The Darkness Knows: A Novel

Arnaldur Indridason

Aug 2021 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

I received a free electronic copy of this Icelandic mystery from Netgalley, Arnaldur Indrioason, translator Victoria Cribb, and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this mystery of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to add Indrioason to my list of must-read writers. He writes an Iceland noir novel that you will want to sink your teeth into, with colorful protagonists and a deep mystery to solve. I thoroughly enjoyed retired Detective Konrad. This is the first of a series, but completely stand-alone. I am looking forward to number 2. In The Darkness Knows a thirty-year-old mystery, investigated by Konrad back in the day, is reopened when climate change melts down into the glacier Langjokull exposing the perfectly preserved body of missing fisherman Sigurvin. Konrad had not actually completed the investigation, suffering from mental angst and an enforced leave of absence. And his focus today is to look into the hit-and-run death ten years ago of a young man named Villi, at the request of his sister Herdis. With the discovery of the body of Sigurvin, Herdis began to put together her brother's story, which fit beautifully into the disappearance of Sigurvin 30 years ago, with the idea that perhaps Villi was murdered for what he knew.

An Old-Fashioned Cerebral Murder Mystery A tourist guide discovers a body in the ice on an Icelandic glacier. The pathologist recognizes the body as Sigurvin who had been missing for 30 years. She calls a retired detective, Konrád, who led the investigation back then. The prime suspect, Hjaltaín, at the time is quickly arrested as he was about to fly to Thailand. He will only talk with Konrád. Being given a green light from his old boss, he interviews Hjaltaín who still professes his innocence. He states that he was leaving for a medical treatment for his cancer that isn’t available in Iceland. After this meeting, Konrád’s old boss warns him not to interfere with the investigation. A woman contacts Konrád to see if he can find the killer of her brother, Villi. He saw a man who likely met Sigurvin the night he died. That man had threatened to kill her brother who was a hit and run victim almost twenty years later. The takes off from here. The main storyline consists of several intertwined threads. One is the investigation of the Sigurvin’s murder. The main thread is Konrád’s investigation of Villi’s death. Since there is a strong tie to Sigurvin’s murder, Konrád comes to an understanding with his old boss concerning sharing of information and some participation. The third main storyline is Konrád looking into the murder of his less than sterling father. Except for just a few chapters, the story is told by Konrád. There are not any gun battles, chases, or other action scenes. This is an old-fashioned, shoe leather investigations. This made me think more than usual and captured my interest to continue reading this novel. I understand that Konrád was a character in the Detective Erlendur series of novels. This novel is my first novel by Arnaldur Indridason that I have read so my review is based solely reading just this novel. Konrád’s B-storyline was quite rich. Much of it occurs with the thoughts and reasoning. His interactions with other and familiar characters also added a richness to my reading of this novel. Unfortunately, the other characters were not as developed as the Konrád character, but I never felt that I was missing anything because of lack of context with any of the characters. On a plus side, there are not any intimate scenes. Violence is described in the less edgy after the fact. There is some vulgar language, but the level did not raise a red flag for me. This book should be readable by most readers. My largest issue with this book was the translation that was definitely very British. I can deal with most British informal, but I just can’t see an Icelander using the following words, bloody, bloke and mate. Since this is not traceable to the author, it did not affect my rating. For some of the British informal, I did use the easy Internet access of my e-reader to find the meaning of some of the informal language. I liked the ending. There was only one loose thread not tied up at the end. This was the main storyline thread on Konrád’s father’s murder. I suspect that it will be an underlying thread through some if not all the books in this series. Often, I read late at night when I should have gone to sleep. Then I continued to read when I woke up. I have two Icelandic authors that I want to read their next works. I think that I just found a third. I rate this novel with four stars. I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin Press. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank St. Martin Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

About the author

ARNALDUR INDRIDASON worked for many years as a journalist and critic before he began writing novels. His books have since sold over thirteen million copies world-wide. Outside of Iceland, he is best known for his crime novels featuring Erlendur and Sigurdur Óli, which are consistent bestsellers across Europe. He won the CWA Gold Dagger 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 Shadow District—the first of the Flovent and Thorson Thrillers—won the Premio RBA de Novela Negra, the world’s most lucrative crime fiction prize.