I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book in set in Reykjavik Iceland at the beginning of WWII. American and British troops are stationed on Iceland. I'm actually embarrassed that I didn't realize this before. A landlady finds a dead man in one of her apartments and the team of Flovent an Icelandic police inspector and Thorson a Canadian, born in Iceland but raised in Canada are in charge.

This was a slow burn novel for me. I can't call it a page turner, but it did keep me interested. I like the early WWII setting even though that is not a favorite time period for me. I didn't realize this was the second book in a series. I will definitely be looking for the first just to see if I can get a little back ground on Flovent.

All in all it was a satisfying read.

Did you know Iceland was occupied during World War II?

It seems the British occupied Iceland pre-emptively, so Germany couldn't. British troops gave way to Canadian and then US troops. One of the great effects of the occupation was known as "the situation," whereby local women took up with the soldiers — married them, left with them, had children by them. Many of the women were viewed as prostitutes and traitors. Many Icelanders viewed this situation as a cultural as well as moral threat.

The Shadow Killer, by Arnaldur Indriðason, for all its 360+ pages, was a surprisingly swift read set amid unique circumstances in Icelandic history. The backdrop is, for me, the star of the novel.

A travelling salesman with his head blown off in someone else's apartment — IDing him is a bit of a task. A girlfriend who strays with a belligerent army boy. A whole mess of Nazi sympathizers.

Reykjavík detective Flóvent is on the case, teamed up with military policeman Thorson, an Icelandic-Canadian with the British Forces. One wonders what interest the case has for military intelligence.

This is the second in Indriðason's wartime mystery series. It reads perfectly well as a stand-alone, and I'm curious now to search out the first one.

Excerpt: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-shadow-killer-9781911215097/extracts/1801-the-shadow-killer

See also Mrs. Peabody Investigates for a review and another excerpt: https://mrspeabodyinvestigates.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/arnaldur-indridasons-the-shadow-killer-exclusive-extract-and-giveaway/

The story takes place in Iceland in the early days of World War 2, when both British and American soldiers were stationed on the island. The local male population was virtually outnumbered by the foreign soldiers and a “situation” arose where the local girls preferred the soldiers to the Icelandic men, leading to some tension between them.
The crime involves the murder of a young Icelandic travelling salesman, found executed in the home of another salesman. An inexperienced and understaffed police detective investigates the murder with the help of a Canadian military liaison officer. The plot includes military espionage, illegal experiments on school boys, the local girls fraternising with the soldiers and possibly a crime of passion.
Reading the book, I had the feeling of watching an old black and white newsreel of the era. There was a certain greyness and dullness about it. I felt it lacked colour and life. It was an easy enough read but yet it didn't grip me. I found it hard to empathise with the main characters and I think it might have helped if there was a clearer explanation of the context of the story, or a more thoughtful translation for those of us not familiar with the history of Iceland. For example, the “situation” was often referred to, but never explained.

This is historical fiction set in WW2 in Reykavik, Iceland in 1941, where the country has gained strategic significance for the Allied forces in the battle against Hitler's Nazi Germany, with Britain initially occupying, and then superseded in importance by the American military in the process of taking over. The streets swarm with servicemen who inevitably get involved with local women and prostitutes, leading to uneasy relations with Icelanders and the occupying forces. A young travelling salesman is found shot dead in an apartment in what looks like an precision execution killing with a swastika of blood on his forehead. Flovent, the sole member of Reykavik CID and Canadian Thorsen, a military man with personal Icelandic connections are charged with looking at the case. Neither man has any experience in murder investigations, a fact that bonds the two men as they attempt to find the killer. Their main suspect is another salesman, Felix Lunden, in whose home the dead man was found.

Unable to locate Felix, they try to interview his unco-operative and difficult father, Dr Rudolph Lunden, which as they dig deeper leads them to the younger, cruel, manipulative Felix's involvement with illegal and morally reprehensible German Nazi experimental research on young children. The dead man's girlfriend, Vera, had left him for a volatile British soldier, Billy Wiggins, but her dubious past makes her potential suspect. The gun and the execution style killing suggests military involvement, which opens a whole can of worms as the turbulent period of history is rampant with spies, counter-espionage, traitors and assassins. The military threaten to take over the civilian investigation, but can Florent and Thorson get to the truth before that happens?

It took me a little while to get into this novel, and I felt there was an insufficient sense of place and location, but what eventually gripped me was the family drama of the Lundens, their Nazi sympathies, the estrangement between Rudolph and his son, Felix, how Rudolph's use of his son shaped him into the man he became, a support act in German ambitions, and the rise of Nazi philosophy, thinking and action. The character of Vera reveals just how many young women were bored with rural Icelandic life and its poverty, and could understand their excitement at having new, young and exciting men with money in the form of soldiers offering them opportunities and temptations. I feel that the novel is less successful in its historical picture of WW2 and Iceland's role in it, and better at looking at the personal angles of its characters in that period. Many thanks to St Martin's Press for an ARC.

