{"id":8714,"date":"2017-01-31T13:19:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T18:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=8714"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:09:01","slug":"silence-of-the-grave-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8714","title":{"rendered":"Silence of the Grave"},"content":{"rendered":"

Silence of the Grave<\/a><\/em> (2003\/2006) Arnaldur Indridason<\/a> translated by Bernard Scudder<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The second Inspector Erlendur book finds Erlendur, Sigurdur \u00d3li, and El\u00ednborg called to a construction site, where a boy has found a human bone. A quick inspection discovers more bones–a skeleton dating back to probably WWII. <\/p>\n

The skeleton is to be dug up by an anthropologist, who insists on doing things properly and taking time, giving them plenty of time to search for missing persons and see if they can find out who might have lived on the lot previously.<\/p>\n

We also see Eva Lind miscarry and end up in the hospital in a coma, and–most interestingly–we learn more of Erlendur’s past. The event that formed the core of who he is.<\/p>\n

But underneath all that is the story of an abused woman in the 1930s and 40s. It’s horrifying to see how women were treated then–and in some places still are treated.<\/p>\n

She had seen the vicar who told her that a good wife does not leave her husband. Marriage was sacred in the eyes of God and people had to put up with much in order to keep it together. <\/p>\n

\u201cThink about your children,\u201d the vicar said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am thinking about the children,\u201d she replied, and the vicar gave a kindly smile.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That line is rather haunting when we return to the modern timeline and learn just what happened to those children.<\/p>\n

Bonus geology!<\/p>\n

\u201cThis green line here,\u201d the geologist said and pointed to a stratum in the lowest part of the wall. \u201cThis is ice-age clay. These lines at regular intervals here,\u201d he continued, pointing further up, \u201cthese are volcanic tuff. The uppermost one is from the end of the fifteenth century. It\u2019s the thickest layer of tuff in the Reykjav\u00edk area since the country was settled.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interesting terms:
\nextortionate
\nrang off
\nwobbler<\/p>\n

In addition to learning about Erlendur’s past, we also catch glimpses of just why he is a good cop.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find anything down there?\u201d she asked, and Sigurdur \u00d3li knew that behind this helpful-sounding remark she was in fact actually trying to wheedle information out of him. It didn\u2019t occur to him that she might be lonely, which was the impression Erlendur had just minutes after entering her gloomy house.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is hard to read the bits of the past, of the woman who was regularly beaten by her husband, and whose children were threatened by their father. But it is a good mystery, and one of my favorites in this series.
\nRating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Silence of the Grave (2003\/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder The second Inspector Erlendur book finds Erlendur, Sigurdur \u00d3li, and El\u00ednborg called to a construction site, where a boy has found a human bone. A quick inspection discovers more bones–a skeleton dating back to probably WWII. The skeleton is to be dug up by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,8,42,41,38,934],"tags":[116,438,52,117,898],"class_list":["post-8714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-mystery","category-police","category-reread","category-translated","category-trigger-warnings","tag-arnaldur-indridason","tag-bernard-scudder","tag-iceland","tag-inspector-erlendur","tag-ww-ii"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2gy","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4226,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4226","url_meta":{"origin":8714,"position":0},"title":"Silence of the Grave","author":"Michelle","date":"December 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Silence of the Grave (2002\/2005) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder This is the second book I've read by Arnaldur Indri?dason, and the second in his Inspector Erlendur series. This mystery is also quite different from other mysteries I typically read, but also quite good. There are two parts to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Silence-of-the-Grave","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Silence-of-the-Grave-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8724,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8724","url_meta":{"origin":8714,"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":8714,"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":8714,"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":8714,"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. The elder son, 9 years old, was not as cautious as his father and quick as a flash\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\/01\/Jar-City.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8727,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8727","url_meta":{"origin":8714,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8714\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}