Erlendur #8

On a cold autumn night in Thingvellir, a woman is found dead in her summer house. She had been troubled for a while and the noose was her way out of despair. When Erlendur receives a recording of a séance that the woman attended just before her death, he is driven to dig up her story and find out why her life ended in such a sudden and sad way. At the same time he is haunted by unsolved riddles of disappeared people and his own past.

Erlendur Sveinsson is one of the most loved fictional characters of contemporary Icelandic literature; the eccentric cop with the brisk exterior and warm heart has charmed readers both in Iceland and abroad for several years.

• Nominated one of the Ten Most Notable Crime Books of 2010 by the New York Times
• Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2010
• One of the best crime novels of 2009 in UK, selected by Sunday Times
• Reviewed as the best crime novel of 2009 in The Times
• Nominated for the Glass Key – The Nordic Crime Novel Award 2008
• The Drop of Blood – The Icelandic Crime Novel Award 2008
• Shortlisted for the Icelandic Booksellers’ Prize 2007
• One of the 50 Best Thrillers and Crime Novels of the past 5 years, according to The Sunday Times, 2014 and 2015
• One of the 60 Best Thrillers and Crime Novels according to The Sunday Times, 2015

“Another haunting mystery from the Gold Dagger Award winner, whose work transcends genre.”
Kirkus Reviews

“This Icelandic novelist keeps on getting better.”
Sunday Times

“An intelligent, gripping and moody tale with superior characterisation.”
Marcel Berlins, The Times

“The narrative grips, the writing, excellently translated by Cribb, is resonant and Lyrical, and the atmosphere is chillingly creepy. Brrr.”
Laura Wilson, Guardian

“One of the most outstanding crime-novelists of these times.”
Trouw, The Netherlands (nationwide quality newspaper)

“This creation [of Erlendur Sveinsson] done by the Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason is one of the most authentic characters in the genre.”
NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands (nationwide quality newspaper)

4 stars out of 5
“Indridason shows in this book why he is translated and praised worldwide. […] Oppresive until the very end!”
Vrij Nederland, The Netherlands (quality weekly magazine)

5 stars out of 5
“The best what Arnaldur Indriðason wrote until now. Brilliant!”
Els Roes, De Telegraaf, The Netherlands