Arctic Chill: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller)
by Arnaldur Indridason
Published by Minotaur Books
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Reviewed by Sarah Nagle
At the start of this fifth Reykjavik thriller, the body of a young Thai/Icelandic boy is found stabbed and frozen on his route home from school. Investigating the murder of young Elias, the dour Inspector Erlandur is drawn into the simmering tensions of a supposedly liberal yet long-homogeneous society confronted with multiculturalism, heightened by the cold and darkness of a long Icelandic winter.
Clear suspects and motives are not easily forthcoming for Erlandur and his team as they delve into unpleasant realities associated with the murder: immigrants from half a world away struggle, most unsuccessfully, with an alien culture and harsh climate; disaffected teachers are barely able to conceal frustration and in some cases outright racism; directionless teens have little respect for any authority and few outlets for their energies other than gang activities and mindless computer games; and a population almost literally imprisoned in the cold and dark turns too often to the brief respite offered by alcohol, tobacco, and fast food.
The author weaves other threads through this frozen tapestry. Erlandur wrestles with long-suppressed guilt over the unsolved death of his brother in a snowstorm when they were young. He finds solace in the promise of a budding relationship, but his continuing struggle to connect with his two troubled adult children is contrasted with his realization that a former mentor is dying virtually alone in a nursing home. The disappearance of a woman involved in a tangled marriage scandal is seemingly unrelated to the central case, but though her fate seems pre-ordained, the lack of resolution frustrates Erlandur to the point of unprofessionalism.
Arnaldur Indridason’s prose in Artic Chill is as spare as the landscape of the Iceland he portrays. The reader should not, however, mistake such simplicity for any lack of depth in plot, characterization, or emotion throughout. At the end, the murder’s resolution is both numbing in its pointlessness and chilling in its portrayal of human behavior that is infinitely more cold and dark than an Icelandic winter.
Armchair Interviews says: A mystery well worth your time.