Jar City

Title: Jar City
Author: Arnaldur Indridason
Genre: Mystery, thriller
Source: Hardback
Rating: 4 out of 5


An older gentleman is found dead in his apartment, the clues detectives find hint to murder, with a cryptic note say "I am HIM"  What could it mean?  That is the question Inspector Erlendur is determined to discover.  His search leads him to a decades old case involving the murder victim and rape which in turn leads to a missing person case.  This tangle web of mystery leads Inspector Erlendur all over Iceland trying to get to the bottom of this case and discover how the cold cases are related.  Is it all connected?  Or are these cases just coincidently involving the same people?

This is my first novel y Arnaldur Indridason, and technically my first Nordic Noir.  I picked it up from the library as part of the Popsugar challenge I am doing with my group on Goodreads.  I fell in love with the cover and every time I thought of what book to read for this category, I was consistently drawn to this one.  I am so glad I picked it up.  I found it interesting how things translated from Icelandic to English and how the same things were worded differently or expressions used differently.  I had to chuckle a few times throughout because Inspectors consistently referred to the case as a "typical Icelandic murder."


I found the story to be very interesting and engaging.  I wanted to see where the story would go with all the other cases that were tied into this one.  There was nothing that was predictable with this book.  When I thought I had it figured out, something would happen that would change my thoughts and ideas.  WIth the other aspects of the case the story becomes more and more complex and dark.  One would think so many aspects of the storyline would make it too hard to follow but that is not the case here.  There are parts that go into Erlendur's family which only adds to the depth of the character and makes him someone you can relate to and feel for as you are reading through the story.


After reading this book I wondered if there was a movie, and surprise there is!  I haven't gotten the chance to watch it yet, but I intend to find it and buy it to watch and see how it compares to the book.  I feel instantly in love with Arnaldur Indridason's writing and story-telling skills, I intend to find other books in the series and devour them as well.  I would highly suggest this book to anyone who enjoys a great mystery without a lot of gore or sex.  This is a mystery that indeed focuses on the mystery, and the clues involved directing the inspector along even if others are unable to see what he sees.