Arctic Chill is, I think, the fifth of the Icelanic writer Arnaldur Indridason’s crime novels featuring Inspector Erlendur. I enjoy these novels but they tend to simply tell the story of a case investigation without having any particular subtlety or mystery. In this book, Erlendur is investigating the murder of a school-age boy who has an Icelandic father and a Thai mother. The focus of the novel is on the place of immigrants in Icelandic society, the potential for the murder to be racially motivated and the possibility that child abuse could be involved somewhere along the line. The story trundles along without twists and turns and in the end the case is resolved. It’s not one of the most gripping Indridason novel and I am finding that the further I get into the series of novels the less depth comes through. Having said this, Indridason’s detective and his assistants are good characters and there is something fascinating about the Icelandic setting.
Tim O'Hare 