The Shadow District

For an award winning book this was dull, dull, dull...I have read all of the English translated Indridason novels and while all the others gripped in their plotting, characters and Reykjavik area scenery this left me, (excuse the cheap pun).... cold.A murder or three that didn't grip me, a two-time period setting that did nothing more than confuse and repeat a lot of what went on and could have been in any two periods (the fact it was war-time didn't add much more than throw in a could of Yanks in to the mixture), a wierd backstory about seances and a couple of investigators without the quirks or interest of his other police detective, Erlendur.Sorry, but not one for me to keep or read again.

Intriguing, atmospheric but curiously uninvolving. In the present day a retired detective investigates the murder of an old man who had previously been attached to Reykjavík CID and who had investigated the death of a young woman. The cases mirror each other though at least there is very little repetition as sometimes the story is related in the modern day, others during WWII. It has a tendency to be wordy and there is very little tension as the modern day investigation is very easily solved. Well written and translated but the investigators do not grab you like Erlendur does.

Arnaldur Indridason is one of the few authors whose books I'll buy new. I was disappointed that this was not an Erlendur book but quickly became engaged in this interesting case.Indridason is an excellent writer and storyteller, and this novel is no exception, beginning in the present day as a retired detective looks into a cold case from 1944, when Allied troops were stationed in Iceland and a young woman was found murdered in the Shadow District, a shady part of Reykjavik.Chapters jump between two investigators in the past and the current investigation, sparked when one of the original detectives, now an old man, is found murdered.I enjoyed this book but feel it lacked the depth and darkness of the Erlendur books. I'll read the next in the series .. but may not buy it new :-)

Bought as a gift. The cover and paper could have been of better quality but that seems to be a common issue with books these days. I've not read this book therefore cannot review the story.

Another excellent yarn, evoking Iceland during and after the War.