The Darkness Knows the best thing about this book. Usually, I love Nordic noir. However, this book is so slow paced. Glacier-speed slow. In the 1700s. So, what is the best thing about it? It has solved my insomnia. I read three chapters and then zzzzz…

Konrad is a retired policeman in Iceland. In 1985, a man went missing. His car was found but his body was not. Until now. Sigurvin is found perfectly preserved frozen in a now melting glacier. His death was apparently caused by a blow to the back of the head. Konrad worked the original case.

A man, Hjaltalin, was arrested but not charged with the killing in 1985. He is arrested again when the body is found. Hjaltalin is dying of cancer, but still denies his guilt. Konrad reluctantly agrees to try to clear his name by reinvestigating Sigurvin’s death.

As I mentioned before, the pacing is slow. It only picks up speed at about the two thirds mark. However, what is slowing it down are detailed descriptions of Iceland’s harsh but beautiful countryside. I feel like I spent a week’s vacation there (and I’m well-rested due to the constant napping).

The Darkness Knows is unique way to visit Iceland. Unfortunately, the clues to the mystery’s solution are unveiled to the reader at the same time Konrad discovers them. There are no red herrings or other valid clues making this book a poor choice for armchair detecting. 3 stars.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy crime novels set in other cultures, and The Darkness Knows scratched that itch. It wasn't, however, as satisfying a read as the author's Detective Erlendur series. This book was slow and morose, largely due to the main character's view of the world and his own life.

Konrad is a retired detective who is pulled back into a cold case from his days of active service with the Rekjavik police. There a few sensational bits: A murder victim, missing for 30 years, has been fold in a melting glacier. Otherwise, Konrad's sadness and regrets overlay everything, sapping much of the energy from the plot.

Despite his depression, Konrad is dogged in his pursuit of the clues that were missed in the original investigation. He is functioning more as a private detective, with little help from official police resources.

Perhaps it was the translation, but I noticed many more common English cliches than I have in other Indridason books. Despite these setbacks, this is a story of "Score one for the old guy!"

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for an advance readers copy.

This was a fast paced book that keep you guessing till the very end. Lots of twist and turns to making you want to finished the book to find out what really happened. Throughly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to review this book.

A body was found on a glacier and suspect was arrested. A man Villi approaches a man in a bar stating that he saw this man on the glacier. When he leaves the bar he is run over by a car. Everyone thought an accident, but his sister approaches retired detective Konrad stating it was murder. Thus starts the investigation of whodunit and why.

Enjoyed this. Good dark thriller. Dragged at parts, but recommend.

Regrettably,The Darkness Knows is not up to Indridason's usual high standard. Although it is a perfectly readable cold case murder, there is nothing to distinguish or elevate it from the many other novels that fall into this category. Even the setting seems tired and plodding: Iceland when the glaciers begin to melt and then as winter is setting in, It's light, it's dark, it's getting colder... all pretty much in line with the story. I hope the author's next book finds him back in his usual form.

When a body is found in an Icelandic glacier 30 years after the initial disappearance, retired policeman Konrad swears he isn't going to be pulled back into the case. But when the previous (and current) top suspect asks to speak to Konrad and continues to claim his innocence, Konrad can't help but to "ask around" about the case - unofficially, of course. He quickly finds himself swept back up in the investigation, all while protesting that he is "back on the case." Will Konrad find the killer?

I truly hate to say it, but this book wasn't for me. I was hooked in by the review stating that Indridason is the "undisputed king of the Icelandic thriller" but found nothing thrilling about this book. It was kind of a snooze fest - very unexciting and dull. Maybe this is a more realistic view of police investigations, but it just fell flat for me.

This was a pretty good cold case file investigated by the now retired Konrad. The first chapter grabbed you with a great opening, take your time, read it slow, once you have that stellar first taste, it is a little hard to keep it up.
But I felt the story flowed well, had multiple leads that could have been and some surprising characters that entered with important information. I would recommend if you enjoy a murder mystery, my only con was I got so tired of hearing “I am Konrad, retired police officer that is working for the sister of the man that was murdered”. I did not count how many times he said that. But it is true, there never is a perfect murder.
I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press along with NetGalley for my honest review. This one comes in with 4 stars.

