have acquired large holdings in the banks via their companies are taking loans from them . . . And having carved up all the biggest companies in the country between them, they’re now busy buying anything they can lay their hands on abroad, all funded by cheap borrowing. Not to mention all the games they play to boost the value of their companies, which is often based on nothing more than an illusion. On top of that they make inroads into public companies by selling their own assets to them at inflated prices. Meanwhile the bank executives award themselves options worth hundreds of millions of kronur, and then gamble by taking out loans to buy shares in the banks themselves. . . . It’s always the same handful of people doing these deals, giving and taking loans. The danger is of course that if one link is broken, the whole edifice will come tumbling down like a house of cards’” (242 - 243). What a clear, concise summary!
At the end of the book, Erlendur is still missing. His daughter is concerned because before he left, “’He seemed so down’” (55) and she hasn’t been able to contact him. Neither Elinborg nor Sigurdur Oli have heard anything (132 – 133). Will the next book in the series be an investigation into Erlendur’s disappearance?
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LibraryThing member maneekuhi
This is the 8th book of this 10 book series; I have read the first eight and would probably have been current in the series had they been released quicker. But USA readers have to first wait for the English translation, then wait for a US publisher to finally produce a book that may have been
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available in the UK for a year or more. Most of the books in the series have been excellent, and I've rated a couple five star. The series protagonist is not in this book, rather we get to follow one of his officers, Sigurdur Oli, as he becomes involved in three or more cases/situations. One deals with a possible illegal plot on the part of some bankers. Another focuses on a pair of wife-swappers, potentially blackmailers. A third deals with child abuse and pornography. There are threads that run through these stories that may tie one or more of them together. For example, child pornography may be tangentially a factor in the banker case. Indridason is an excellent writer and his prose is always first rate. Usually the plots are more interesting than in this book, although there are flashes of the usual excellence. Throughout the series the characters have been only somewhat interesting and therefore the attraction for this series for me was always a good tale, not so much what might happen to a character in the next book. Right now, things feel a little stale and I think I'll give this series a rest for a while. Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
In retrospect, what strikes you about Indridason's books is how well crafted they are. The stories build layer on layer. They also demonstrate how small the Icelandic community actually is - although the residents don't necessarily know each other directly, they do belong to overlapping groups.
For the second title in a row Indridason's grumpy detective Erlendur has gone missing. (See OUTRAGE). This leaves his team to their own devices a bit, and Sigurdur Óli is not a team man at the best. A school reunion leads to him investigating a blackmailing case for an old school friend, his mother persuades him to look into the daily pilfering of an elderly friend's newspapers, and when a tramp comes looking for Erlendur he decides to follow up himself.
Sigurdur Óli is a very human detective who quite often makes mistakes and at least twice in BLACK SKIES he realises that he has woven events together in the wrong way and leapt to the wrong conclusions. Nor does he reveal to the rest of the team what he is up when he really does need help. He always seems to keep back little bits of information that he should be sharing. On the other hand he is what I think of as a fractal investigator, seeing small leads as worth investigating and that is partly what makes this book such a good read, as he goes off in directions the reader has not contemplated.
Having said that, I think I ready now for Erlendur to return, or to at least find out what has happened to him. His absence is a device that the author can surely sustain only for a couple of novels. In OUTRAGE it gave readers the opportunity to become better acquainted with Elinborg, and in BLACK SKIES with Sigurdur Óli. Of course, one of the advantages of this ploy is that a reader new to Indridason does not have to worry about not having read the earlier novels in the series.
There is a strong sense of setting in BLACK SKIES, not just the Icelandic setting, with characters known by single names, but also an explanation of the events that eventually lead to the global financial crisis and the collapse of the Icelandic economy. Like many contemporary crime fiction authors Indridason has embedded strong social comment in the novel.
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Just as Iceland is a microcosm of the world's DNA, so it presents a laboratory of crime.For the second title in a row Indridason's grumpy detective Erlendur has gone missing. (See OUTRAGE). This leaves his team to their own devices a bit, and Sigurdur Óli is not a team man at the best. A school reunion leads to him investigating a blackmailing case for an old school friend, his mother persuades him to look into the daily pilfering of an elderly friend's newspapers, and when a tramp comes looking for Erlendur he decides to follow up himself.
