Love/Hate?: Subtle love
Rating: 5/5
Did you finish?: Couldn't finish fast enough!

One-sentence summary: Icelandic police investigator is nagged by a suicide that doesn't seem right.

Why did you get this book?: Goodreads Giveaway

Do you like the cover?: Eh -- I don't hate it, but it doesn't stick out in my mind.

First line from book: Maria hardly registered what was happening during the funeral.

Review: Apparently this is the 6th book in a series, which I didn't know when I requested this book. (I likely wouldn't have requested it then as I hate arriving at a series in the middle.) However, this book easily reads as a satisfying standalone thriller, and I didn't feel at anytime that I was lost or missing an inside joke or reference.

I've seen this book compared to Larsson's Millennium trilogy, but other than both being Scandinavian authors, I fail to see the similarities. Larsson's hero is in his prime, slightly disreputable but clearly moral, irresistible to women; Indridason's Erlendur is in his 60s, reticent and withdrawn, emotionally distant. The pacing of this book is different than Larsson as well: we're treated to flashbacks leading up to Maria's death, breaking up Erlendur's careful investigation. The tension comes from the slow, inevitable confirmation of what we -- and Erlendur -- suspect and fear. It's not an exciting book, per se, but it's definitely not boring.

Tropes?: Distant daddy, angry daughter, smothering mother-in-law

FTC Disclosure: I received this book via GoodReads First Reads giveaway.