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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dreaming of a Black Christmas, December 10, 2007
"Voices", the third Icelandic crime mystery written by Arnaldur Indridason and translated by Bernard Scudder, is as dark, brooding, and fatalistic as the two that preceded it.
But hey, if this were Tahiti, they wouldn't call it "Iceland".
And if one were to select a "Mr. Iceland" based on a personality most representative of this barren landscape of volcanoes and endless winter nights, Indridason's irascible police detective Erlander Sveinsson would leave the competition far behind.
In this installment of gloom, it is the Christmas season, and Erlander is called upon to investigate the murder of Gulauger Egilsson, a 50-ish doorman of one of Reykjavik's better hotels, found in his hotel basement room with his Santa Claus suit around his ankles and fatal knife wounds in his chest. What follows would be a rather pedestrian whodunit - a standard crime drama of turning up clues and connecting the dots - were it not for the talented Indridason and his penchant for painting with a palette of despair what could have been a Currier and Ives Scandinavian Holiday card. Unbeknownst to hotel management or staff, the reclusive Gulauger was once a child star - a choirboy of international fame, who at twelve had two records published, destined for fame and the Vienna Boys' Choir. But not content to rely solely on poor Gulanger's sordid tale, the author deftly weaves together parallel threads, each apparently competing to see which can be more depressing. We have Erlander's partner Elinborg chasing down a case of parental child abuse, while his daughter bounces from thoughts of suicide to drug addiction, pining over her complicity in the death of her own infant daughter. And Erlander, his own solitude no longer an effective shield under the tidal waves of grief and murder that surround him, reflects on and nearly confronts his own unresolved guilt following the death of his younger brother decades before. These threads wind tightly together in a tapestry of pain, lurching and stumbling, taking more twists than a pretzel factory in reaching a bitterly ironic, while fitting, climax.
So by now, you're probably wondering how this smörgåsbord of sorrow could rate five stars. The answer is Indridason's prose, the magic of a straightforward and unapologetic slice of life - not the way we'd wish it or the way Hollywood would have us believe it - but the way it is. Depressing - maybe - but there is also strength and nobility in the grit of real people confronting real adversities and struggling, or failing, to simply survive. This is tough stuff, but in its own way powerful and, if not redeeming, certainly memorable. But if all of these psychological mumbo jumbo ramblings of desperation are still putting you off - take heart. For at it's core, "Voices" is simply a darn good mystery wrapped around a cleverly inventive - if sad - plot. So if you want smiley, happy, beautiful people obsessed with fashion trends and trendy relationships, fire up the tube and surf over to the "Friends" re-runs. But if noir served up cold is your midnight snack, let the cagey Mr. Indridason take you on this tour of Iceland you'll never find in the travelogues.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
CWA Gold Dagger Winner Author Scores Again, September 19, 2006
This review is from: Voices (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries 3) (Hardcover)
This is directly quoted from the jacket because it has not been posted yet:
Detective Erlendur encounters memories of his troubled past in this gripping and award-winning continuation of the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries.
At a grand Reykjavik hotel, the doorman has been repeatedly stabbed in the dingy basement room he called home. It is only a few days before Christmas and he was preparing to appear as Santa Claus at a children's party. The manager tries to keep the murder under wraps. A glum detective taking up residence in his hotel and an intrusinve murder investigation are not what he needs.
As Erlendur quietly surveys the cast of grotesques who popluate the hotel, the web of malice, greed and coruption that lies beneath the surface reveals itself. Everyone has something to hide. But most shocking is the childhood secret of the dead man who, many years before, was the most famous child singer in the country. It turns out to be a brush with stardom which could ultimately cost him everything. As Christmas Day approaches Erlendur must delve deeply into the past to find the man's killer.
Voices is a tense, atmospheric and disturbing novel from one of Europes greates crime writers."
Arnaldur allows the reader to get inside his protagonist's head in a way few authors are able to do. Interwoven in this procedural are bits of Erlendur's own troubled life and family. As you follow him on his rounds of interviewing the characters involved in the victim's life, you will encounter the extremes of human emotion. This is definitely a "can't put down" novel.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You Owe it to Yourself!, December 18, 2006
I just finished reading 3 books (in 3.5 days) by a wonderful author I've recently discovered: Arnaldur Indridason & he's Icelandic.
The 3 books that have been translated into English are: JAR CITY (2004), SILENCE OF THE GRAVE (2005) & VOICES (2006). Two more are scheduled for release late next year and I can hardly wait!!!
It's truly a fascinating read and it pulled me in FAST, drawing me to the next novel and then the next at a pretty fast clip.
There's not the kind of action, drama, gruesomeness that is in many crime/thriller novels these days. There is a feeling that you accompany the detectives on their journey to a resolution. You can feel the cold, see the landscape, experience the smells and the warmth of a fire!
It's like watching a foreign movie. You're drawn into an interplay with the characters as they evolve. If Arnaldur Indridson's books were made into movies, they'd need Alfred Hitchcock as the director. Both can (could) tease you with fear that's been subtly created.
I can't say enough. Check this author out yourself.
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