Book Summary and Reviews of Into Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason

Into Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason

Into Oblivion

An Icelandic Thriller, Inspector Erlendur Series

by Arnaldur Indridason

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2016, 352 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Into Oblivion, the follow-up to the gritty prequel Reykjavik Nights, gives devoted fans another glimpse of Erlendur in his early days as a young, budding detective.

A woman swims in a remote, milky-blue lagoon. Steam rises from the water and as it clears, a body is revealed in the ghostly light. Miles away, a vast aircraft hangar rises behind the perimeter fence of the US military base. A sickening thud is heard as a man's body falls from a high platform.

Many years before, a schoolgirl went missing. The world has forgotten her. But Erlendur has not. Erlendur is a newly promoted detective with a battered body, a rouge CIA operative, and America's troublesome presence in Iceland to contend with. In his spare time he investigates a cold case. He is only starting out, but he is already up to his neck.

The writer whose work The New York Times describes as "having the sweep and consequence of epic storytelling," has outdone himself in this multi-layered and masterful suspense story.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Marion, who finds Erlendur's stubbornness endearing, also suffers the bitterest pangs of loss in this accomplished analysis of the painful price that people of honor pay in a world swiftly losing its humanity." - Publishers Weekly

"Indridason's quiet authority and moody prose are beautifully at play in Erlendur's 11th case ... another pitch-perfect procedural from a master." - Kirkus

"Indridason is a master at weaving big-picture commentary into taut, realistic police procedurals, and he scores another victory with this examination of the Cold War's impact in Iceland." - Booklist

This information about Into Oblivion was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Arnaldur Indridason Author Biography

Arnaldur Indridason won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Silence of the Grave and is the only author to win the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row, for Jar City and Silence of the Grave. Strange Shores was nominated for the 2014 CWA Gold Dagger Award.

Other books by Arnaldur Indridason at BookBrowse

10 more...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Into Oblivion, try these:

  • Remarkably Bright Creatures jacket

    Remarkably Bright Creatures

    by Shelby Van Pelt

    Published 2025

    About this book

    Winner of the 2022 BookBrowse Debut Award

    For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

  • Two Nights in Lisbon jacket

    Two Nights in Lisbon

    by Chris Pavone

    Published 2023

    About this book

    Tautly wound and expertly crafted, Two Nights in Lisbon is a riveting thriller about a woman under pressure, and how far she will go when everything is on the line.

  • Disappearing Earth jacket

    Disappearing Earth

    by Julia Phillips

    Published 2020

    About this book

    Spellbinding, moving - evoking a fascinating region on the other side of the world - this suspenseful and haunting story announces the debut of a profoundly gifted writer.

We have 10 read-alikes for Into Oblivion, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!
Win This Book
Win Theo of Golden

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…

Enter

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Days of Sun and Shadow
    by India Hayford
    A young woman’s coming-of-age story set in the early American frontier, shaped by tragedy, nature, and resilience.
  • Book Jacket
    Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
    by David Woo, Margalit Shinar
    Nine linked stories reveal how globalization sparks life-changing consequences across continents.
  • Book Jacket
    Chelsea Girls
    by Catherine Lloyd
    A glamorous biographical novel on Mary Quant, whose daring design of the miniskirt revolutionized fashion.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Summer of Love
    by Kerri Maher
    Three women reshape their family's Napa Valley winery after the 1967 Summer of Love.
  • Book Jacket
    An Infinite Love Story
    by Chanel Cleeton
    “A tender, romantic drama that soars as high as it’s astronauts.” —Kate Quinn
Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

The C is A R

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.