I'm glad Arctic Chill didn't shake me off this series, because man this was a fantastic read. One of the things I really like about a well executed crime novel is that the geography, timeline, and character map will have a clear shape by the end. This one really stands out in that respect. Hypothermia had a clear, powerful narrative, with effectively utilized flashbacks and incredible character moments. Eva is such a wonderfully chaotic character who I love and hate in equal measure. Nice to finally see the ex-wife for the first time since Eva's miscarriage way back when, even if the meeting this time was equally blergh.

I read an interview with Arnaldur Indridason where he said that he tries to only have "one murder per novel." Considering that these books as a whole are super powerful and resonant, despite their lack of on-page violence (for the most part), this says a lot about his sense of craft. I'm now at the point where I'll gladly read anything with his name on the cover.

I'm beginning to feel a sense of melancholy about this entire series because this apparently is the penultimate Erlendur installment chronologically. Still, it'll be good to learn more about his coworkers in the following two books. Just know I'll feel quite bleak when I start Strange Shores, though undoubtedly I will go into the prequels once I finish it. I didn't think I was going to find my new favorite series this year, and if I did I sure didn't think it was going to be an Icelandic crime series. Really, really glad I picked up Jar City a few short weeks ago. It's been a terrific journey, and it's not over yet. ( )

My favourite job was when I worked in a polar research library where I was able to indulge my love of books about Arctic regions. Fiction or non-fiction, I find them all fascinating.

This was a tantalizing investigation for what was clearly a suicide. Inspector Erlundur suspects there is something else even though the woman was intrigued by the possibility of life after death. Fortunately he has time on his hands. He’s also intermittently investigating an old missing person case. The father of the young man who went missing has visited Erlunder regularly for thirty years to find out if there has been any progress. Now elderly, he has little time left. Indridason has captured the character of Iceland and the freezing Icelandic conditions that feature in this moving story.

The novel ends with Erlundur at last heading off to the region of Iceland where his brother was lost in a blinding snowstorm. ( )

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. ( )

The most compelling of books in the series so far. Much more focussed solely on Erlundur's investigation of an apparent suicide as well as two thirty year old cold cases. All of these are woven beautifully together along with the voice of the present day suicide. Very, very good writing and masterly story telling made this a great read. ( )

Another excellent book from this Icelandic writer. Indridason doesn't paint a very pretty picture of Reykjavic and Iceland but it is probably more realistic than the tourist brochures.

Detective Erlendur of the Reykjavic police force isn't very busy when a call comes in about a woman's body being found in a cottage on a lake outside of Reykjavic. Maria lived in the capital with her husband Baldvin, a medical doctor. It fell to Erlendur to notify Baldvin of Maria's death and that it appeared she had committed suicide. A few days later a friend of Maria's came to Erlendur with some concerns about the death; she had actually found Maria's body and she was having trouble believing Maria would commit suicide. She gave Erlendur a tape of a session Maria had with a medium. Maria had been obsessed with life after death, particularly since the death of her mother two years earlier. The friend wondered if this obsession had something to do with her death. Since Erlendur didn't have much on his plate at the time he started nosing around, asking questions of Maria and Baldvin's friends and acquaintances. This part of the investigation reminded me so much of the Columbo TV series as Erlendur kept rooting out more and more information. At the same time Erlendur was also looking at two cold cases of young people who had disappeared 30 years ago. The father of a young boy who went missing without a trace is near to death and Erlendur would like to solve the disappearance before he dies. Missing children is a cause close to Erlendur's heart since his own brother disappeared in a blizzard when he was young. No trace was ever found of him but Erlendur thinks of him every day and has been searching ever since. Only Erlendur's daughter, Eva Lind, knows about Erlendur's missing brother. Erlendur left his wife when Eva and her brother Sindri were very young and only recently has Erlendur been able to have any kind of a relationship with his children. The knowledge about Erlendur's missing brother seems to have gone some way to heal the rift between them.

As Erlendur accumulates more and more information about all of these cases a picture starts to emerge and the title is a clue to solving all of them. Quite captivating. ( )