Cold cases do not come much colder than one involving a corpse discovered in a glacier after thirty years. Not only was the victim murdered, there may have been a subsequent murder committed to facilitate a cover-up. Inspector Konrád is recalled from retirement to deal with the prime suspect, a man Konrád is beginning to think innocent. He must now untangle decades of lies and false alibis in order to get to the truth.

"The Darkness Knows" by Arnaldur Indriðason is set in Iceland. I was never aware that "Nordic Noir" was a niche but the pace and the landscape sustain a suspenseful tension throughout. After finishing this I see where some reviewers are put off or bored by Indriðason's writing style-- which puzzles the hell out of me. Do not pick this up if you are looking for "The Fast and the Furious". A good mystery is always fun, but it really is a treat when you come across one by an author who is a master at what he is doing. 5 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, Arnaldur Indriðason, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Darkness Knows" publishes on August 17, 2021 and this review will be posted on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, Facebook and Twitter on that day. #TheDarknessKnows #NetGalley.

Arnaldur Indriðason has a well deserved place at the top of Icelandic crime writers. He simply doesn't disappoint. I was happy The Darkness Knows features the return of the retired detective Konrád. With plenty of time on his hands, Konrád receives a request to revisit a cold case from the person he considered the main suspect. Konrád can't help but revisit the case in his indomitable fashion, However, once he does, he finds this one case possibly gave birth to another. Indriðason leads us through these two crimes with his usual effective pacing. His writing style at this point is an old friend you warmly embrace. It is another wholly satisfying read by this living legend. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. #TheDarknessKnows #NetGalley.

Konrad, a retired policeman in Iceland, is shocked when a missing person from one of his old cases turns up frozen in a glacier. Even though it is not his case anymore, he decides to talk to people involved at the time. Could there be a connection with a 30 year old hit and run? Was the man who was accused of the crime telling the truth when he said he was innocent?

I personally felt that something was missing. I even had to go and search to see if there had been a book prior to this one. It took me a while to get in to the book.

Setting is super important in police mysteries so Iceland fits the bill well. Descriptions present a bleak, cold place where the retired detective seems the same. Action is slow and characters are many. There are no warm fuzzies in this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC to read and review.

Detective Konrad #1

It begins when a group of German tourists hiking on the LangjÖkull glacier stumbled upon the body of a man who was buried deep under the ice. Forensic specialists identify the cadaver belonging to Sigurvin, a young man who had disappeared 30 years ago.

This new series is a spin off the “Shadow District” Reykjavic-set novels featuring retired CID Inspector Konrad as the main protagonist who returns in action as a consultant to investigate this 30 year old cold case. At the time, he was the lead investigator and his unsuccessful attempts to solve what happened to this young man has haunted him ever since. Back in the thick of things Konrad, this grumpy and grouchy detective captivates us both in his investigation, his personal history, his relationships with colleagues and with his dysfunctional family.

Mr. Indridason is definitely a master in pacing and characterisation. With a simple prose yet somewhat frosty he has penned a concise and profound mystery to ensnare us from the opening page. I surely did with me. I was glued to every word wanting to see what the author had in store for me so much so I often lost track of time.

There are several threads in this story that smoothly intertwine together in order to give us an old fashioned mystery that is mainly narrated by Konrad. Along the way, Mr. Indridason also made reference to the financial crisis of 2008 and the current socio-economic reality that has changed life in Iceland for ever.

It was a pleasure to read such a well-written crime novel.

I give this 5 stars. Classic Indridason. He continues to bring Icelandic crime fiction to the forefront.

Just couldn't finish this one.

I thought I'd give it a try as it sounded intriguing. A body is found in a glacier 30 years after the person had gone missing. Konrad, a retired detective, had been on the case looking for the missing person.

Not sure if it was the format on my tablet or what but this was just very hard to read. Couldn't tell where one conversation ended and the other started. Very wordy and, after the initial discovery of the body, slow.

3 stars

An interesting yet mildly depressing new series set in Iceland. I wanted more but perhaps the next book in the series will be better.