Sigurdur Óli is a very human detective who quite often makes mistakes and at least twice in BLACK SKIES he realises that he has woven events together in the wrong way and leapt to the wrong conclusions. Nor does he reveal to the rest of the team what he is up when he really does need help. He always seems to keep back little bits of information that he should be sharing. On the other hand he is what I think of as a fractal investigator, seeing small leads as worth investigating and that is partly what makes this book such a good read, as he goes off in directions the reader has not contemplated.
Having said that, I think I ready now for Erlendur to return, or to at least find out what has happened to him. His absence is a device that the author can surely sustain only for a couple of novels. In OUTRAGE it gave readers the opportunity to become better acquainted with Elinborg, and in BLACK SKIES with Sigurdur Óli. Of course, one of the advantages of this ploy is that a reader new to Indridason does not have to worry about not having read the earlier novels in the series.
There is a strong sense of setting in BLACK SKIES, not just the Icelandic setting, with characters known by single names, but also an explanation of the events that eventually lead to the global financial crisis and the collapse of the Icelandic economy. Like many contemporary crime fiction authors Indridason has embedded strong social comment in the novel.
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LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
Having complained at length about authors who persist in producing the same book over and over again I applaud Arnaldur Indriðason’s willingness to experiment by allowing different protagonists to drive his novels. The fact that he has pulled it off very successfully, for the second time in a
BLACK SKIES is the eighth novel in the Reykjavik series of police procedurals but the second one in succession in which the series’ main character, detective Erlunder, is absent from his workplace (for reasons none of his co-workers seem sure of) and the novel. The story takes place in 2005 during the height of Iceland’s economic boom and at the same time as events described in the previous novel OUTRAGE, but here the investigative duties fall to another of Erlunder’s colleagues Sigurdur Óli. It opens with Sigurdur Óli attending a reunion of his high school class at which he feels himself to be the least successful of his classmates, many of whom are making it big in the new economy. However one of those people soon calls on him for a favour. Would Sigurdur Óli mind putting a bit of unofficial pressure on a couple who are blackmailing the man’s sister-in-law and her husband who took part in a wife-swapping escapade? When Sigurdur Óli goes to the blackmailing couple’s house on this errand he finds the woman on the floor with her head bashed in. He attempts to chase the assailant who was still on the scene but soon loses him. For understandable but not terribly clever reasons Sigurdur Óli doesn’t immediately come clean with his colleagues regarding the personal reason for his visit to the woman’s house and so assists with the official investigation while continuing to carry on his own inquiries due to the knowledge that only he possesses.
It is only now that I’ve sat down to write a review containing an even vaguely intelligent synopsis that I’ve realised just how complex and intricate the plot of BLACK SKIES is. Indriðason really is a master at telling stories with lots of layers that don’t make the reader feel like they’re reading a creative writing thesis rather than a novel. It’s bloody great art. Just as you think the book is going to focus on the sexual shenanigans of bored suburbanites it twists to offer the possibility of a drug deal gone bad. And then another turn….what are the wretched bankers up to and how might it relate to the death of a tour guide? Indriðason ties this all together beautifully and manages to encircle the investigative narrative with another thread that follows the story of a derelict called Anders who keeps crossing Sigurdur Óli’s path. His story, slowly revealed over the course of the novel, is a heartbreaking one and despite his self-confessed and innate sense of superiority over people like Anders the case becomes something of a watershed for Sigurdur Óli,
Another element that elevates BLACK SKIES above the norm for me is the character of Sigurdur Óli. He bares few of the traits of the great and memorable fictional cops. He’s not a genius, he’s not a workaholic, he’s not tortured by the souls of the deaths he has investigated. He’s a pretty ordinary guy doing a job he fell into and some days he’d rather be doing something else. But even without the trappings of the genre’s stalwarts he is still a wonderfully drawn character who we do see struggle with some aspects of his life, working out how his marriage failed for example, while trying to do a good job even when he doesn’t like his work and maintaining his moral core in the face of pressure. He is, I suspect, a lot closer to real cops than many of his more famous fictional brethren.
There’s much more I could talk about, including the novel’s unpacking of Iceland’s part in the global economic meltdown which is fascinating, but I think it’s time to simply recommend the book without qualification. It’s one of those crime novels I think could be read and enjoyed by non crime fans too and I don’t think you need to have read the earlier novels in the series in order to read this one. I’ve never been so frustrated by my own monolingual status as I am at knowing this book’s sequel is available but only if I can learn to read Icelandic.
