BOOK: Black Skies by Arnaldur Indidason

Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason, 430 pages

RIP 7; series goals

Indridason's Icelandic series, now up to book eight translated into English, have mostly been about Detective Erlendur, the solitary melencholy man inordinately interested in missing people. The last book, Outrage (my review), had Erlendur gone on a hiking trip to the eastern fjords, and thus starred Elinborg as she investigated a crime. We got to learn more about her and her family. In this latest book to be translated, Erlendur is still missing and his daughter is beginning to wonder where he might be. Instead of Elinborg, Sigurdur Oli gets to take the lead in Black Skies.

I liked Elinborg a little more than Sigurdur as he is crankier. His wife has left him, and we get to see his dealings with his parents in this book. The main mystery is relates to the monetary boom and bust that occurred in Europe, including Iceland. Sigurdur is asked by his sister-in-law to look into a case of blackmail, and ends up at the scene of a murder. Another case, left over from the last book with Erlendur, draws Sigurdur in, and we get to see how dedicated he can be to his profession.

Although we have been getting these books once a year, in book time, it appears that Erlendur has only been gone a week or two, and these two cases with Elinborg and Sigurdur have taken place simultaneously or at the very least, close together. People are beginning to wonder where Erlendur has gone, and hopefully, the next book will have his two colleagues on the case of the missing Erlendur. To truly enjoy the development of the characters, these books should be read in order, although the last two books could easily be read as stand-alones. Love these mysteries!