I am a big fan of the Icelandic and Nordic mysteries. The characters are so atypical compared to other protagonists in American and British thrillers. There are no gun fights, car chases, romantic liaisons or super human feats of valor. This novel is a perfect example of its genre. Plodding ex detective solves a thirty year old series of murders by sheer deduction and plodding police detecting. I loved it!

I liked the main storyline in this book but I felt like it had too many additional side stories and details that had nothing to do with the main story and made for an incredibly long read. Aside from that it was a classic Icelandic tale that was atmospheric. I would be interested in reading more in this series for sure. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this early copy for review

If you like Nordic novels, you will like this one. A frozen body is found in a glacier that could be a man that disappeared thirty years before.. Konrad who handled the original case is called back into reopen the case. A haunting story with lots of secrets.

As you know if you've read this blog for any length of time, I like bringing you mysteries from non-English speaking countries. Frequently they are ones that aren't making the NYT Top 20, so you may not be aware of the authors, yet the books I find are pretty amazing! This is another one of those books that offers you a new look at mystery!

Following the previous book this am, this is another detective that has retired, who gets called back into a previous case, when the suspects will only talk to him, and then he is confronted with new info that could have led the investigation in a different direction. Now he has doubts- where they blinded by facts and didn't investigate enough? What has the newly discovered body still have to tell them? It's an interesting look at rush to judgement, and how human emotions can play into an investigation, and a page turner you can't put down!

An Old-Fashioned Cerebral Murder Mystery

A tourist guide discovers a body in the ice on an Icelandic glacier. The pathologist recognizes the body as Sigurvin who had been missing for 30 years. She calls a retired detective, Konrád, who led the investigation back then. The prime suspect, Hjaltaín, at the time is quickly arrested as he was about to fly to Thailand. He will only talk with Konrád. Being given a green light from his old boss, he interviews Hjaltaín who still professes his innocence. He states that he was leaving for a medical treatment for his cancer that isn’t available in Iceland. After this meeting, Konrád’s old boss warns him not to interfere with the investigation. A woman contacts Konrád to see if he can find the killer of her brother, Villi. He saw a man who likely met Sigurvin the night he died. That man had threatened to kill her brother who was a hit and run victim almost twenty years later. The takes off from here.

The main storyline consists of several intertwined threads. One is the investigation of the Sigurvin’s murder. The main thread is Konrád’s investigation of Villi’s death. Since there is a strong tie to Sigurvin’s murder, Konrád comes to an understanding with his old boss concerning sharing of information and some participation. The third main storyline is Konrád looking into the murder of his less than sterling father. Except for just a few chapters, the story is told by Konrád. There are not any gun battles, chases, or other action scenes. This is an old-fashioned, shoe leather investigations. This made me think more than usual and captured my interest to continue reading this novel.

I understand that Konrád was a character in the Detective Erlendur series of novels. This novel is my first novel by Arnaldur Indridason that I have read so my review is based solely reading just this novel. Konrád’s B-storyline was quite rich. Much of it occurs with the thoughts and reasoning. His interactions with other and familiar characters also added a richness to my reading of this novel. Unfortunately, the other characters were not as developed as the Konrád character, but I never felt that I was missing anything because of lack of context with any of the characters.

On a plus side, there are not any intimate scenes. Violence is described in the less edgy after the fact. There is some vulgar language, but the level did not raise a red flag for me. This book should be readable by most readers.

My largest issue with this book was the translation that was definitely very British. I can deal with most British informal, but I just can’t see an Icelander using the following words, bloody, bloke and mate. Since this is not traceable to the author, it did not affect my rating. For some of the British informal, I did use the easy Internet access of my e-reader to find the meaning of some of the informal language. I liked the ending. There was only one loose thread not tied up at the end. This was the main storyline thread on Konrád’s father’s murder. I suspect that it will be an underlying thread through some if not all the books in this series. Often, I read late at night when I should have gone to sleep. Then I continued to read when I woke up.

I have two Icelandic authors that I want to read their next works. I think that I just found a third. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin Press. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank St. Martin Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.