Arctic Chill (Reykjavik Thriller Series #5) Book

Erlendur: D
mystery/thriller plotting: D-
writing: F
social commentary: D-
translation: F-

The entire murder mystery is utterly banal, the writing drab and unimaginative. I was going to say that Arnaldur really jumped the shark with this one (and that's just the type of stupid expression he and his translators would love) but I think he already did that with Voices. This is a translation that is oddly, bewilderingly, almost willfully subpar. Some examples:

A family sits down to a meal of "spaghetti with mince." Huh?

"He may not exactly have welcomed me with open arms but he didn't take against me."

"He sort of dithered about and you had to chivvy him along."

"What do you mean? I don't want to get my own back on her!" (Get back at her?)

"He was often the last to leave class....he was a sort of 'flight attendent'." (He stayed behind to clean the aisles?)

He wasn't long at all, as he told that Erlendur bloke who tore him off such a strip that he almost burst into tears. (Ripped him a new ***hole?)

"Was my boss for donkey's years, but retired a while back."

There was also the oddity of discovering that there are "colored" people in Iceland, and that these people are Asian. And the murder victim being "colored" is dangled before us as a motive, but is just a red herring. Very, very lame.