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    The Draining Lake
    The Draining Lake
    The Draining Lake
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Draining Lake

    Written by Arnaldur Indridason

    Narrated by George Guidall

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Inspector Erlendur returns in this international Bestseller Following an earthquake, the water level of an Icelandic lake suddenly falls, revealing a skeleton. Inspector Erlendur's investigation takes him back to the Cold War era, when bright, left-wing students in Iceland were sent to study in the "heavenly state" of Communist East Germany. Teeming with spies and informants, though, their "heavenly state" becomes a nightmare of betrayal and murder. Brilliantly weaving international espionage and a chilling cold case investigation, The Draining Lake is Arnaldur Indridason at his best.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 23, 2013
    ISBN9781470366551
    The Draining Lake
    Author

    Arnaldur Indridason

    ARNALDUR INDRIÐASON won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Silence of the Grave and is the only author to win the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row, for Jar City and Silence of the Grave. Strange Shores was nominated for the 2014 CWA Gold Dagger Award.

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    Reviews for The Draining Lake

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Synopsis....In the wake of an earthquake, the water level of an Icelandic lake drops suddenly, revealing the skeleton of a man half-buried in its sandy bed. It is clear immediately that it has been there for many years. There is a large hole in the skull. Yet more mysteriously, a heavy communication device is attached to it, possibly some sort of radio transmitter, bearing inscriptions in Russian. The police are called in and Erlendur, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli begin their investigation, which gradually leads them back to the time of the Cold War when bright, left-wing students would be sent from Iceland to study in the 'heavenly state' of Communist East Germany. The Draining Lake is another remarkable Indridason mystery about passions and shattered dreams, the fate of the missing and the grief of those left behind.One of the reading challenges I set for myself this year was to read at least one Scandinavian crime novel in each month. Last month was my first taste of Jo Nesbo, albeit with a novel set in Australia. This month was Arnaldur Indridason and his book, The Draining Lake. I reckon I have read one of the author’s previous efforts, Jar City several long years ago. A lot of books have been read in the mean-time and as a consequence any memories or feelings for the novel have long since left me. Effectively coming to this author fresh and with a novel based at least some of the time in an authentic Scandinavian setting, I was immediately captured by the story. Indridason weaves between a present day investigation into a recently discovered skeleton, and a more turbulent period in Eastern Europe’s recent history with some students studying in Leipzig. The Icelandic students with their Socialist ideals get to enjoy the realities of life in a Communist country; one which probably infringed on its citizens liberties more than Mother Russia did. I’ve read of life in East Germany under Communism last year with Anna Funder’s excellent Stasiland. Indridason captures the menace of the 60’s in a country where individuals lived under a regime where suspicion and paranoia was the default position of the state. Icelandic idealism soon wearies in a society where trust is in short supply. Traversing the narrative back and forth between 60’s Leipzig and present day Iceland, Indridason knits a cohesive tale. The book was enjoyable and interesting, and populated with characters that were likeable and engaging. The three police officers in the team have lives outside the job and we are introduced to their families and ongoing sagas. Rather than acting as a distraction or sideshow to the main tale, the relationship between the three and their obvious regard and support for each other added to my enjoyment. This is the 4th in the author’s series of Reykjavik murder mysteries, with another 4 published after it. I’ll definitely be back for more. I’m hoping the long forgotten Jar City still resides somewhere in my attic, as I wouldn’t mind revisiting it again or to be honest any of the others. In my somewhat slim Scandinavian crime league table, Indridason sits at the top ahead of Nesbo after one book each. Stieg Larsson is in third position with his namesake Asa and the double act of Sjowall/Wahloo and Henning Mankell still to join the fray. 5 from 5 – and a likely book of the month. Bought my copy of the book from an Oxfam shop many moons ago.
    • 4/5