This is a second installment of a procedural series set in 1940's Iceland involving two investigators. One, Thorsen, is a Canadian military officer with Icelandic parents who's assigned to his role largely because he speaks the language. The other, Flovent, the newly minted local inspector in Reykjavik.

A landlady reports she has discovered one of her tenants dead in his apartment, shot in the back of the head. When Flovent begins the investigation, he discovers that the bullet was fired from an American military issue handgun. Naturally, Thorsten joins the investigation and an attempt to discover the weapon.

Being a WWII story, it will come as no surprise that Nazi spies, sympathizers and Allied forces collide and Flovent has a difficult time discovering a motive for the murder. Eventually, it is discovered that the tenant, Felix, is not the victim but someone unidentified. In an attempt to locate Felix, the tenant, Flovent, attempts to interview his father, Rudolf, who is a physician in Reykjavik.

Rudolf's reactions to Flovent seem extreme. He expresses almost no interest in his son's whereabouts and is overly confrontational which seemed unrealistic. Although Flovent interpreted Rudolf's reactions as evasive, to the reader they appeared bizarre. Rather than obstructions, they were almost an invitation for suspicion. Regardless of Rudolf's abrasive personality, it would seem that he would have expressed some interest in his missing son.

All in all, though, Indidason knows how to structure a procedural and there are enough characters to keep the reader intrigued. Recommended.

Crime fiction isn't my fave genre, but I do love Iceland, and I enjoyed one or two of Arnaldur Indridason's previous books. This felt flat to me, though. I wish it had been more evocative of WWII Iceland; I didn't really get a sense of what Reykjavik and its environs looked and felt like during the time. Also, please look up "The Situation, Iceland" before reading this. "The Situation" is referenced several times without any explanation, and understanding what it is really helps you appreciate the nuances of certain situations. All that said, the pace zipped along, and the story held my interest to the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to rate this book. I have seen some disappointing reviews, but I enjoyed the story. It was not great, but it was good. A little plodding in places and the ending was a little disappointing, but still recommended.

This is the second book in the most recent series by this author. These books take place in the early 1940’s in Iceland. Love the intrigue of WWII added to the mix. The crime fighting team of Flovent and Thorson is a winner. Going back immediately to pick up The Shadow District, the first book of the series.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Shadow Killer. While there are way to many sub plots the stopped and started the book several times. I found myself enjoying the story. I will admit I was lost several times because of the sub plots. The history part of the story was interesting and pulled me in keeping me reading until I finished the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of Amaldur Indridason The Shadow Killer.

A man is found murdered in an apartment in Reykjavick.flovent and Thirson investigate. I love the plot and the characters but wish the the translation was a little better.

This was my first time trying Indridason's novel and it won't be my last. This was a very enjoyable murder mystery set in Iceland in WWII. This is the second in the Flovent and Thorson series but it is also able to stand alone and I don't think I missed out on any enjoyment by reading this out of order.

I found this to be well written and flowed easily. Took me a little bit to get invested in the characters but once I was in I didn't want to put it down. I'll be looking for more from this author.

(Thanks to Netgalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

Liked the characters and their interactions and the several themes of this book. I did not like the unsatisfying story ending. My questions were unanswered. In real life, this may be the case but this is a fictional tale.

It is in a way very refreshing to read a book that is set almost 80 years ago, in a country that I've never been to (not that I don't want to...) and during a time I wasn't born yet.
Here no running around with mobile phones, driving around in fast cars or travelling through big cities. Here, we have Flovent and Thorson, two men with a very different background, that have to work together and they do this suprisingly well.
It is not very hard to see where the story leads but it is still interesting and of course beautifully written by one of my favorite Nordic authors.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.

This is a murder mystery set in Iceland during the British Occupation in the early 1940's. Even though it is still officially neutral in World War 2, the US is moving troops into Iceland to take over from the British. There is a large American presence already there with several military bases established and more being constructed. The story begins with the discovery of the body of a travelling salesman in an apartment in Reykjavik, the main city and capital of Iceland. He has been shot, execution style, with a US manufactured pistol, a Colt 45. This leads to a suspicion that an American was involved in the killing.

Reykjavik's police force is understaffed so the lone detective (Flovent) is paired with a British military policeman (Thorson) to investigate the murder. The military policeman is an ethnic Icelander who was raised in Canada, where his parents immigrated to and he grew up. These two work well together, both admit to one another that they are inexperienced investigators, so there is no professional rivalry or jealousy. Their investigation often takes them to go their separate ways to interview witnesses. A German family attracts their attention and soon there is a concern that one of them is spying for the Nazis. Other ominous things are uncovered, e.g. secret tests on schoolboys during the pre-war years. The investigation is being watched closely by American intelligence agents who want to take it over. There's rumours that Churchill will be visiting Iceland and this adds a sense of urgency to solve the murder.

