It is the summer of 1972 and Reykjavik is in turmoil; the world chess championship is about to start in the Laugardalshöll sports centre and the city is teeming with foreigners. The Cold War is at its height and representatives from East and West escort their men, Spassky and Fischer, to the chessboard. As preparations reach a climax, a harmless youth goes to the cinema and is viciously attacked. The police are at full stretch but Marion Briem, who is in charge of the case, is determined to make sense of the life-anddeath duel which is being fought here.

In Indridason’s fifteenth novel, real events frame a gripping account of tragic human sacrifice. No other Icelandic author has enjoyed such popularity as Indridason has in recent years, both in Iceland and abroad.

“Indridason knows the art of weaving a crime story …
The temporal setting of the novel is masterfully done … An exciting and coherent story …”
FRIDRIKA BENONYSDOTTIR, FRETTABLADID DAILY

* * * * * (Five stars out of five)
“Iceland at the centre of the Cold War. (The Great Match) … will disappoint nobody, keeping the reader engrossed, and after a calm beginning it flows so well that it is best read in one go. Indridason is the undisputed king of Icelandic crime novelists and his reputation has spread around the world. The reason is that he writes with great care and reaches everyone with his straightforward language, builds up suspense and effortlessly manages to make the reader a participant in the story.
It seems that with The Great Match, Indridason is embarking on a new chapter in his writing with the – male or female? – detective Marion Briem in the lead role. Detailed descriptions of the character’s upbringing seem to suggest this. In the story, he travels back to the year 1972 and interweaves the Cold War with Fischer and Spassky’s World Chess Championship duel, which was held in the Laugardalshöll Arena that summer. Descriptions of the environment, people and issues make the setting come alive, almost everything that matters is stated …
Throughout the book, Indridason plays with metaphors and it is, for instance, fantastic how he links innocence and seriousness, the trout in Lake Thingvallavatn and lumpfish fishing from Grímsstadavör with the herring trade in the Soviet Union, cod and the fishing territory dispute with the British. The atmosphere is powerful and herring politics and cod heads gain a deeper significance when matters are put into context.
Despite the gravity of the case, there is humour. The story of encounters with newfangled food, drink and washing basins is priceless, as is the description of the bum who wants something for his pains. The invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia gain a new sense and come alive at the Soviet embassy. The world is at stake and a vicious attack in Reykjavík is the starting point.
Once again, Indridason has produced a book which hits the nail on the head and makes the reader live and breathe the setting.
At the chess tournament in Laugardalshöll, a king and queen played the main roles, and it is therefore apt that Indridason should be holding all the reins when it comes to the power games of the East and the West during the Cold War. He is obviously in his element.
The structure of The Great Match is top-notch, the narrative is calm and collected to begin with but then it gathers speed, the tension grows and the twist at the end is excellent, plus the ending is a pleasant surprise. Crime novels don’t come any better than this. The Great Match is yet another feather in Arnaldur Indridason’s cap.”
STEINTHOR GUDBJARTSSON, MORGUNBLADID DAILY

“… Indridason does this very well and nicely, as is normally the rule for his work. His writing keeps gaining depth in research and his portrayal of the story’s setting and time … he has attained such control of the novelistic form that within it, he can do almost anything he wants.”
PALL B BALDVINSSON, KILJAN/ICELANDIC NATIONAL TV

“Indridason succeeds at a great number of things in this book … He knows precisely what he’s doing … The ending is extremely clever … a beautiful story of friendship and love … I think [the plot] is very successful.”
KOLBRUN BERGTHORSDOTTIR, KILJAN/ICELANDIC NATIONAL TV

“Very well done.”
EGILL HELGASON, KILJAN/ICELANDIC NATIONAL TV

“[Arnaldur] is head and shoulders above other crime writers in Iceland. … Indridason presents one of his usual well thought out storylines … This is a perfectly plotted story … yet one more step on Indridason’s journey … ”
PALL B BALDVINSSON, FRETTATIMINN WEEKLY