      Best for:People who enjoy a good mystery.In a nutshell:A skeleton has been found in a drying lake bed. Might be suicide, except there’s Cold War-era Soviet equipment tied around the skeleton’s body.Worth quoting:N/AWhy I chose it:I had bought a bunch of this author’s books all at once, and finally decided to pick up this last one.Review:These books are either growing on me a bit, or the story within this one was just a bit more interesting to me. Not sure, but I’m not complaining, because after reading the first hundred pages on Friday, I basically devoured the last 300 today. The premise: a skeleton is found in a lake and associated with some Cold War era Soviet equipment. The person likely was killed in the late 60s / early 70s. So Detective Erlendur and his colleagues need to figure out if anyone who was reported missing around that time might be this victim. At the same time, we are in the memories of an unnamed man who was a young member of the Icelandic Socialist Party, and who was invited to study in East Germany, Leipzig, during the 60s. He’s all in on the ideals of socialism, but his experiences are getting odd. Is someone spying on him and his friends? I think what I most enjoyed about this book is that I both sort of knew what was coming but also was surprised by the ending. There are another 5-7 (unsure if all have been translated into English) in this series; I think I’ll likely get around to reading all of them in the next couple of years.Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:Donate it.
    • 4/5
      The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason is the fourth book in the Detective Erlendur series set in Iceland. The book opens with a skeleton being discovered as the waters of Lake Kleifarvatn recede. This skeleton is about 30 years old and had a hole punched into it’s skull indicating foul play. Now Erlendur and his partners are opening old Missing Person files from around 1970 to see if they can identify the victim. Slow and detailed work eventually leads them to the 1950’s and the Cold War. The Draining Lake is another excellent entry into this series. We follow two time lines that eventually converge and the glimpses the author gives us of both the past and current Iceland are interesting. Erlendur is a lonely, middle aged, divorced man who is alienated from his own two children. He is haunted by the disappearance of his own younger brother in a blizzard many years ago, so feeling an affinity with the unidentified corpse, he stubbornly and methodically works this case that is based on international espionage, betrayals and murder.
    • 5/5
      Not an edge-of-your-seat sort of mystery, as all the events under investigation had taken place many years earlier, but it has a nice slow reveal and I found the perspective on post-war east germany very interesting.
    • 3/5
      I don't think I could live in Iceland although I would like to visit. Arnaldur Indridason certainly won't be hired by the Icelandic Tourism Board because he paints a pretty bleak picture about life there. He mentioned several times in this book about the high rate of depression in Iceland. His detective, Erlendur, likes to read books about people that have gone missing in Iceland and their bodies never found. For such a small population it seems to me that the rate of disappearance is excessive if there are a number of books about this. As I said Indridason isn't likely to be hired to attract visitors or immigrants to Iceland.In this book a skeleton is found on the bed of a lake that has drained away a considerable amount of its water. The skeleton had a large hole in its head and was attached to a radio transmitter of Russian make. Erlendur and his co-workers are trying to figure out who the dead man is and whether there is any connection to Soviet spying during the Cold War. It takes them months to come to a conclusion and when they do the reader wonders why it took so long because the killer told his story in pieces throughout the book. I kept wanting the detectives to move faster but instead they were publishing cookbooks and going on vacations and having barbecues. And Erlendur's romance with Valgerdur, which started in the last book, doesn't seem to have progressed much. Also his daughter has fallen back into addiction and Erlendur hasn't figured out what to do about that. All in all, it just seemed to me a slow plod to a forseeable ending.
    • 4/5
      One of Iceland's well known lakes is losing water and shrinking. Scientists from the National Energy Authority come researching the phenomenon because what was a deep body of water has slowly dried up, revealing long held secrets; some more disturbing than others. One such secret is the skeleton of a man murdered thirty years earlier. Anchored down with a Russian listening device from thirty years earlier, Inspector Erlendur and his team are called to the case. The mystery of the dead man brings Erlendur, Elinborg, and Sigurdur Oli back to the college days of the Cold War and Communism. Dancing between past and present, Indridason presents his readers with a thrilling tale of espionage and the very definition of loyalty. Fans will be happy to see a little more of Erlendur's personal life as well.
    • 2/5
      Too predictable by half.
    • 4/5
      An intriguing story of finding out who the person is that was found as a skeleton in a shallow lake years later. From the interweaved stories of students in Leipzig in the 60's, we suspect it's one of them, but piecing it together so many years after the act takes time, and a quiet ingenuity that seems to be a hallmark of these books featuring Detective Erlendur. They rely less on gore and action, and dig instead into the twists of peoples lives, which I find satisfying.
