Jar City (Reykjavik Thriller Series #1) by Arnaldur Indridason, Bernard Scudder (Translator)

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Synopsis

From Gold Dagger Award--winning author Arnaldur Indridason comes a Reykjavík thriller introducing Inspector Erlendur

When a lonely old man is found dead 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 discovers that many years ago the victim was accused, but not convicted, of an unsolved crime, a rape. Did the old man's past come back to haunt him? As Erlendur reopens this very cold case, he follows a trail of unusual forensic evidence, uncovering secrets that are much larger than the murder of one old man.
 
An international sensation, the Inspector Erlendur series has sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Publishers Weekly

When a lone septuagenarian is murdered in his apartment in the Nordurmari district of Reykjavik, detective inspector Erlendur Sveinsson is called in, along with partner Sigurdur Oli and female colleague Elinborg. Everyone is related to everyone else in Iceland and refer to one another by first name, even formally. Erlendur is about 50, long divorced, with two kids in varying degrees of drug addiction. The victim, a man called Holberg, turns out to have been a nasty piece of work, and Erlendur is disgusted by the series of rapes Holberg apparently committed. The rapes and the deaths of a number of young women may be connected, and the search brings Erlendur to the forensic lab, whose old "jar city," since disbanded, held research organs. Meanwhile, Erlendur's daughter, Eva Lind, is pregnant and still using; she flits in and out of his life angrily, but may be crying out for help. Reykjavik's physicality, and the fact that crimes are relatively rare in Iceland, gives things a defamiliarizing cast. The writing, plot and resolution are nicely done, but remain fully within genre boundaries. (Oct. 11) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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Biography

Arnaldur Indridason was born in 1961. He worked at an Icelandic newspaper, first as a journalist and then for many years as a reviewer. He won the Nordic Crime Novel Award for JarCity and won again for its sequel, Silence of the Grave, which also won the prestigious Gold Dagger Award. He lives in Reykjavík, Iceland.

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A reviewerby Anonymous

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July 08, 2007: Having read the Silence of the Grave, I was interested in other works by this author. I wasn't disappointed in Jar City. I didn't put it down! He is now an author that I look for and I am very excited that his series will continue.

terrific Icelandic police proceduralby harstan

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October 07, 2006: In an apartment in Reykjavik, Iceland, Detective Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson looks at the corpse of a seventy years old man whose head suffered quite a blow when his partner Sigurdur Oli and a female officer Elinborg arrive at the scene. The murder object is a large ashtray and the killer left behind the note ?I am HIM? adding to the sleuth?s thought that a crime of passion occurred. When the victim turns out to be a loner Holberg, who allegedly raped and killed many young females, Erlendur believes passion was actually vengeance. The three cops quickly learn of a documented alleged Holberg rape case thirty years ago in which the victim reported the crime, but the cop in charge let the accused go while blaming the woman. Meanwhile as the police dig through mountains of records to find more information on Holberg?s horrific past, Erlendur struggles with his thirty years old pregnant daughter Eva Lind, who uses drugs in spite of the impact on her unborn he also worries about his other offspring Sindri Snaer who is barely doing better than her sibling. Two new cases involving an assault of elderly twin sisters and the disappearance of a bride just after she married somewhat pulls Erlendur off the homicide. Still he believes the past holds the key to solving the murder mystery so unhappy Sigurdur and less enthusiastic Elinborg dig through mountains of files seeking names linked to Holberg who Erlendur hopes are available for questioning. --- This is a terrific Icelandic police procedural starring a dedicated detective whose personal problems with his daughters lifestyles distracts him somewhat, but not enough from trying to solve the three cases. Readers will appreciate the realism of Sigurdur and Elinborg as they do the menial but critical tasks of going through old files. The vanished bride case contains a fun twist that adds to a wonderful mystery novel. --- Harriet Klausner