Voices: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller) |
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Voices: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller)
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by Arnaldur Indridason and Bernard Scudder
Sales Rank: 24293
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List Price: $23.95
$16.29
At Amazon
on 6-21-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 320 pages
Published by: St. Martin's Minotaur; First Edition edition October 2, 2007
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0312358717
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312358716
Book Dimensions:
8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
Weighs: 14.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Gold Dagger Award–winner Indridason stumbles in his third Reykjavik thriller to feature Insp. Erlendur Sveinsson (after 2006's Silence of the Grave). A few days before Christmas, Erlendur and his colleagues, Elínborg and Sigurdur Óli, look into the scandalous murder of Gudlaugur, a local Santa Claus, at a busy hotel. As Erlendur and his team scramble to find a motive for the seemingly senseless crime, disturbing secrets from Gudlaugur's past begin to surface. In a hotel full of foreign holiday guests, Erlendur investigates everyone from a slippery British record collector to a sullen maid who reminds Erlendur of his own daughter. Snippets of a previous investigation involving child abuse distract from the Gudlaugur case. Despite a drawn-out climax where Erlendur tries to put all the pieces together, most readers will predict the terrible secret that led to Gudlaugur's death. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Review
Unanimous Acclaim for Arnaldur Indridason and the Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson series
“The best new series I’ve read this year.”
---Harlan Coben "Another top-notch mystery from Indridason, its lyrical melancholy matched by the depth of its characterizations."---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Voices “A writer of amazing gravitas and talent.”
---John Lescroart, author of The Suspect, on Jar City
“Classic mystery fiction, both compassionate and thrilling. Indridason is about to become one of the brightest stars in the genre’s dark skies.”
---John Connolly, author of The Unquiet, on Jar City
“One of the modern masters of the police procedural. Voices is replete with wonderfully flawed characters . . . and insight that at times makes you want to weep. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
---January Magazine
“Excellent . . . compelling . . . the denouement of this astonishingly vivid and subtle novel is unexpected and immensely satisfying.”
---Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Silence of the Grave
“A resonant psychological crime novel rich in unflinching observations about family relationships.”
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Silence of the Grave
“A commanding new voice . . . puts Iceland on the map as a major destination for enthusiasts of Nordic crime fiction.”
---Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review on Silence of the Grave “A wonderful storyteller. . . . It’s impossible to put the book down once you begin reading.”
---The Globe and Mail (Canada) on Voices
“Fans of mystery in general and Henning Mankell and Karin Fossum can only exult.”
---Library Journal (starred review) on Jar City
Reader Reviews
"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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Voices: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller)
Available from Amazon
Price: $16.29
Updated on 6-21-2008.
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