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row, is a triumph.BLACK SKIES is the eighth novel in the Reykjavik series of police procedurals but the second one in succession in which the series’ main character, detective Erlunder, is absent from his workplace (for reasons none of his co-workers seem sure of) and the novel. The story takes place in 2005 during the height of Iceland’s economic boom and at the same time as events described in the previous novel OUTRAGE, but here the investigative duties fall to another of Erlunder’s colleagues Sigurdur Óli. It opens with Sigurdur Óli attending a reunion of his high school class at which he feels himself to be the least successful of his classmates, many of whom are making it big in the new economy. However one of those people soon calls on him for a favour. Would Sigurdur Óli mind putting a bit of unofficial pressure on a couple who are blackmailing the man’s sister-in-law and her husband who took part in a wife-swapping escapade? When Sigurdur Óli goes to the blackmailing couple’s house on this errand he finds the woman on the floor with her head bashed in. He attempts to chase the assailant who was still on the scene but soon loses him. For understandable but not terribly clever reasons Sigurdur Óli doesn’t immediately come clean with his colleagues regarding the personal reason for his visit to the woman’s house and so assists with the official investigation while continuing to carry on his own inquiries due to the knowledge that only he possesses.
It is only now that I’ve sat down to write a review containing an even vaguely intelligent synopsis that I’ve realised just how complex and intricate the plot of BLACK SKIES is. Indriðason really is a master at telling stories with lots of layers that don’t make the reader feel like they’re reading a creative writing thesis rather than a novel. It’s bloody great art. Just as you think the book is going to focus on the sexual shenanigans of bored suburbanites it twists to offer the possibility of a drug deal gone bad. And then another turn….what are the wretched bankers up to and how might it relate to the death of a tour guide? Indriðason ties this all together beautifully and manages to encircle the investigative narrative with another thread that follows the story of a derelict called Anders who keeps crossing Sigurdur Óli’s path. His story, slowly revealed over the course of the novel, is a heartbreaking one and despite his self-confessed and innate sense of superiority over people like Anders the case becomes something of a watershed for Sigurdur Óli,
Another element that elevates BLACK SKIES above the norm for me is the character of Sigurdur Óli. He bares few of the traits of the great and memorable fictional cops. He’s not a genius, he’s not a workaholic, he’s not tortured by the souls of the deaths he has investigated. He’s a pretty ordinary guy doing a job he fell into and some days he’d rather be doing something else. But even without the trappings of the genre’s stalwarts he is still a wonderfully drawn character who we do see struggle with some aspects of his life, working out how his marriage failed for example, while trying to do a good job even when he doesn’t like his work and maintaining his moral core in the face of pressure. He is, I suspect, a lot closer to real cops than many of his more famous fictional brethren.
There’s much more I could talk about, including the novel’s unpacking of Iceland’s part in the global economic meltdown which is fascinating, but I think it’s time to simply recommend the book without qualification. It’s one of those crime novels I think could be read and enjoyed by non crime fans too and I don’t think you need to have read the earlier novels in the series in order to read this one. I’ve never been so frustrated by my own monolingual status as I am at knowing this book’s sequel is available but only if I can learn to read Icelandic.
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LibraryThing member jerhogan
*** Spoiler alert ***
I liked this book despite the fact that Erlendur was off-stage for the whole novel. Sigurdur proved interesting enough to carry a complete detective novel. The exotic location was interesting as were the characters and how they reacted to Iceland's boom. The ending was open but
I liked this book despite the fact that Erlendur was off-stage for the whole novel. Sigurdur proved interesting enough to carry a complete detective novel. The exotic location was interesting as were the characters and how they reacted to Iceland's boom. The ending was open but
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I still felt it gave the required catharsis. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mijk
This is Indridason's commentary on the boom and crisis of recent Iceland financial economy and while it isn't as strong as it could be, that crisis was so all-consuming for Iceland that it must be difficult to reflect on it. Which is why the best book on the whole debacle is bizarrely, Laxness' The
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Atom Station, written deacdes before. Black Skies is a skillfully constructed novel, with a number of sub-plots and themes running throughout. It also raises the question, in many different ways, of what corruption is. A good read, and again a Reykjavik that most tourists don't see, the hidden (even repressed) underside of Iceland, like all the grit and boulders and debris that leave the actual marks on the landscape beneath the shiny white glaciers visible to the eye. Show Less
LibraryThing member StephenHughes
A fine detective novel, with a well-woven plot.