Iceland is as much a character in the story as the human ones. It is in transition because of "The Situation" as the occupation is referred to by the locals. There is much work on the construction of military bases which draws Icelanders away from their traditional rural existence. Young women are drawn to the occupying solders, who have money to spend on them. There's a side story about one of these women that has a tragic ending.

This book is the second in a series and easily stands on its own. It's been translated from Icelandic without any obvious flaws. Some of the Icelandic place names are a mouthful to pronounce.

It's an enjoyable read, with a satisfying ending. The author has presented a complex plot in an easy-to-follow way. Thorson and Flovent are likeable characters, with a difficult job to do to get some of the suspects to open up. They are keepers which I hope show up in a sequel.

Recommended.

I really enjoyed this -- the second in the Flovent and Thorson series. This one is a bit different than the first which had tracked the same crime in two different time periods. This wholly focuses on the WWII mystery and doesn't move forward to modern day.

It's an interesting perspective on what Iceland must have been like pre WWII and during the war. I never really think of Iceland as having been "occupied" but it was by both the British and the Americans. Having that as the backdrop into an investigation that includes Nazis, Americans, British, other Icelanders all as suspects was fascinating.

The mystery at the heart of the story is well done, with lots of viable suspects; the conclusion tracks all the way through and I really enjoyed the book.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley in return for a honest review.

A great author and an unexpected story. It's still a murder mystery, but in a new context. Its in the 1940's, and all sorts of things are going on.
The Brits, the Americans, the war, the girls, the family, the good guys, and so many bad guys.
It did take a while for me to really warm to the story, but once I did, I was hooked,
Great fun

During the Allied occupation of Iceland during World War II, Flóvent, new to Reykjavík's Criminal Investigation Department, joins forces with Thorson, a M.P. from Canada with parents from West Iceland to investigate the murder of an Icelandic salesman whose death may or may not have serious implications to the War and a rumored upcoming visit from Winston Churchill.

I’m not a big fan of historical mysteries, but I do love Indridason’s Erlendur series and was impressed with The Shadow District, the first novel in his new series. The author always liked to travel to the past in his other books, but now the plot is completely set during World War II. Thorson and Flovent meet during this novel, which would date it before the first volume. If you’ve read The Shadow District, you know what happened to both of them in the future (our present) so the only mystery here is who killed a traveling salesman. But that is not the book’s only concern, since the historical facts are so important on a domestic level. Churchill and Hitler loom large, but this is the story of normal, everyday people. Icelanders trying to make a living and women caught in “the Situation” with a capital “S,” meaning relationships with the British and American soldiers who established bases during the war. There are also shady experiments and spies, but the focus is on the daily lives of all these people who are victims of the war. The pace is a little slow, but long-time readers are used to this and it gives the characters time to breathe and become real. I wish there would be a new Erlendur book, but I will drink Brennivín with Flovent and Thorson anytime.

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC.
This is yet another excellent addition to Scandi Noir, set in one of my favorite locations: Iceland. Reykjavik in 1941 is 'occupied' by the British. As they leave, the Americans arrive. The goal is to keep Germany from invading Iceland and Reykjavik is bursting at the seams with soldiers, young girls who want to have fun with the exotic newcomers as well as everyone who sees the opportunities this tide of foreign troops brings.
A man is found shot to the back of his head, a swastika painted on his forehead in his own blood. Flovent, an investigator with the Reykjavik police, is teamed up with Thorson, a Canadian Icelandic MP with the Americans, to solve the murder.
A case of mistaken identity muddies the waters. Was this a personal killing or a political one?
I loved the atmosphere of this book, and the history of Iceland during WWII was enlightening. It's a treat reading a mystery that teaches as well. I immediately looked up whether or not Churchill visited Iceland when I finished the book. The ending was a satisfactory one and I look forward to reading more about Flovent and Thorson as the war carries on. They are both such likeable characters and I also like that Mr. Indridsason is not only a wonderful writer, but one who doesn't go in for salacious gory details. Great writing, good characterization, puzzling mystery and interesting historical facts...what more could one ask for?

In addition to whats already in print I would like to makes these observations. Arnaldur Indridason has made main characters of Flovent and Thorson and in this book did not go into their future. You read this in the first book in the series, he didn't repeat himself. In this book you meet Eyvindur, who was murdered by mistake, who was in love with Vera, who left him for a British soldier. It involves Felix Lunden, because it happened in his apartment that the killing took place. His father Rudolf Lunden, his nurse and housekeeper, Brynhildur Holm, and Rudolf's brother-in=law Ebenezer Emilsson, who is the schools headmaster, are all involved in a study done on boys with criminal fathers. Felix was made to do his fathers bidding. The story revolves around all the people that come into contact with the killing of Eyvindur by Flovent and Thorson. There is several solutions put forth and some that don't pan out. I could say more but you can read this story for yourself and I don't want to solve the puzzle for you, so read the book.