Silence of the Grave (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, No. 2) [Paperback]

Arnaldur Indridason (Author), Bernard Scudder (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2007

 

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award
 
Inspector Erlendur returns in this gripping Icelandic thriller When a skeleton is discovered half-buried in a construction site outside of Reykjavík, Inspector Erlendur finds himself knee-deep in both a crime scene and an archeological dig. Bone by bone, the body is unearthed, and the brutalizing history of a family who lived near the building site comes to light along with it. Was the skeleton a man or a woman, a victim or a killer, and is this a simple case of murder or a long-concealed act of justice? As Erlendur tries to crack this cold case, he must also save his drug-addicted daughter from self destruction and somehow glue his hopelessly fractured family back together.
 
Like the chilly Nordic mysteries of Henning Mankell and Karen Fossum, Arnaldur Indridason delivers a stark police procedural full of humanity and pathos, a classic noir from a very cold place.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In Indridason's excellent second mystery (after 2005's Jar City), a skeleton, buried for more than 50 years, is uncovered at a building site on the outskirts of Reykjavík. Who is it? How did he or she die? And was it murder? The police wonder, chief among them the tortured, introspective Inspector Erlendur, introduced in Jar City. While an archeologist excavates the burial site, several other narratives unfold: a horrifying story of domestic abuse set during WWII, a search for missing persons that unearths almost-forgotten family secrets involving some of the city's most prominent citizens, and Erlendur's own painful family story (his estranged, drug-addicted daughter is in a coma, after miscarrying her child). All these strands are compelling, but it's the story of the physical and psychological battering of a young mother of three by her husband that resonates most. And the denouement of this astonishingly vivid and subtle novel is unexpected and immensely satisfying. Indridason has won the CWA Golden Dagger Award.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Icelandic mysteries hit the U.S. ground running last year with the appearance of Indridason's outstanding Jar City. This equally fine follow-up returns to the theme of buried pain, with the action centering on the discovery of a human bone at a construction site near Reykjavik. Inspector Erlendur Sveinnson is on the case, but the trail, which leads back to World War II, has gone very cold indeed. Erlendur (Icelanders use first names) has a very personal reason for his abiding interest in missing persons, and that--combined with the fact that his drug-abusing daughter is in the hospital in a coma--opens the door for plenty of backstory regarding the detective's troubled history. With a narrative that jumps between the 1940s and the present--without giving away whodunit--the novel generates a sort of emotional claustrophobia, its characters trapped in a world where the pain of the past, though often submerged, is always with us. Indridason has definitely vaulted onto the A-list of Scandinavian crime authors. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 293 pages
• Publisher: Picador (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312427328
• ISBN-13: 978-0312427320
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Arnaldur Indridason is the author of Jar City, Silence of the Grave, Voices, The Draining Lake, and Arctic Chill. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Silence of the Grave and is the only author to win the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row, for Jar City and Silence of the Grave. The film of Jar City, now available on DVD from Blockbuster, was Iceland's entry for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and the film of his next book, Silence of the Grave, is currently in production with the same director. His thrillers have sold more than five million copies in over 25 countries around the world. He lives in Iceland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cold Case, October 15, 2006

By 

Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Silence of the Grave: A Thriller (Hardcover)

If you're a fan of crime fiction and well-plotted mysteries, and are on the lookout for a fresh new face in a crowded genre, then you'll be doing yourself a favor by trying Arnaldur Indridason and his captivating "Silence of the Grave".

Back from last year's "Jar City" is Erlendur Sveinsson, the jaded Reykjavik police detective plodding bitterly though a life of regrets. A skeleton is found while excavating a new housing project, quickly determined to be decades old, and assumed a murder victim. With a supporting cast of eccentric archeologists and his own quirky investigative team, Erlender gets to the bottom of a gut-wrenching tale of domestic violence and child abuse.

A word of warning - this is some tough material. Any idyllic views of a society tolerant to drug use may be shocked into sensibility with the author's unapologetic portrayal of life among the needles and crack vials. And Erlender is about as bleak a character as the barren Icelander setting in which he is cast - the subject matter adding to a general air of depression and despair. But this is powerful noir fiction, only heightened by the dark setting, as Indridason's prose captures the unique Scandinavian brand of fatalism. The mystery is tightly wound and fully engaging, taking more than a few twists along the way before reaching a cleverly poignant conclusion. In the end, a haunting tale of revenge with little redemption - a novel that you'll not easily forget. Clearly one of the year's best - don't miss it.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such vivid descriptions that you cannot read it in one go, August 8, 2005

By 

Linda Oskam "dutch-traveller" (Amsterdam Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silence of the Grave: A Reyjavik Murder Mystery (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries 2) (Paperback)

A corpse is found on a hill in the outskirts of Reykjavik. It looks like it has already been there for a long time, but the excavation goes terribly slow because a team of archaeologists is carrying out the work. In the meantime inspector Erlendur and his colleagues try to get a picture of what happened 50 to 70 years ago. Slowly but surely they find out the awful truth. In between the story line of the investigation, there is another storyline about a family consisting of a father, mother, 2 brothers and a handicapped sister. It soon becomes apparent that something horrible happened in the family and this is written down so vividly that I had to put down the book a few times because it nearly became too much. An in the meantime Erlendur's drugs-addicted daughter Eva Lind is in a coma and he finally finds the courage to tell her what he feels for her. In short, this is a wonderful, sensitive thriller with a lot of psychological insight, well-developed storylines and beautiful descriptions of the various characters.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very engaging read, January 2, 2007

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silence of the Grave: A Thriller (Hardcover)

This is the second installment in Arnaldur Indridason's Detective Inspector Erlendur Svinssson series, and it definitely does, in my opinion, top "Jar City" -- the first book in the series. Evenly paced and highly suspenseful, it is no wonder that "Silence of the Grave" won the Golden Dagger Award. I certainly was riveted by this novel and (literally) read on relentlessly till the very last page.

When skeletal remains are discovered at the building site of a new housing estate, Detective Inspector Erlendur Svinsson and his team are called in to take charge of the case. The first thing the team must do is establish just how long the skeleton has lain buried, and then determine if this indeed a case of murder, or something else. And if certain members of Erlendur's team (Detective Sigurdur Oli in particular) aren't too sure why they're wasting so much time on a cold case, it is obvious that Erlendur holds to the belief that every suspicious death deserves an investigation, and that Erlendur at least feels that there is something suspicious about this mysterious burial. Elendur's quest to learn the truth will take him back to Iceland during W.W.II, and to the guilty secrets of two families in particular. This case will also lead him to reexamine on his own past and his own failed relationships with his ex-wife and his two children, and to wonder if it is not too late to repair the damage...

Arnadldue Indridason is a very gifted storyteller, and I have to thank both him and his brilliant translator, Bernard Scudder, for the 4 very pleasurable hours I spent reading "Silence of the Grave." The novel was evenly paced, taut and completely riveting. The book is divided into two subplots -- one subplot deals with the events of the past, while the other subplot centers on the current investigation. It is not an easy thing to do, going backwards and forwards in time, while still managing to maintain a level of suspense and to keep readers guessing as to the identity of the unearthed skeleton. And yet, the author managed this feat with ease, skill and finesse. And even though I expected and suspected certain developments, the denouncement still took me by some surprise. Truly, "Silence of the Grave" was very well done, and if you're looking for a fresh voice in the police procedural genre and one that will hold your interest from beginning to end, you will want to check both "Silence of the Grave" and "Jar City" out.