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Arnaldur Indridason
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Silence of the Grave (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, No. 2) Paperback – August 21, 2007

by Arnaldur Indridason (Author), Bernard Scudder (Translator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 3,020 ratings
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Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award

Inspector Erlendur returns in this gripping Icelandic thriller When a skeleton is discovered half-buried in a construction site outside of Reykjavík, Inspector Erlendur finds himself knee-deep in both a crime scene and an archeological dig. Bone by bone, the body is unearthed, and the brutalizing history of a family who lived near the building site comes to light along with it. Was the skeleton a man or a woman, a victim or a killer, and is this a simple case of murder or a long-concealed act of justice? As Erlendur tries to crack this cold case, he must also save his drug-addicted daughter from self destruction and somehow glue his hopelessly fractured family back together.

Like the chilly Nordic mysteries of Henning Mankell and Karen Fossum, Arnaldur Indridason delivers a stark police procedural full of humanity and pathos, a classic noir from a very cold place.

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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 11
    Inspector Erlendur
  2. Print length
    293 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Picador
  5. Publication date
    August 21, 2007
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.8 x 8.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0312427328
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0312427320
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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“[Indridason applies] his austere style to a crime of such emotional breadth and sociological complexity that it acquires the sweep and consequence of epic storytelling. . . . Inspector Erlendur is one of the most compassionate detectives to come this way in a long time.” ―The New York Times

“The best new series I've read this year comes from Iceland. Arnaldur Indridson is already an international literary phenom--and it's easy to see why. His novels are gripping, authentic, haunting, and lyrical. I can't wait for the next.” ―Harlan Coben, bestselling author of Promise Me

From the Inside Flap

Downtrodden detective Erlendur and his team must once again look into Reykjavik's hidden past to unravel a case of human nastiness. Alive with tension and atmosphere and disturbingly real, this is an outstanding continuation of the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (August 21, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 293 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312427328
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312427320
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 3,020 ratings

About the author

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Arnaldur Indridason

Arnaldur Indridason

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Arnaldur Indridason is the author of Jar City, Silence of the Grave, Voices, The Draining Lake, and Arctic Chill. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Silence of the Grave and is the only author to win the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row, for Jar City and Silence of the Grave. The film of Jar City, now available on DVD from Blockbuster, was Iceland’s entry for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and the film of his next book, Silence of the Grave, is currently in production with the same director. His thrillers have sold more than five million copies in over 25 countries around the world. He lives in Iceland.

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
3,020 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

audrey frances
5.0 out of 5 stars spellbinding second outing for dour Inspector Erlendur
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2012
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Detective Inspector Erlendur, described by more than one character as "a sad man", and a man we know to be plagued by guilt about his past and doubts about the present, is called on (with his team -- Sigurdur Oli and Elinbor) to investigate a cold case, a skeleton found at the site of a new housing development. This means the investigation is hampered by old or dead witnesses and a lack of clues.

The story is told in parallel -- one the current investigation, the other the story of an abused woman, her tormentor husband and their three children. So we know immediately that the unidentified victim is somehow tied to this group, but that limited pool doesn't preclude mysteries or a satisfying conclusion. The author tells the two stories skillfully, allowing one to inform the other without destroying the mystery. Nicely written.

There is some clumsiness regarding an archaeologist brought in to uncover the skeletal remains. This results in days of delay even in discovering the gender of the skeleton, which is pretty goofy, and there is no resolution for that character -- he's just unceremoniously dropped when his purpose (delay) is no longer required. But there is storytelling and character development to compensate; we get some more information on Sigurdur Oli, a young-ish man (with all that implies) trying to make sense of an important relationship in his life. Unfortunately we get only a paragraph's worth of insight into female detective Elinbor's life -- I trust that will come in the future. More importantly, we learn a fair bit about Erlendur's past, and how that has brought him here, trying to find a way to communicate with his hostile pregnant addict daughter Eva Lind, who calls for help early on and demands his attention throughout the novel.

There is a GREAT first line: "He knew at once it was a human bone, when he took it from the baby who was sitting on the floor chewing it." Ha! How can you not be intrigued by that?! So you'd have to say that the translation is very nice as well. Thank you, Bernard Scudder.

As with other Indridason novels, there is a recurring theme, played out in the mystery and in the lives of our protagonists, this time of violence, abuse, and guilt, and how they are passed from one generation to the next -- Altogether depressing topics with a dour detective in a bleak surrounding. What's not to love? No car chases or gunfire, but some pretty brutal violence and language -- not for the tea cosy set, but fans of Scandinavian film or mysteries like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will enjoy this well written, intriguing mystery and compelling detective.