    • 4/5
      In The Draining Lake, Arnaldur took what really happened to Lake Kleifarvatn and made it a springboard for a fascinating mystery. It's not just the searching for the identity of a skeleton discovered because the water level has fallen enough (the phone conversation between the discoverer and the person to whom she tries to report it made me chuckle). The action moves back and forth between the present-day investigation and East Germany in the early 1950s.I was born in 1954, so I do remember the Cold War, but not, of course, that period. The East Germany chapters are from the viewpoint of an idealistic and naive Icelandic college student. He is a very committed Marxist socialist, one of several who have received funding to study abroad. Tomas is able to rationalize the problems with life under Soviet rule for a long time, but his eyes are eventually opened. Of course these flashbacks have something to do with the skeleton. I'm afraid my immediate reaction to the identity of the skeleton and the reason behind his death was very un-Christian: I thought it served him right.Inspector Erlendur is obsessed with discovering the fate of a man who went missing in 1968. He may or may not have become the skeleton in the lake, but he left behind a fiancée who has never recovered from his disappearance. It doesn't help that the officer involved in the original investigation was/is lazy. There are conversations between the inspector and his grown children. Erlendur learns that his daughter told his son the story about their uncle who went missing when he and their father were children. Erlendur wants to give up on helping his addicted daughter, but his son says she needs him. There's a development with the unhappily married woman with whom Erlendur has not been having an affair, but has been seeing often enough that his colleagues assume she's his lady. Erlendur learns useful information from his mentor, whose years as a heavy smoker have caught up with him. The dying man still wants a cigarette. Erlendur won't give him one, but continues smoking himself. (No, his own nicotine addiction does not give the inspector any insight into his daughter's drug addiction. Pity.)I recommend this book to lovers of good mysteries and social history. George Guidall's narration is engaging.
    • 4/5
      Indridason continues to deliver solid, realistic, dark crime stories from Iceland. This is the fourth novel in the series with Inspector Erlendur. A skeleton is found in a lake that is draining due to some seismic disruption. Also found together with the skeleton is an old soviet listening device. This will lead the investigators back to the cold war, espionage, surveillance and the communist party on Iceland.Along with the investigation we are told a moving love story. A young Icelandic communist are send by the party to study in Leipzig during the cold war. Here his’ idealistic socialist world view is being tested as he discovers a whole society under surveillance and students spying on each other. And here he also meets the love of his life.Slowly we will see the connection between the unfoldning investigation and the students in Leipzig. From Erlendur’’s own life there’s a development with the woman he have been seeing for a while - and his two grown up children are giving him more worries.The crime story is also a reflection of Erlendur’s own life - as a child his brother was lost in a snowstorm and never found. Erlendur is obsessed with missing persons and go to great length to discover the truth.
    • 5/5
      When detective Erlendur and his colleagues find another dead body at the bottom of a drained lake the traces lead back to the era of Cold War and the students of Leipzig, East Germany.
    • 3/5
      not the thriller I was looking for but still a good mystery in a reflective kind of way. Cold war remnants are brought b ack to life as Erlunder figures out who the dead body is in the lake. The action is passive in nature and the characters are interesting.
    • 4/5
      This is the third of Indridason's books that I have read and it was definitely the best of the bunch. I will be looking for more of his work! The only fault I found was that the relationship between Erlendur and his children was introduced but not fully developed...perhaps this will come in a future volume?
    • 2/5
      Too predictable by half.
    • 3/5
      An earthquake near an Icelandic lake causes part of the lake to drain and a skeleton is discovered attached to some Soviet listening devices, presumably dating from the Cold War.. Detective Erlendur Sveinsson (The Jar City) has his own problems with a daughter constantly getting into trouble, a son who resents his aloofness, and his own periodic and obsessive search for a brother gone missing many years before in a snowstorm. He and his colleagues try to track down the identity of the dead man, but no one wants to revisit the Cold War times, especially one in which idealistic socialist Icelandic students succumbed to the blandishments of Soviet agents seeking to spy on a country that many called “an American aircraft carrier.”

