Silence of the Grave, by Arnaldur Indridason

In this second installment of Arnaldur Indridason’s Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, Erlendur Sveinsson, the somewhat jaded Reykjavik police detective – so full of regrets – is back. We met him previously in the first novel in the series, Jar City (a k a Tainted Blood). Now a skeleton has been found while excavating a new housing project. It has been determined to be decades old, and is assumed to be the victim of a murder. But who is it? How did he or she die?

So, once more the worn, worried, introspective detective Erlendur and colleagues must investigate Reykjavik’s hidden past. As with Jar City, Silence of the Grave too is alive with tension and atmosphere and feels disturbingly real. This excellent novel, for which Arnaldur Indridason was awarded the Glass Key award in 2003 and the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award in 2005, is an outstanding continuation of the Reykjavík Murder Mysteries.

This is a black novel – very noir fiction – and contains some tough and almost repulsive descriptions. We follow Erlendur into the abysses of drug abuse, needles and crack vials; a depressive journey into the dark spots of the otherwise bleak and barren setting of Iceland. We learn of a horrifying story of domestic abuse set during WWII. And a search for missing persons unearths almost-forgotten dark family secrets involving some of the city’s most prominent citizens. Out of the silence of the grave pours secrets that perhaps had best remained hidden for eternity. In this book there is misery and more misery.

Inspector Erlendur Sveinnson’s trail is cold indeed. But he has personal reasons for a deep interest in missing persons, and does not give up. And as we learn more about Erlendur – his background, his family – we understand his fatalism and his dogged style.

Arnaldur Indridason is one of the many great Scandinavian crime fiction writers. This is an exceptional, deep, slowly moving, excellently and very intelligently plotted dark crime fiction novel. It is suspenseful and compelling, written in a manner that feels just right. Silence of the Grave is a book you should not miss out on.

Links to Arnaldur Indridason’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

Tagged as: Arnaldur Indridason, award winning novel, book review, crime fiction, Icelandic writer