There are not many books that can keep me up until 4 am, but this one did. It could stand alone, but why deny yourself the pleasure of watching Erlendur unfold? This is the second in the Erlendur series, which contains: Jar City, this book (Silence of the Grave), Voices, The Draining Lake, Arctic Chill and Hypothermia.
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Bonnie Brody
4.0 out of 5 stars The Shame, Secrecy and Silence that Families Carry With Them
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2016
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Like others in the Erlendur series, this is a character-driven mystery with deep psychological undertones and more than one narrative stream. The novel begins with a baby chewing on a human bone and shortly thereafter a skeleton is found underneath a house. The big questions are who does this skeleton belong to and why is it buried in a construction site. As the novel progresses, these questions are explored and slowly answered.

One of the protagonists in this book is a battered woman who is repeatedly and violently abused by her husband. Domestic violence is graphically portrayed and very accurately rendered. As a clinical social worker who has dealt with domestic violence many times in my career, I applaud Arnaldur Indridason for his in-depth portrayal of the victim, perpetrator, and children. The cycle of abuse is addressed along with the fear, trauma, and impact on the family.

As in other books in this series, Erlendur continues to deal with his own guilt and shame resulting from his brother's death when they were both children. Erlendur and his brother were both caught in a freak snowstorm in rural Iceland and became separated. His brother's body was never found and Erlendur blames himself for his brother's death.

Erlendur also feels guilty about how his two adult children turned out. After he divorced his ex-wife when his children were toddlers, he was denied custody and did nothing to try and see his children. Now they are adults and have sought him out. His daughter is a pregnant drug addict and his son has almost nothing to do with him.

The novel meshes two stories, both about family secrets and the shame, secrecy and silence that these secrets mandate. The author does a wonderful job exploring the psychological under-currents of the crime and the different ways that families deal with shame and denial. If you like Scandinavian noir, this is a great series.
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Top reviews from other countries

Stephen Downing
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, the ending makes sense rather than a double switch.
Reviewed in Canada on June 19, 2023
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Enjoyable
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Rosamund S.
5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting story, with some unexpected twists and turns. Not as dark as some have claimed.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2020
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Having enjoyed Jar City and discovered a passion for Icelandic Noir genre, it was natural that this book would be next up on my list. At first I was hesitant about it, because of some reviews here saying how dark it is, some saying that it’s darker than Jar City, and with my emotional sensitivity I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I did not find that to be the case at all, maybe just my personal mentality. I find the themes and subject matter sadder, but I would still say Jar City is more chilling and more atmospheric, the real crime investigation type. This one, however, is almost ordinary, in a sense that it could be classified as a family drama of sort. It very much reminds me of genre in Icelandic sagas, the family tragedy. If you’ve read those ‘sogur’ before, you will get a real sense of that tradition being present here. A few moments of suspense and a very riveting read, but nothing like the on-the-edge suspense in Jar City. If you’re worried about it being too dark, I would say it depends how well you handle stories of people being beaten and domestic violence. However, it is as suspenseful and no such a thing as a random corpse or enigmatic artefact turning up at any point. Feels like a historic recounting of a distant tragedy.

In terms of the story itself, the plot is just so on-point, so hats off to the author! Everything just fits perfectly, with the double twists at one point, but frankly nothing too expected. The pace is somewhat slower than some of his works, but feels personal to the main protagonist.
One if the things that annoys me a bit is the abrupt end, which seems to be Indridason’s style. Like Jar City, it simply ends without explaining certain mysteries along the way, as if the author hasn’t been keeping tap of his various hints. In fact, one storyline concerning a group of individuals needs not be there at all, if not for the purpose of the double plot twist I had mentioned earlier. The fate of some of the important characters that have been developing along the way are just left there, as if it didn’t matter, despite their pivotal contribution to the main storyline. The story takes time to unfold itself, yet somehow towards the end its like the author just got bored of his work and decided it was time to call it quit. Yet I find that to be the case with 90 % of the thriller/ crime fiction these days. Some might find it enigmatic, I call it ’broken ladder,’ like the author can’t quite come up with a way down and jumps head first.
Still, a great story over all. Would highly recommend!
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Angelica
5.0 out of 5 stars Silencie Of The grave
Reviewed in Brazil on March 3, 2016
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It's a great reading. Despite a slow pace story, you can't stop before getting to the end. Very good book!
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Papito
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in India on November 25, 2015
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Ok. Quick read.
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Charly P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Bleak and suffocating
Reviewed in Germany on December 5, 2012
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Indridason tells a story as bleak as Iceland in winter. Again his investigation leads us way back in time and describes the story of family life dominated by domestic violence and verbal abuse. The details are so dense and unbearable that the actual dead comes as a relieve. The reader is left with a moral dilemma: who is the victim and who the offender?
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