The icelandic mysteries of Arnaldur Indridason

Indridason has won the Crime Writers Association Golden Dagger award for his mysteries. He is a great storyteller whose main character, Erlendur is hard to forget. Erlendur and his colleagues focus on missing person crimes in Reykjavik, Iceland. This is a particular interest of Erlendur because his brother disappeared when they were children. The pain of his past although submerged has greatly influenced his relationships with both of his children. His daughter Eva Lind is a drug addict who has a love/hate relationship with him and his son is not interested in any relationship with his father. His colleagues know that his personal life is a mess and he deals with it by focusing on the job. So he is not content every angle is checked or the crime is solved.
The library has four of his mysteries. Jar City is about a rapist who may have been murdered for his crimes. In the Silence of the Grave, Erlendur investigates the finding of a skeleton buried for 50 years and in The Draining Lake, the remains may be that of a cold war spy. In Voices, he investigates the murder of a Santa Claus in a luxury hotel.
Iceland is a major component of these novels. Most crimes of murder there are crimes of passion. Everyone knows everyone in the country or are related to them. Incredibly people do go missing and are never seen again. But you will be drawn to these mysteries not only for the story which is always interesting, but because you want to see Erlendur change as he begins to reach out to his colleagues, his children and possibly a love interest.

Genocide and Forgiveness

Left To Tell, by Immaculee Ilibagiza,
is a true and first-hand story of the Rwandan Holocaust. Immaculee Ilibagiza tells her story of fear, terror, murder and loss. Hiding in a tiny bathroom with 7 other women for 91 cramped and terrifying days, Immaculee survived and now tells us of her experience in a shocking and deplorable onslaught of innocent lives. The evil man is capable of will stun you, but Immaculee's story of faith and finding God in the midst of horror will lift you. Left To Tell is the other side of the coin to "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" and will serve as a true inspiration to anyone at odds with a brother, a people or themselves. Left To Tell will stay with you for a long long time.


This selection is the January 2009 pick for the "Faith-Inspired Book Club" meeting January 13th, 2009 at 9 a.m. Please join us on the library mezzanine for rich discussion!