Marilyn Stasio
In this book as in Indridason's previous ones (all translated with grave sensitivity by Bernard Scudder), Erlendur's effort to reclaim one lost soul opens a broader investigation into a neglected piece of Icelandic history. Here it's the "weird times" of the cold war, when Iceland was of strategic interest to both the United States, which kept a military base at Keflavik, and the Soviet Union, which had plenty of spies on the ground.
—The New York Times
Maureen Corrigan
Indridason keeps readers guessing as to the identities of the snitch and the skeleton until the very last pages of this moody investigation into the fatal follies of youth, politics and memory. By novel's end, fittingly, the lake waters begin to rise again, obscuring all.
—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
At the start of Gold Dagger Award-winner Indridason's carefully plotted fourth entry in his crime series starring detective Erlendur Sveinsson (Jar City, etc.), a human skeleton surfaces in the bed of a lake near Reykjavik that's been mysteriously draining away. The bones are tied to some kind of Russian listening device, presumably a remnant of the Cold War. As Erlendur and his colleagues, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli, go about checking on people who went missing around 1970, Erlendur is reminded of the disappearance of his younger brother when they were children. Erlendur's lifelong obsession with the missing provides a haunting metaphor for this lonely, middle-aged man, divorced and alienated from his own two children. Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli, on the other hand, aren't particularly persuasive characters, but flashbacks to the University of Leipzig during the Cold War provide compelling insights into the splintered politics of the day, as well as the Icelandic students studying there at the time. (Sept.)
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Library Journal
Missing persons particularly pique the interest of Reykjavík police inspector Erlendur, still haunted by the loss of his younger brother in a blizzard that he survived as a child. When the mysteriously draining Lake Kleifarvatn reveals a skeleton tied to an old Russian radio transmitter, Erlendur and colleagues Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli delve into the cold war era, when promising young Icelandic socialists were sent to Leipzig to study, and one of them lost the woman he loved in the atmosphere of "interactive surveillance." Considering himself a failure in family relationships, the introspective and dogged Erlendur is motivated to bring closure to a 70-year-old woman still waiting for her long-vanished lover; even a missing hubcap is a key to this case. Erlendur's developing relationship with a married woman, Elinborg's newfound success as a cookbook author, and Sigurdur Oli's phone calls from a troubled man add depth and texture to the fourth in Indridason's award-winning Nordic series (after Voices). This is exceptional fiction that transcends its genre.
—Michele Leber
Kirkus Reviews
A body found in a cold lake has roots in the Cold War. Sunna, a scientist with Iceland's Energy Authority, discovers a skeleton while taking an early morning walk around Lake Kleifarvatn, which has been recently drained. Inspector Erlendur is called in to investigate, along with sidekicks El'nborg and Sigurdur ili. Though a hole in the skeleton's skull clearly indicates foul play, identifying the remains proves trickier than expected. Meticulous research narrows the field of possible victims, but also reveals a striking anomaly: a cluster of young Icelandic men, perhaps involved in espionage, who left the country without a trace 30 years ago. An old Ford Falcon ultimately leads the team to the victim's name. Threaded through the contemporary investigation is the story of an initially anonymous protagonist who journeys to East Germany for training and falls hard for Ilona, a Hungarian operative. Her unexplained disappearance sets him onto a dangerous path. Back in the present, Erlendur struggles to find time for an affair with crime-scene tech Valgerdur, whom he met on his last case (Voices, 2007), when he achieved a new closeness with Eva Lind, his drug-addicted daughter. Eva's relapse drives a new wedge between them. Meanwhile, restless retired chief Marion, now yoked to an oxygen mask because of a lifelong smoking habit, keeps checking in to see if she can help. Beleaguered, dutiful Erlendur remains a compelling Everyman, and Indridason writes with clarity, precision and elegance.
