From Publishers Weekly
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From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Winner of the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel 2002
Translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder
"Jar City is a haunting and elegant novel, and Arnaldur Indridason is a writer of astonishing gravitas and talent."
- John Lescroart, author of Nothing But the Truth
"Like a long Icelandic night, Jar City envelopes the reader in a fascinating and mesmerizing locale—and doesn't let go. No wonder Arnaldur Indridason won so many awards. He's a great storyteller, and American readers will overwhelmingly agree."
- C. J. Box, Anthony Award-winning author of Out of Range
"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 Dark Hollow
"Jar City, like a good Ingmar Bergman film, brings us irresistibly into a strangely beautiful world of deep sorrows and dangerous secrets hidden in the past. Indridason's detective is, like his predecessors from Philip Marlowe to Somerset in Seven, a deeply appealing hero, intense, intelligent, moral, lonely, and very very good at his job."
- Michael Malone, author of Uncivil Seasons
"Fascinating . . . an original and puzzling mystery."
- Val McDermid, The Sunday Times (UK)
"This is strong stuff, powerfully and arrestingly written. The plot is clever, the writing has a directness and deceptive simplicity reminiscent of Simenon, and Detective Inspector Erlendur is an intriguing character whose personal problems complement rather than distract from his investigation. Here is a new voice that demands to be listened to!"
- Reginald Hill, author of Dialogues of the Dead
"Prepare yourself for transportation. To a different planet, though right here on earth. I've had the privilege of visiting Iceland, and Arnauldur Indridason captures the haunting, wondrous rhythm of that unique place in a way that will astonish you even as his plotting intrigues you."
- Jeremiah Healy, author of Turnabout and The Only Good Lawyer
"An absorbing police procedural dense with psychological pressure, haunted by past secrets. The plot is a twister, the setting unique, and Erlendur's personal life is even bleaker than the Icelandic fall. Erlendur is a cop to watch. And I will."
- Marshall Browne, author of The Eye of the Abyss
"An excellent thriller that is absolutely cool and deadly."
- Robert Gray, Northshire Bookstore (Manchester Center, VT)
"Now Iceland has its own Mankell."
- Holger Kreitling, Die Welt (Germany)
Book Description
When a lonely old man is found murdered in his Reykjavík flat, the only clues are a cryptic note left by the killer and a photograph of a young girl’s grave. Inspector Erlendur, who heads the investigation team, discovers that many years ago the victim was accused, though not convicted, of an unsolved crime. Did the old man’s past come back to haunt him?
As the team of detectives reopen this very cold case, Inspector Erlendur uncovers secrets that are much larger than the murder of one old man--secrets that have been carefully guarded by many people for many years. As he follows a fascinating trail of unusual forensic evidence, Erlendur also confronts stubborn personal conflicts that reveal his own depth and complexity of character. Like all great crime fiction, Jar City is about much more than murder, and avid suspense fans are about to discover a first-rate writer who has already received rave reviews around the world.
