{"id":4641,"date":"2014-06-11T19:22:55","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T23:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=4641"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:13:10","slug":"the-draining-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4641","title":{"rendered":"The Draining Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Draining Lake<\/a><\/em> (2004\/2007) Arnaldur Indridason<\/a> translated by Bernard Scudder<\/p>\n

\"The-Draining-Lake\"<\/a>Lake Kleifarvatn is draining, and no one is quite sure why, but what they do know is that as it drains, things are being uncovered. In this case, one of the scientists discovers the body of a man who obviously had been killed and his body thrown in the lake to hide it, but the draining lake exposed the crime, and now Erlendur Sveinsson and his fellow detectives are investigating a crime committed decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u2018So he was sunk?\u2019 he said. <\/p>\n

\u2018He hardly did it himself,\u2019 Sigurdur \u00d3li blurted out. \u2018He wouldn\u2019t really go out onto the lake, tie himself to a radio transmitter, pick it up, fall over on his head and still take care to end up in the lake so he\u2019d be sure to disappear. That would be the most ridiculous suicide in history.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This book has two points of view\u2014the views of the police investigators and of the murderer as he writes about, and reflects upon the past, and what led to the crime.<\/p>\n

This is, of course, a police mystery.<\/p>\n

Forensics technicians wearing white overalls were hurrying across the sand in his direction. They were carrying a tent and bags full of mysteries.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But it’s also much more. <\/p>\n

Erlendur continues to watch his daughter, Eva Lind, spiral downward. It seemed as if she couldn’t sink any lower, yet, she manages to do so.<\/p>\n

That part is terribly depressing. It also serves to alienate you (or me, at least) from Erlendur, because I absolutely cannot comprehend his relationship with his children. Not at all.<\/p>\n

And then he comes back with a perfect comment, and I want to forgive him again.<\/p>\n

Nifty book that girl\u2019s written,\u2019 he added. \u2018I was just looking at it. Good photos.\u2019
\n\u2018I think the girl\u2019s in her forties,\u2019 Erlendur said. \u2018And yes, it\u2019s a really good book.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But most fascinating about this story is the look at Iceland during the Cold War–especially watching the young Socialists realize what is being done in the name of Socialism. Fascinating and horrifying at the same time.<\/p>\n

As well as the part that Iceland played, which is something I had never considered before.<\/p>\n

He said he had succumbed to temptation when he was offered money to inform American diplomats about any unusual developments at his embassy or those of the other Iron Curtain countries. He never had anything to say. Nothing ever happened in Iceland.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OK, so that part just made me laugh.<\/p>\n

Regardless, I really enjoyed this story, both the glimpses into the past, and the mystery being uncovered in the current timeline.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Picador<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Draining Lake (2004\/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Lake Kleifarvatn is draining, and no one is quite sure why, but what they do know is that as it drains, things are being uncovered. In this case, one of the scientists discovers the body of a man who obviously had been killed and his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191,8,42,38,934],"tags":[116,438,52,117,513],"class_list":["post-4641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-mystery","category-police","category-translated","category-trigger-warnings","tag-arnaldur-indridason","tag-bernard-scudder","tag-iceland","tag-inspector-erlendur","tag-suicide"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1cR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8727,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8727","url_meta":{"origin":4641,"position":0},"title":"The Draining Lake","author":"Michelle","date":"February 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Draining Lake (2004\/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder A skeleton has been found in Lake Kleifarvatn--a skeleton with a hole in its skull and a rope tied to a piece of defunct Soviet spying equipment around its waist. The story shifts back and forth between the present-day search\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/The-Draining-Lake.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8724,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8724","url_meta":{"origin":4641,"position":1},"title":"Voices","author":"Michelle","date":"February 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Voices (2003\/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder A hotel worker is found dead in the tiny closet in which he lived in the hotel. His drawers are down and he has been stabbed repeatedly. \u2018Is he up or down?\u2019 Erlendur asked. \u2018Up or down?\u2019 the fat manager puffed. \u2018Do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Voices.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4299,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4299","url_meta":{"origin":4641,"position":2},"title":"Voices","author":"Michelle","date":"December 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Voices (2003\/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder There has been a murder in one of the fancy hotels. A particularly nasty murder, with a man in a Santa suit, in a compromising position, stabbed to death. Inspector Erlendur and the rest of the police have been called in, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Voices.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4206,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4206","url_meta":{"origin":4641,"position":3},"title":"Jar City","author":"Michelle","date":"November 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Jar City (2000\/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Inspector Erlendur is a detective inspector with the Reykjavik CID. He's a divorced loner with a terrible relationship with his two grown children, both of whom have issues with drugs. The body of an old man is discovered in his apartment.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Jar-City.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8711,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8711","url_meta":{"origin":4641,"position":4},"title":"Jar City","author":"Michelle","date":"January 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Jar City (2000\/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Inspector Erlendur works for the Reykjav\u00edk police, and he and his colleagues are called to an apartment where and old man was murdered. 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