Review of THE DARKNESS KNOWS by Arnaldur Indriðason (New Release)

 4 Stars

Having read the complete Inspector Erlendur series by Indriðason, I was thrilled to learn about this book which is apparently the first in a new series featuring Konrád, a retired police detective.

The body of Sigurvin, a man who went missing in 1985, is found frozen in a glacier.  The police suspected Hjaltalín, a business associate with whom Sigurvin had a disagreement, as being responsible for the disappearance, but charges were not laid because of lack of evidence.  Thirty years later, Hjaltalín is still claiming innocence, and Konrád, though retired, gets drawn back into the case when Hjaltalín refuses to speak to anyone but him.  Hjaltalín wants his name cleared and Konrád wants to close the case which he was not able to solve.  Then the detective is approached by a woman who wants him to investigate the hit-and-run death of her brother Villi six years earlier; she mentions her brother’s belief that he witnessed something relevant to the Sigurvin case.  Konrád soon becomes convinced there may be a connection between the deaths of the two men.

Since this is apparently the first in a new series, there is considerable focus on describing Konrád’s background and developing his personality.  What emerges is a complex character study.  We learn about Konrád’s early years living with his criminal father, his relationship with his wife Erna, and his having to cope with a withered arm.  We see him in various roles:  detective, son, brother, husband, father, grandfather.  Now widowed and retired, he is bored and feels a lack of purpose in his life.  Frustrated at not having been able to solve the Sigurvin case years ago, he sets out with dogged determination to do so now.  Though there is much to admire about him, so most will find him an appealing character, he is a flawed person.  As a youth he was not always law-abiding, and he also feels guilt at choices he made in the past.  Anger management has been a struggle on more than one occasion.  Having a complex character as protagonist is key to a successful series. 

Because Konrád is investigating cold cases, the pace is slower than one would find with homicide investigations in real time.  He proceeds slowly and methodically; most of his time is spent (re-)interviewing people, many of whom seem to have very tenuous connections to either Sigurvin or Villi.  He does have the advantage of having connections at the police department, but herein lies a problem.  Marta, the chief inspector at Reykjavík CID, behaves inconsistently.  She calls on Konrád to assist by speaking to Hjaltalín, but later snaps at him for investigating:  “’You can’t just start investigating the whole thing again off your own bat . . . It’s totally unacceptable.  Surely you can understand that?  You have to leave it to us.’”   Then later, she actually helps Konrád by compiling a list of people for him to interview.

There are some awkward moments.  The reference to Konrád’s weak arm is mentioned only mid-way through the book.  The conversations he has about his own father’s criminal past and murder seem out of place, though undoubtedly those are foreshadowing Konrád’s preoccupation in a later installment.  Then there are the coincidences, like the sudden appearance of a woman whose name Konrád has just confirmed. 

With Sigurvin’s body being disinterred from the ice, the past is brought to the attention of the present.  In many ways, the novel examines how the past, people’s choices and actions, haunts their present.  Konrád feels guilt and remorse because of his extramarital affair.  Unexplained deaths (Konrád’s father, Villi, Engilbert) haunt surviving family members.  Egill and Fridný feel so guilty about a hidden treasure that they confess to the police.  When those who played a role in Sigurvin and Villi’s deaths are revealed, it is obvious that they too have been haunted by their actions.  As Konrád unearths long-buried secrets, the lives of many people are disturbed, but in fact their lives have been uneasy for years.  

I’ve toured Iceland and reading this book was like returning for a second visit.  I will certainly make another “visit” when the next book in this series is released.  The nuanced characters and the complex plot kept my attention and I’m curious to see what awaits Konrád.

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.