LibraryThing member missizicks
This was a return to form for me. I didn't enjoy the previous novel as much as the rest of the series, because it focused on Elinborg and lacked a little punch. Black Skies, however, was pacey and helped me warm to Sigudur Oli, who had grated on me in previous books. The development of his back
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story made sense of a lot of his foibles. The circumstances of the job he's on as the book opens explains a lot! The exposition on the Icelandic banking crisis is well written. Arnaldur had clearly done his research. I can't wait for the next instalment in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carrie.Kilgore
Intriguing thriller with a not entirely likable inspector who learns some unpleasant truths about himself as he struggles through the mysteries confronting him. The sense of place adds a colorful element and US readers should find several interesting parallels and contrasts to US life. The author
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does a good job of showing how the inspector's experiences slowly lead him to reassess his attitudes, as well as demonstrating how events often spiral out of control when intentions are less than pure. Human frailty is explored on several levels and will leave most readers with a lot to think about. Show Less
LibraryThing member ebyrne41
Erlunder is absent for the second book in a row ('Outrage' being the previous), which disappointed I must admit, Sigurdur Óli taking centre stage in this one. He is not what you might call a likeable character, a bit of a loner, initially arrogant maybe, but still interesting because of his
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scarred personal life and past. Written in 2009 soon after the Icelandic financial crash, but set in 2005, the shaky foundations of personal and institutional financial growth inevitably play their part in the storyline. There are two stories running in parallel, or rather three; one a story of blackmail, wife swapping (!), murder and greed, another of child abuse and its tragic effect, plus Sigurdur Óli' personal story, his relationships and evolving character. If not in my view quite up there with Indridason's best, it is nonetheless a good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member whirled
In Black Skies, the spotlight falls upon Erlendur's unlikeable off-sider, Sigurdur Oli. Trying to help a friend facing blackmail, Oli winds up caught in a web of corruption, sexual depravity and murder. As expected, the story is well-paced, rivetting stuff, and goes some way towards humanising the
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arrogant Oli. But reading a Reykjavik mystery without Erlendur is a bit like going to a Rolling Stones concert without Mick Jagger onstage. I for one hope our 'hero' returns from the fjords in Indridason's next installment. Show Less
LibraryThing member Zozette
Arnaldur is one of my favourite authors, at least when it comes to Scananavian crime novels, and his Inspector Erlendur is my favourite fictional police detectives. Therefore I was a little disappointed that Erlendur is away in this story and he has left Sigurdur Oli behind to handle the cases. I
This is the 9th book I have read by this author and I rate this book in the middle range of those books.
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find Sigurdur a little boring, though the cases he works on in this book are interesting enough. I hope that Erlendur will reappear in the next book nn the series. This is the 9th book I have read by this author and I rate this book in the middle range of those books.
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LibraryThing member janerawoof
All others by this author I've enjoyed, but with this one I had to push myself: too depressing and gruesome in subject matter.
LibraryThing member CarltonC
This is the eighth novel in the Detective Erlendur series translated into English and although Erlendur does not appear in this story, with just a couple of mentions, his presence is there. This time Erlendur's colleague Sigurdur Óli is the primary narrator as the previous novel, Outrage,
Sigurdur Óli has not been such a sympathetic character in previous stories, perhaps because he is enamoured with all things American, having spent some time in America, and also because of his deteriorating relationship with his wife, Bergthora.
I enjoyed this story as I felt that my understanding of Sigurdur Óli increasde and he became a more sympathetic character.
Of course, I also enjoyed the crime stories which were decently plotted (including blackmail, murder, white collar banking crime (it was published in 2009) and a small but effectively used side child abuse story), with expected and unexpected twists and turns, and the Icelandic setting (I have stayed at Hótel Búdir on Snaefellsnes!). But I really read the Detective Erlendur stories for Arnaldur Indriðason's style and descriptive abilities, which were both on good display.
This is best read as part of the series and I am now keen to read the concluding episode, Strange Shores.
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concentrated on Elinborg.Sigurdur Óli has not been such a sympathetic character in previous stories, perhaps because he is enamoured with all things American, having spent some time in America, and also because of his deteriorating relationship with his wife, Bergthora.
I enjoyed this story as I felt that my understanding of Sigurdur Óli increasde and he became a more sympathetic character.
