Konrad, a retired Icelandic policeman, had a case that haunted him. When he visits a man in jail, who claims he didn’t do the crime. Konrad starts to think about the case and follow some of the clues that where not follow up at the time. Who lies and who is guilty opens up the case again.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

The discovery of a body, hidden on the frozen Langjökull glacier some for some thirty years, brings retired Reykjavik detective Konrád back into police work as he works on the sidelines to find answers to who killed the businessman, Sigurvin. When Sigurvin, a business associate, Hjaltalín, had been the prime suspect when Sigurvin disappeared, and, throughout the investigation, remained the only suspect despite the fact that there was not sufficient evidence to bring charges against him.

But the discovery of Sigurvin’s body renews the investigation in the cold case and Hjaltalín finds himself under arrest once again. Then, the unexpected happens and a woman comes forward with new information that changes everything.

Anchored by a strong sense of place and peopled with strong, interesting characters, this police procedural highlights the frustrations of dead ends and insufficient information for those investigating the crime. This is as much a character study of Konrád as it is a mystery/police procedural.

The plot takes some unexpected twists along its way to a surprising event involving the often-enigmatic yet sympathetic Konrád. The focus on how the decades-old crime shattered so many lives brings a grim, humanistic reality to the telling of the tale.

Frustratingly, some threads remain dangling, most notably the reference to Konrád having been unfaithful to his wife, Erna. And Konrád’s relationship with his father is never fully resolved.

Despite moments when the story seems to ramble, it holds the reader’s attention; fans of Icelandic noir, police procedurals, and mysteries will find much to appreciate here.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheDarknessKnows #NetGalley

A German tour group, visiting one of Iceland's numerous glaciers, finds a body embedded in the ice. When the authorities investigate, they discover that the body is that of Svanhildur, a man who disappeared without trace some 30 years previously. At the time of the original disappearance, a police inspector, Konrád, tried diligently to find the culprit responsible, but failed. He could find no concrete evidence to prove the guilt of his prime suspect, Hjaltalín. All they had were some eyewitness accounts of an argument between Svanhildur and Hjaltalín the evening before Svanhildur was reported missing. In addition, the two appear to have had a falling out over a business connection. Neither of these issues provided the concrete evidence required to convict Hjaltalín, who maintained strenuously that he was innocent.

Now, thirty years later, Konrád is retired from the force and has no interest in pursuing the crime further ... well, except that he can't seem to keep from checking out a thing or two. Over time he becomes obsessed with the case, which had been the greatest failure of his career. He gets a few hints of new information. The sister of a man named, Villi, comes to Konrád to tell him that her brother used to talk quite a lot about having seen someone in the area where Svanhildur had been killed at the time Svanhildur went missing. But then, Villi was killed in a hit and run accident, and there had been no closure for the sister because no car, nor driver, had been found that could be tied to the hit and run. Might it have been related to Svanhildur's murder, an effort to shut Villi up?

And so it goes. We get some other people showing up who might have been involved. We also get some back story into Konrád's life along the way. How he had had an abusive father who was a petty crook, and who eventually died in an unsolved case; how Konrád had grown up bullied because he had a withered arm; how Konrád lost his wife Erna, and has never recovered from the loss; and a few hints at some other things here and there.

Overall, it's a rather interesting tale, set in an interesting location, Iceland. Presumably the setting is well drawn given that the author is an Icelander himself.

#TheDarknessKnows #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Unfortunately, I really was not a fan. The premise was intriguing - a body in a glacier? Creepy! Plus I normally like European crime novels.. However, I just could not get into this.

After the first few pages where the body is discovered, the pace becomes very slow. It is also extremely wordy and filled with unnecessary descriptions and info. For instance, at one point Konrad goes to the supermarket to follow up with a witness. We hear about what items he purchases while at the market - totally irrelevant.

With the appearance of the mysterious woman at Konrad's door, it got a bit more interesting for a while. But I also had trouble keeping the characters straight. In fact, when the villain is finally revealed, I did not even remember who this character was.

At times this reads as a 2nd or 3rd book in a series, when talking about Konrad's wife or father. It seems like we are missing details provided in previous books, while really this is the first one. The plot about his father did leave me interested in knowing more. I assume it will be covered in a future book.

Overall this was a disappointment and took me quite a while to get through.

