"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those, who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear, which is inherent in a human condition."

Graham Greene

Arctic Chill:

The latest of Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason’s Reykjavik thrillers, Arctic Chill, features his compelling hero Detective Erlendur, dealing with the murder of the young son of a Thai immigrant in a neighborhood simmering with racial tensions. It’s a bit disappointing. I think this is because Indriðason focuses on Erlendur and his fellow detectives, rather than sharing stories of other characters involved in the case, as he’s done in previous novels. Although eventually you understand why this is, it makes the primary story feel like a bit of a bland procedural. The really good bits are the ongoing stories, particularly Erlendur’s memory of his brother’s disappearance and his relationship with his kids. As well as, of course, his friendship with Marion Briem.

Over the course of the five novels in the series, Indriðason has kept us wondering about one particular character, Erlendur’s mentor, Marion Briem. Indriðason purposely never uses pronouns when referring to Marion and we have never discovered for certain whether or not the aged former detective is a man or a woman. In Arctic Chill, Marion seems to finally be at death's door. Fans of the series will be waiting for the moment when Marion's story will finally be told, the answers to books and books full of wondering revealed... but no such answers are shared.

However, at the beginning of a chapter, in one sentence, a particular pronoun is used in a throwaway sentence and then never mentioned again, as the descriptions of Marion continue their ambiguity. I went back and re-read it, just to be sure that I had seen it correctly, that my skills of reading comprehension are still intact, and yes! Yes, it was definitely written in regards to Marion Briem... and then nothing more. I just found out that the man who translated all of the previous Reykjavik thrillers passed away halfway through translating Arctic Chill. So was it a mistake made by the new translator? It's possible. I noticed a lot of errors through the book, spelling-wise. Maybe the person editing it didn't catch it? I believe that Indriðason already has another book in the works and I can only hope that in it we’ll learn more about the mystery of Marion Briem, whoever he or she turns out to be.

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com