Reykjavik Nights

By: Arnaldur Indridason, Victoria Cribb - Translator

Narrated by: George Guidall

The loner, Erlendur, has recently joined the police force as a young officer. The beat on the streets in ReykjavIk is busy: traffic accidents, theft, domestic violence, contraband.... And an unexplained death. When a tramp he met regularly on the night shift is found drowned in a ditch, no one seems to care. But his fate haunts Erlendur and drags him inexorably into the strange and dark underworld of the city.

©2012 Arnaldur Indridason, 2014 Victoria Cribb (P)2015 Recorded Books

Well done Icelandic Noir

Fans of the solitary and relentlessly serious Detective Erlandur may enjoy going back to the case which led him to discover his obsession...forgotten missing persons. Young, in uniform, and completely inexperienced at detective work, he comes across the death of an alcoholic tramp who has been found dead in a boggy field and is written off as an accidental drowning, as well as the disappearance of a woman, who is an assumed suicide. His affinity for cases like this is, as we know by now, a result of the tragic disappearance of his brother in childhood, but this is when his past first comes together with the detective he is to become--a seeker of the disappeared, an advocate of the forgotten and abandoned.

This case is none of his business, being a junior uniformed cop, but he can't help himself and pursues the answers to his own questions in what will become his trademark independent doggedness. In a decade when battered wives and the homeless are treated with casual disregard by society and the law, Erlandur is driven to find justice by his own ghosts--which, fortunately (for me, anyway), are less belabored here than in Jar City. We also first find out how ineptly he relates to others, especially women, and that even though he is obsessive in his pursuit of truth, he is still able to retain his equanimity when pulling together the clues he needs from endless interviews with the characters in the story. In the course of these interviews, these characters become fully dimensional and real to both Erlandur and the listener.

A well-written, slow-paced novel of a bleak but interesting man, seeking relief from personal anguish through his work in a bleak but beautiful country. As usual, a good narration by George Guidall, in spite of the fact that his voice is simply becoming too old for many of the characters he reads.

Slow Yet... Sort of Hypnotizing

I didn't care much about the protagonist in this Indridason story, but I'm not sure that the author did much either. Rather he uses him as a blunt, plodding tool... An irresistible force to unravel a quiet little tale of violence. It's a procedural thing set in a place and just - a tad - different culture that tugged me on through this puzzle. Yep, it is well done and George Guidall as always creates a cast I'll remember.

Brings Back Memories of Reykjavik

I have only had a problem with one of Indridason's stories, but this is not the one. It is another great who-dun-it with loads of twists and turns in the plot. Just when you are convinced who the killer is, another clue points you in the opposite direction. If you want to listen to a mystery by a non-US author this is a great choice. The narration is steady and keeps you interested. Try it you will like it.

A good story read by a master

Guidall has a great voice and improves any book he reads. This is a good story but not a great one. The location is very interesting.

Highest Praise for Arnaldur Indridason

As a novice reader, my earlier days of fictional literature focused purely on storylines with nonstop action and minimal character development. I must say, however , that this author has peaked my interest by creating a remarkable cast of characters from the protagonist to the minor or bit part players.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to backtrack to retrieve the earlier and post books in the Inspector Erlendur series. I was able to get Jar City (#1 in series) from the library and that too was a great read.

I’m looking forward to completing the entire series!