"The Darkness Knows" was an enjoyable murder mystery. A tour guide leading a group of German tourists on a tour of Iceland's glaciers spots a face in the snow and ice. The dead body is that of Sigurvin, a man who disappeared thirty years ago. Hjaltalin, his former business partner, was suspected to have killed him in a dispute over their former business. However, Hjaltalin had insisted he was innocent, a position he had maintained to the present, and the police had been unable to find enough evidence to prosecute him. The lead detective, Konrad, had long since retired, but found himself drawn back in, both because Hjaltalin wanted to speak to him and would die soon after of cancer and because the failure to solve the Sigurvin case had weighed on him for years. The case was the start of a significant decline both professionally and personally for Konrad, as his wife would later be diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Although he is retired, Konrad starts looking into the case privately, with the reluctant acquiescence of the current chief inspector. While Sigurvin's body does not provide any significant new clues, Konrad is contacted by a woman (Herdis) whose brother (Villi), as a nine-year-old, saw a man at the location where Sigurvin's jeep was found abandoned, and who was threatened by the man. It was only years later that Villi made the connection between what happened that night and the disappearance of Sigurvin. Villi was later hit by a car and killed on a snowy night. Herdis wondered if Villi's death was not an accident and somehow was connected to Sigurvin's disappearance.

The story focuses on Konrad's efforts, thirty years after Sigurvin's disappearance and murder, to piece together what really happened. The author is creative in the clues that are revealed and how they are revealed, as well as what each new discovery leads to next. The story focuses a lot on how characters' actions are shaped by the events of their lives and how a person's past actions weigh on them over the years, especially if they have done something improper or illegal but consider themselves fundamentally decent. Ill-considered decisions or spur-of-the-moment actions have radically altered the lives of multiple characters in the story. The author also describes Icelandic culture and attitudes and how that impacts the way the characters approach their lives and interactions with others. The story also addresses Konrad's marriage and the loss of his wife, Erna, as well as Konrad's childhood with a father who was a criminal and who was murdered, with the murder unsolved. I would definitely recommend this book.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I am new to this author and will likely go back and catch up on his other books. This one is a well written mystery that would have been right up my alley in terms of being a suspenseful read in a nordic setting, but I failed to connect. About halfway through, I became uninterested in the side story of Konrad's father, and I raced to the end, skipping those parts and wanting to focus on the main mystery. I may have missed some threads by doing that, but I felt the ending made sense. Just wish I hadn't lost interest, because I'm all about Iceland lately!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ebook ACR.

The Darkness Knows was a pleasant surprise. I liked it, even with all the Icelandic names that I’d never heard before. I just assigned them nicknames. Sigurvin became Siggy, Hjaltalin became Hal, and so on. But I digress.

A frozen body found on one of the Icelandic glaciers opened up an old case. Siggy had disappeared over thirty years ago; who killed him and why. The author did an expert job exposing clue after clue to the solving of this mystery. The side stories along the way held my interest and, most importantly, were essential to the development of the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Darkness Knows. I enjoyed it.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. A bid is found after he has been missing for over three decades. This book was well written.

I'm a new fan of Arnaldur Indriđason and his books and I really enjoyed The Darkness Knows. Read it in two days. Konrad. Boy what a character. A retired ex Detective, you think he's a fine upstanding law-abiding fellow, until Arnaldur gives you a different look into his soul.

The storyline is well thought out with great characters and connections.

You also get a pretty good look at Iceland as a bonus. This is the first in a series and I hope it's going to be a long one.

When a melting glacier surrenders the body of a murder victim missing for over thirty years, a retired police officer who originally investigated the disappearance must decide whether to get involved again in the case he failed to solve that has haunted him for decades. There can be little doubt what his choice will be when a woman approaches him with additional information.

Arnaldur Indridason crafts a finely paced, superbly written, multi-tiered story which moves with ease between past and present. Older events that prompt current actions are uncovered and viscerally dramatized. This is a haunting, riveting crime-detective story. Indridason masters the art of delivering a compellingly dark thriller featuring a troubled detective that is defined by its emotional chilliness and overarching sense of despair against the backdrop of the cold and darkness of Iceland. Rather than keeping the reader constantly on the edge of the seat, he lulls you into a false sense of security with the minutiae of the intriguing, harrowing investigation and just when you grow comfortable, he blindsides you with the twist you never saw coming. It’s a masterfully written story of resolution that operates on multiple levels of time, mind, and spirit that’s perfect for the discerning reader of Nordic crime fiction.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and write an honest review of this book.

This is a really fun read. I appreciate the twists, turns and satisfying conclusion. It can get a little bit confusing with some of the foreign names, but that’s not really a fair complaint of the author or quality of the story.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I am looking forward to reading more.

I want to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I have read several of Indridason’s books and have always enjoyed them. In this book Konrad, a retired detective with the usual personal issues, is drawn back into a case when a missing man’s body turns up in the melting glacier many years later. He is asked to interview a dying man who had always been the main suspect (but always claimed innocence) even though they never had enough evidence in the case. He ends up also seeing if an old hit-and-run case is related to the missing man found in the glacier. As a private citizen, he goes about, slowly and methodically, putting the pieces of the case together, eventually solving two murders.

The story moved along a little slow for me, but it is well written, describing how even a cold case (or two) can be solved with enough determination and persistence.

