Series: Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, Book One
Publisher: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Published: 7th May 2009
Number of Pages: 352
Book: Borrowed
Genre: Crime
Drama, Action-Adventure, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Murder Mystery,
Adult
Recommended
Age: 15+
Contains: Violence,
Death, Swearing, Alcohol, Drug and Smoking References
Author's
Blog: Author Page on Macmillan
A man
is found murdered in his Reykjavík flat. There are no obvious clues apart
from a cryptic note left on the body and a photograph of a young girl's grave.
Detective Erlendur is forced to use all the forensic resources available
to find any leads at all. Delving into the dead man's life, he discovers
that forty years ago he was accused of an appalling crime. Did his past
come back to haunt him? Finally, Erlendur's search leads him to Iceland's
Genetic Research Centre in order to find the disturbing answers to the
mystery.
This
prize-winning international bestseller is the first in a new series of crime
novels set in Iceland.
Review:
"I
am him."
An old man called Holberg was found
murdered in his home. On top was a note no one understands and a further
search of his home revealed a photo of a child's grave.
Detective Erlendur can't make heads or
tails of the murder, until he begins to unravel the dead man's life. And
finds he was suspected in a very, very violent crime four decades ago.
Which leaves the question of why was he
killed now? All these years later? Was it just his crime coming
back to haunt him?
Or does the mystery run even deeper than
that...?
I do love crime thrillers. I love to watch them, love to read
them. So when my aunt told me she had a brilliant crime book that I had
to read, I jumped on the chance! My aunt has a good taste in murder
mystery, so I knew this would be good! I'll admit I've seen some
not-stellar reviews of Jar City,
but I personally really enjoyed it.
I really liked Erlendur. He was very
old school and logical, kind of brash and straight-to-the-point. He was a
generally good person and a caring one. I'll admit, he wasn't like
Sherlock-exceptional, but he was so intuitive and so good at his job. I
must say, the father-daughter relationship between Erlendur and Eva Lind
was intriguing, mainly 'cause Eva Lind was such an intriguing character.
I can't wait to see where everything between them goes.
Admittedly, the other detectives weren't as
padded-out as Erlendur. Elínborg especially seems like she could be
extended more - I barely felt like I knew her. I knew a little more about
Sigurdur Óli, but not quite enough. I only mention this because I think
both characters could be so much more.
I loved the writing, all the random little
details. It was a wonderfully simple style, really easy to read, but full
of descriptions and mystery. And the plot was equally brilliant and
wonderfully twisty. It wasn't sensationalised or out of the ordinary.
The plot and murder all felt really realistic and gritty-real, if that
makes sense. I'll admit it sometimes wasn't the most suspenseful or mind
blowing plot, but it was really effective and I have a feeling the author is
only going to get better from here. Plus, I loved learning more about
Iceland, about their surnames: the father's name and "dóttir" for daughter and "son" for son. Cool, huh?
The one thing I don't get about the book is
the mystery surrounding Marion Briem. All the descriptions were so
cryptic - we had no idea whether Marion was male or female. It was annoying.
As I love thrillers, I've read a lot of
twisted crime thrillers - some were mentally scaring really! - but I've never
read any by an Icelandic author. After reading Jar City, I can't wait to read more! The story is twisty but
not scarringly twisted. I really enjoyed the setting and mystery and the
genetic/forensic twist to the story, as well as the moral and ethical themes:
it wasn't heartbreaking, but it was thought-provoking and complex.
Anyway, I'm super excited about the rest of this series! Yay to
Icelandic crime thrillers!
Star Rating:
4 Out of 5
4 Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Rizzoli and Isles by Tess
Gerritsen
Bones by Kathy Reichs
Kurt Wallander by Henning Mankell
Challenges
It's Taking Part In:
Happy Reading
Megan
1 comment:
I agree! Yay to Icelandic crime thrillers! Tell your grandma from me that she has an AWESOME taste in crime thrillers! LOL great review as always I need to read this now. :-) But the way I just wanted to let you know that I have a INT giveaway going to celebrate 200 followers if you would like to enter? xx
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