Of course, I also enjoyed the crime stories which were decently plotted (including blackmail, murder, white collar banking crime (it was published in 2009) and a small but effectively used side child abuse story), with expected and unexpected twists and turns, and the Icelandic setting (I have stayed at Hótel Búdir on Snaefellsnes!). But I really read the Detective Erlendur stories for Arnaldur Indriðason's style and descriptive abilities, which were both on good display.
This is best read as part of the series and I am now keen to read the concluding episode, Strange Shores.
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LibraryThing member JalenV
The first Erlendur mystery I listened to was Strange Shores, but it was good enough to make me seek the earlier volumes. I like Erlendur and Elinborg well enough, but I've never liked Sigurdur Óli, whom I regard as an insensitive jerk.
Despite the fact that Sigurdur Óli is the main character in
I understand, but don't condone another police officer's reaction to Iceland's lenient treatment of persons who commit brutal beatings. Sigurdur Óli's attitude was not what I expected from him.
The subplot of Andres the alcoholic with the tragic past from Artic Chill is dealt with here. The way he handled his former abuser isn't right for real life, but does nicely for fiction. (Well, it did for this former victim of much milder child sexual abuse. I don't know if a reader who wasn't molested would get any satisfaction from it.)
Despite the fact that Sigurdur Óli is the main character in
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this entry, it's very good. I particularly enjoyed learning about what was going on with banking and the Icelandic economy just before the Wall Street Crash of 2008. We learn some things about Sigurdur Óli's family and childhood that help explain why he's such a jerk. He actually experiences a moment of enlightenment that suggests he might improve in the future. I understand, but don't condone another police officer's reaction to Iceland's lenient treatment of persons who commit brutal beatings. Sigurdur Óli's attitude was not what I expected from him.
The subplot of Andres the alcoholic with the tragic past from Artic Chill is dealt with here. The way he handled his former abuser isn't right for real life, but does nicely for fiction. (Well, it did for this former victim of much milder child sexual abuse. I don't know if a reader who wasn't molested would get any satisfaction from it.)
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LibraryThing member jellyfishjones
Arnaldur's writing seems to improve with each addition to the Erlender series. While all of the books in the series are atmospheric with very strong characters, this one is perhaps the most poignant yet. It definitely has some of the most well-written character development. Arnaldur also continues
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to improve his plot lines, never settling for a single murder mystery formula. Show Less
LibraryThing member auntmarge64
Number 8 in the English-language version of the Inspector Erlendur series set in Iceland, and this one focuses on one member of the 3-person group in which Erlendur usually works. The story takes place during the same time as "Outrage", the previous book in the series, and directly following a
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particularly nasty case the trio had solved in the excellent "Hypothermia", the sixth in the series. Although the main character is less likable, the book is quite good and concerns three events Sigurdur Óli is investigating: the bludgeoning death of a would-be blackmailer in her home, the disappearance and subsequent death of a banker during a tour of the glaciers with some co-workers, and the decades-old abuse of a young boy and his attempts to come to terms with it when he spots his abuser while living on the streets of Reykjavik. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ameise1
What fascinates me again and again in [[Arnaldur Indriðason]] is that he can pack an Icelandic topicality into an exciting thriller. Also this time he succeeded. It's about dubious money laundering. but you realize this only over time, since everything begins with a blackmail attempt that ends in
The story is fast paced and told exciting. It also shows the problem of the Icelandic financial market, which was in trouble for a long time.
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a murder. Sigurdur Óli tries to help a friend and unfortunately has to realize that he does not tell him the whole truth.The story is fast paced and told exciting. It also shows the problem of the Icelandic financial market, which was in trouble for a long time.
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LibraryThing member KarenDuff
Despite unlikeable characters this was a really gripping read, I didn't want to put it down.
LibraryThing member ritaer
Man abused as child enacts revenge on abuser. Erlendur is absent and Sigurdur Oli becomes involved with blackmail case turned murder.
LibraryThing member Dabble58
A dark book, filled with brutal people. Plot is interesting and it's fascinating how Indridason ties it all up by the end. Sigurdur Oli, the main detective in this one, comes across as quite damaged himself, an unlikeable hero who is given to harassing young offenders, but only so far. A good read
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though as usual I get lost in the names of things... Show Less
Awards
Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year (Shortlist — 2013)
Language
Original language
Icelandic
Original publication date
2009
2012 [English: Cribb]
Physical description
320 p.; 7.01 inches
ISBN
0099563371 / 9780099563372