Into Oblivion

In Into Oblivion, a follow-up to the gritty prequel Reykjavik Nights, Arnaldur Indridason gives devoted fans another glimpse of Erlendur in his early days as a young, budding detective. It is 1979, a few years after Reykjavik Nights closed, and Erlendur is now a detective, already divorced, and is working for the shadowy Marion Briem. A body of a man has been found in the blue lagoon, which has not yet become the tourist spot it is today. Apparently the victim fell from a great height, and at first the police investigate the possibility that he has been thrown out of an airplane. In parallel, Erlendur is asked to investigate the cold case of a young girl who vanished into thin air on her way to school forty years earlier. The writer whose work The New York Times describes as "having the sweep and consequence of epic storytelling," has outdone himself in this multi-layered and masterful suspense story. His ninth Inspector Erlender mystery, Strange Shores, was nominated for the 2014 CWA Gold Dagger Award, and his second, Silence of the Grave, won.