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   Summary and Book Reviews

Arctic Chill: Summary and book reviews of Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason, plus links to an excerpt from Arctic Chill and a biography of Arnaldur Indridason.

Arctic Chill

Arctic Chill
A Thriller
by Arnaldur Indridason
Hardcover: Sep 2009,
352 pages.
Paperback: Sep 2010,
352 pages.

Publication information
Read an Excerpt
Reading Guide
Reader Reviews

Author Biography
Books by this Author
Critics' Opinion:   very good
Readers' Rating:  Four Stars
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BOOK SUMMARY

In this new extraordinary thriller from Gold Dagger Award winner Arnaldur Indridason, the Reykjavik police are called on an icy January day to a garden where a body has been found: a young, dark-skinned boy is frozen to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Erlendur and his team embark on their investigation and soon unearth tensions simmering beneath the surface of Iceland’s outwardly liberal, multicultural society. Meanwhile, the boy’s murder forces Erlendur to confront the tragedy in his own past. Soon, facts are emerging from the snow-filled darkness that are more chilling even than the Arctic night.

BOOK REVIEWS

Very Good BookBrowse
Arctic Chill is unique among Idridason's Erlendur books: the previous four all revolve mostly around crimes connected to the past. This one combines the best aspects of Indridason's earlier books with a new and compelling awareness of Iceland now.  (Reviewed by Joanne Collings).
Full Review Members Only (1054 words).

Media Reviews

Good  Library Journal
For fans of moody Nordic mysteries by writers such as Henning Mankell and Ake Edwardson, this is an essential read.

Very Good  Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [A] stellar fifth Reykjavik thriller...Indridason has produced a stunning indictment of contemporary society.

Very Good  Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. A beautifully layered mystery notable for its breadth and depth. Indridason and his hero steadily improve with age.

Very Good  The New York Times
With its sad story about lost boys and its mournful theme of the indifference of the living to those who walk out of their lives, Arctiv Chill may well be the most thoroughly depressing of all the gloomy police procedurals coming out of those cold lands near the Arctic Circle. But since the storyteller is Arnaldur Indridason, this Icelandic tale is delivered with exquisite sensitivity...

Good  The Times - Joan Smith
This is not an easy read, but its humanity and insight make it truly memorable.

Very Good  The Independent - Emma Hagestadt
Inter-racial tensions are nothing compared to the inter-office friction between Erlendur and stony sidekick, Sigurdur Oli, in this highly believable mystery, seamlessly translated by the late Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by BettySunshine
Arctic Chill
Even though there is little "action" in the story and it was a bit slow moving, the writing is superb and kept me intrigued. The author uses conversation amazingly well in the book. It just kept pulling me in especially with the two...   Read More

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