Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: August 17, 2021
Source: Publisher
Summary:
Retired detective Konrad returns to a haunting cold case in The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason, the “undisputed King of the Icelandic thriller.” —The Guardian (UK)
A frozen body is discovered in the icy depths of Langjökull glacier, apparently that of a businessman who disappeared thirty years before. At the time, an extensive search and police investigation yielded no results—one of the missing man’s business associates was briefly held in custody, but there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.
Now the associate is arrested again and Konrad, the retired policeman who originally investigated the disappearance, is called back to reopen the case that has weighed on his mind for decades.
When a woman approaches him with new information that she obtained from her deceased brother, progress can finally be made in solving this long-cold case.
In The Darkness Knows, the master of Icelandic crime writing reunites readers with Konrad, the unforgettable retired detective from The Shadow District. This is a powerful and haunting story about the poisonous secrets and cruel truths that time eventually uncovers.
My thoughts:
Nordic Noir is one of my favorite sub-genres to read in the crime fiction genre and I don’t know how I haven’t heard about or read anything by Arnaldur Indridason before…but that is definitely going to change! I loved this book and am so glad it’s the first in a new series…you all know how I love my series!
There is just something so compelling about a thriller set in Iceland – it makes for the most atmospheric and tense of reads and that is true here. While this one is more of a slow-burn, it still grabbed me right away and I never found my attention wavering at any point. The story revolves around a retired detective revisiting a case that had gone cold but is now reopened when a body is discovered in a glacier. This is a case he had worked on back in the day and it causes a host of memories to come flooding back from that time.
I loved getting to know Konrad and I am hoping that in subsequent books, we will see more of him. He is a strong, flawed yet complicated character. It is my understanding, though, that he has appeared in Indridason’s previous books, so I definitely plan on checking into that.
I love a good puzzle and this case definitely provided that. It is definitely a well-thought out, intricately plotted mystery that kept me flipping the pages, guessing as to where it was all going. I am excited to see where this series goes next and in the meantime, I’ll definitely be checking out Indridason’s backlist!