I am a big fan of Nordic fiction. I love the descriptions of the icy scenery, it is so different from where I live. Life in a cold climate has it's own set of challenges. A frozen body is found on a glacier, and turns out to be a missing person from 30 years ago. How can you even begin to solve the mystery. Former Detective Konrad makes it his mission to uncover the truth. There are a lot of people to interview, but it all feels very realistic. The reasoning did get a little convoluted at times, but I still enjoyed reading this book.

Love these kind of atmospheric thrillers. I have to put on a sweater just read them. I was kept guessing until the end with this one. Lots of twists and turns and great characters! He's done it again! Congrats!

I enjoyed the story, however, unless one is familiar with Icelandic names and places, the reader might find it difficult to keep track of the numerous characters and locations that popped up, minus the protagonist and the bad guys. Maybe there should be a glossary or how to pronounce guide. However, it was interesting to delve into the main character's background in order to understand what made him tick. I kept reading because I wanted to find out how the plot unfolded and if there were any surprising twists and there were!

“The Darkness Knows” continues to build a portfolio of excellent Nordic Noir mystery stories by Arnaldur Indridason. His protagonist is Konrad, a retired police inspector, who is brought back into an unsolved cold case that he was a large part of 30 years previously. Konrad pulls on any number of threads to slowly unravel the mystery. I found captivating the subplot of Konrad’s personal life travails including the life and death of his wife, plus the life and murder of his father. (I would not be surprised to find that Indridason’s next Konrad story develops around his father’s murder in an alleyway many years before.
One has to slow down when reading this genre of mysteries: they move along at a pacing far slower than we 21st century readers are used to. So fasten your seat belt and settle in for an overnight flight to a distant land. It will be worth the time investment when you arrive at your destination!
Thanks NetGalley for a great read.

The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indriðason gives new meaning to the term “cold case” when the body of a long-missing man is found on the Langjökull glacier in western Iceland. This solves one piece of a puzzle of a man who went missing 30 years earlier, but it raises many other questions. Who killed him, and why?

Konrád is a retired police detective who investigated the case decades earlier. When the main suspect in the case is arrested once more and says that he will only speak to Konrád, he reluctantly obliges. At one time, he questioned whether or not the man was telling the truth when he insisted that he was innocent; now he thinks he must be guilty. Mustn’t he?

This is a case that will not let him go. When the sister of another man who disappeared comes to him looking for answers, Konrád promises to help, despite the pushback from his former police colleagues. The more he rehashes old territory and revisits witnesses, the more he wonders if the two events could be related.

Having read several of Indriðason’s Inspector Erlendur novels, I am familiar with his writing style. However, I found this book more enjoyable for several reasons. First, Konrád is more outgoing. He has had to overcome a slight physical birth abnormality that led to bullying when he was young, and he didn’t always live a clean, law-abiding life as a young man. While it’s not a barnburner by any means, the plot does move at a faster speed than the Erlendur books, and it held my interest.

There were a couple things that nagged at me a bit, though. There is a relationship mentioned early on that is just dropped with no resolution. Also, there is a lot of emphasis on Konrád’s relationship with his father, and this is left unresolved. This leads me to believe that this may be the focus of an upcoming book, as there is quite a mystery there.

I did enjoy this character and the way he persevered, using his connections within the police department even though he was retired. He can push when he needs to, and his instincts are still sharp. I would read a second Konrád book if one comes about.

My thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and the author for this ARC copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

4 stars.

** spoiler alert ** This was a very good read and Arnaldur Indridason had a lot to use as his support as Konrád, a retired inspector, brought back after a while when the suspect only would talk to him. It goes in different directions as Konrád uses up his time with several different people. It finally makes sense when they find another person run down by the same people. What seems an obvious change would be the ending which has Konrád looking into the killing of his father. It seems like credible outcome in a future book. This will be a good read for everyone who likes crime reads.

You can't go wrong with any book by Arnaldur Indridason. His stories are always compelling and attention holding. Wouldn't miss a word he writes!

First, thanks to the publisher for an ARC of this book!

This was my first Icelandic mystery/thriller, and it definitely will not be my last. Having been to Iceland and taken a tour with a guide, I was immediately hooked by the discovery of the body on the glacier by the tour group. This story was about the 30 year-old cold case that was reopened by the discovery of that body.

I think the thing that works best in this story is the pacing. Because it's the reopening of a cold case, you expect it to be slower than a thriller built around a murder investigation in real-time, and this works extremely well for letting you get to know the characters involved - and there are a lot that you meet. Konrad is a sympathetic main character because you can feel his frustration over not solving this murder 30 years earlier, and as you read there are a lot of nuances to his character that come out, things in his past that shaped him and by extension shaped how he views/his relationships with other people and his job. This story felt at times less like a mystery/thriller and more like a character study for Konrad, and I was totally on board with that.

The resolution was satisfying to me mostly because I didn't really have any suspicions until the very end, but I was enjoying the story anyway. There were some small things mentioned in passing that I thought could have been left out or expanded on more, but they may be addressed in the next books. Either way, they do not detract from this book enough to bother me.