wanderaven's review against another edition
4.0
I believe this is actually my first Scandinavian mystery ~ ?
I've read the Scandinavian mysteries are the darkest of them all, and based on this book I'd certainly have to agree. I'm sure you can get darker but since I don't necessarily plan to read [b:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo|2429135|The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)|Stieg Larsson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327868566s/2429135.jpg|1708725], I'm going to say Indriðason may well be my most disturbing author so far. And I've read [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg]; some people I know won't touch him because of the violence but I did okay. Maybe it's because of how domestic violence, as in this book, is so isolating, intimate, and could happen to any of us, unlike some scenarios in Martin's books?
In any case, I was engrossed, to the point I was reading the last quarter of the book while walking out to my car when leaving work. And at traffic lights. I even took it into the grocery store, and then was disappointed when I could just walk right up to the register without waiting in line.
I've read the Scandinavian mysteries are the darkest of them all, and based on this book I'd certainly have to agree. I'm sure you can get darker but since I don't necessarily plan to read [b:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo|2429135|The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)|Stieg Larsson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327868566s/2429135.jpg|1708725], I'm going to say Indriðason may well be my most disturbing author so far. And I've read [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg]; some people I know won't touch him because of the violence but I did okay. Maybe it's because of how domestic violence, as in this book, is so isolating, intimate, and could happen to any of us, unlike some scenarios in Martin's books?
In any case, I was engrossed, to the point I was reading the last quarter of the book while walking out to my car when leaving work. And at traffic lights. I even took it into the grocery store, and then was disappointed when I could just walk right up to the register without waiting in line.
Spoiler
I was so worried the book would end one way, particularly based on the actions of a certain character, and was very glad to see it end another.pjroeder's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
afield's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
afield's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
berlin78's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
momsense03's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. I felt so many emotions while reading it. It made me angry, there were parts where I cried a lot... especially when Grímur was beating his wife. That was hard to read. I enjoyed this book, but I don’t think I will be able to read it one more time.
sanok's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
poleksya's review against another edition
3.0
“He knew at once it was a human bone, when he took it from the baby who was sitting on the floor chewing it.”
It's quite a first sentence, don't you think?
Silence of the Grave continues where Jar City left of with Inspector Erlendur working on a new case. As Reykjavik expands new construction sites are popping up everywhere, but on one of these construction sites a skeleton was found, a skeleton that is 50-60 years old. This takes Inspector and his team on journey of discovering what happened to this person, digging deep into the past. As they try to solve this cold case, Inspector Erlendur tries to find with his drug addicted daughter as
he deals with issues from his own past.
I'm really glad that I decided to continue with this series, because I liked this one a lot more than Jar City. Not only the case is more interesting and really heartbreaking, but we also learn a lot more about the Inspector. In the first book he was a really cold and distant character, without anything that would make him seem like a real person. Not only we find out more about his life, but you can actually see that he's actually human.
The book is split into two timelines, one in the present as the Inspector is trying to solve the case and the other one set 50-60 years in the past where we follow the events that lead up to the murder. Having this past story line makes everything feel more real, then if the police was just solving some cold case. The whole book has a greater impact when you get to witness
these past events, but it also keeps you guessing who this skeleton might be and what really happened.
I forgot how much a like reading Nordic Noir. I thoroughly enjoyed Silence of the Graves and I'm definitely reading the next next book too. One more thing I have to say that it's not the easiest of books to read, it's dark, violent and definitely not for everyone. Don't go into this one if you are sensitive about graphic scenes of violence.
It's quite a first sentence, don't you think?
Silence of the Grave continues where Jar City left of with Inspector Erlendur working on a new case. As Reykjavik expands new construction sites are popping up everywhere, but on one of these construction sites a skeleton was found, a skeleton that is 50-60 years old. This takes Inspector and his team on journey of discovering what happened to this person, digging deep into the past. As they try to solve this cold case, Inspector Erlendur tries to find with his drug addicted daughter as
he deals with issues from his own past.
I'm really glad that I decided to continue with this series, because I liked this one a lot more than Jar City. Not only the case is more interesting and really heartbreaking, but we also learn a lot more about the Inspector. In the first book he was a really cold and distant character, without anything that would make him seem like a real person. Not only we find out more about his life, but you can actually see that he's actually human.
The book is split into two timelines, one in the present as the Inspector is trying to solve the case and the other one set 50-60 years in the past where we follow the events that lead up to the murder. Having this past story line makes everything feel more real, then if the police was just solving some cold case. The whole book has a greater impact when you get to witness
these past events, but it also keeps you guessing who this skeleton might be and what really happened.
I forgot how much a like reading Nordic Noir. I thoroughly enjoyed Silence of the Graves and I'm definitely reading the next next book too. One more thing I have to say that it's not the easiest of books to read, it's dark, violent and definitely not for everyone. Don't go into this one if you are sensitive about graphic scenes of violence.
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
Book 2* in the Inspector Erlendur mysteries, this was another solid story. I had the mystery figured out well before the denouement, but I enjoyed watching Erlendur and his team figure it out.
* at least, this is book 2 per what I can find translated to English although it appears to be book 4 otherwise. The blurb on the cover indicates that it’s book 2 though too, so I am confused.
Content warning: severe domestic violence & physical abuse.
* at least, this is book 2 per what I can find translated to English although it appears to be book 4 otherwise. The blurb on the cover indicates that it’s book 2 though too, so I am confused.
Content warning: severe domestic violence & physical abuse.
marilynsaul's review against another edition
1.0
I was immediately disappointed when the gravesite was located and the authorities started prying the bones out of the side of a trench. I kept screaming (silently) "you've got to come down from the top or you lose all the information!!!". Thankfully, they brought in the archaeologist, but that turned into a nightmare of bad archaeology - no grave pit discernible because it was removed by construction excavation? ("well, except for the undisturbed part, you idiots"); takes 5+ days to excavate down to the remains, examining every tiny bit of soil for clues ("oh, for heaven's sake!"); they bring in a geologist to determine from the trench profile the age of the burial ("In what world do you live? Have you ever even TALKED to a geologist??? They look at much bigger pictures than the subtle stratigraphy of a gravesite!") Ok. You guessed it. I'm an archaeologist; I specialized in burials; I'm also educated in forensics. I thought I could overlook this heinous excavation, but the hundreds of pages of a man beating up on his wife, along with the story of the drug-addled daughter of the detective just wore me down. Who finds this stuff interesting? There are much better books, much better writers out there to explore. I've moved on.