      The skeleton was found with an antiquated spy machine tied around it as a weight. Unlike most Icelandic murders, which were easier to solve, this one, appeared to have been carefully planned, skilfully executed, and had remained covered up for so many years. Icelandic murders were not generally committed in this way. They were more coincidental, clumsy and squalid, and the perpetrators almost without exception left a trail of clues.

      Erlendur continues his attempts at reconciliation with his daughter Eva who has been in and out of drug rehab and hospitals. (She a recurring character in all three of the Erlendur novels I have read adding to his -- and the reader’s -- despair.) The images conjured up in my mind were all in black and white. No color anywhere.

      Iceland, as portrayed in these novels, remains inhospitable to the reader, and discourses on the Icelandic diet don’t make me want to rush to O’Hare and grab the first IcelandicAir to Reykjavik.

      'What monstrosity is that?' she asked, pointing to a boiled sheep's head on the table, still uneaten. 'A sheep's head, sawn in half and charred,' he said, and saw her wince. 'What sort of people do that?' she asked. 'Icelanders,' he said. 'Actually it's very good,' he added rather hesitantly. 'The tongue and the cheeks . . .' He stopped when he realised that it did not sound particularly appetising. 'So, you eat the eyes and lips too?' she asked, not trying to conceal her disgust. 'The lips? Yes, those too. And the eyes.'

      The gloom of these novels was summed up nicely by the discovery of an older woman, seated in front of her television, a plate of salted meat and boiled turnips was on the table beside her. A knife and fork lay on the floor by the chair. A large lump of meat was lodged in her throat. She had not managed to get out of the deep armchair. Her face was dark blue. It turned out that she had no relatives who called on her. No one ever visited her. No one missed her.
    • 4/5
      This sixth book in Indriðason's Erlendur series has a style of writing similar to his award-winning fourth book [book:Silence of the Grave] in its layering of past and present, but this time the past is the Cold War days of the 1950s and '60s. Not just a good mystery, this novel shows the reader a glimpse of life in East Germany during the time of Hungary's doomed rebellion in the mid-1950s when "interactive surveillance" was becoming the norm.

      Although I wouldn't classify this as a thriller, I had a hard time putting it down once I started reading.
    • 4/5
      Excellent murder mystery. Left-wing Icelandic students studying in Leipzig, Communist East Germany in the 1950's. Skeleton found in Icelandic lake following a drop in the water level following an earthquake. Gripping.
    • 4/5
      “The skeleton was lying on its left side so she could see the right side of the skull, the empty eye sockets and three teeth in the upper jaw. One had a large silver filling. There was a wide hole in the skull itself, about the size of a matchbox, which she instinctively thought could have been made by a hammer. She bent down and stared at the skull. With some hesitation she explored the hole with her finger. The skull was full of sand.” (Ch 1)A civilian discovers a human skeleton in the bed of Lake Kleifarvatn, “the draining lake.” The skull is smashed, and tied about the skeleton’s midriff is a Russian transmitter dated from the 1960s-70s, in the heat of the Cold War. Interestingly, the radio is tuned to the old wavelength of the American Base in Keflavik. Erlendur and his team step into a web of political and international intrigue.The story transitions between present day Iceland and 1960s Germany. Narrating the tale from the past is Tomas, an Icelandic student and socialist. He, along with several other bright, politically motivated Icelanders, was selected by the Socialist Party in the 1960s to attend college in Leipzig, Germany. But the experience did not evolve as planned: Tomas was disillusioned to discover that the socialist state had grave troubles of its own: interactive surveillance, paranoia, and severe restrictions on freedom of expression. Meanwhile, Erlendur is reminded by a former boss of the Soviet equipment which was found by divers in Lake Kleifarvatn in the 1970s: "telecommunications and bugging devices ... loads of the stuff." (Ch 8) The Russians, he learns, had attempted to contract Icelandic spies during the Cold War, seeking information about the American Base at Keflavík. As the investigation unravels, Interpol, as well as the American and German Embassies, will be called on for assistance in deciphering an entanglement of political contrivance, espionage, and murder.I thoroughly enjoyed The Draining Lake. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy Indridason. He is an excellent crime writer, a solid story teller, and his talent for suspense and intrigue is well-honed. Further, he does a remarkable job of fleshing out his characters with intimate details which make them comfortably familiar. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      A typical Erlendur mystery. A skeleton is found in a lake bed (the lake has been draining) and an old Russian transmitter is tied about the waist. The transmitter is dated from the 1960s or 1970s, in the midst of the Cold War. It is up to Erlendur to find out who the body is and unravel the mystery.The story is told from two perspectives: Tomas, an Icelandic student and socialist is sent to college in Leipzig by the Socialist party in the 1960s. His narrative describes the living conditions and the interactive surveillance (people spying on each other and reporting them to authorities) promoted by the regime. The second story is in Tomas in the current day along with Erlendur and his crew.As always, the Erlendur mysteries are quite readable and offer a unique perspective on mysteries. I'm now half way done with the series.
    • 4/5
      This novel rises above its extremely predictable cover (a skull shock horror). Like Voices, it deals with real issues (in this case, what people did in the Cold War and how accountable they are today for their actions and allegances then) as well as presenting a detective story and an historical thriller. It is the latter which carries most of the dramatic charge and seems to be well-researched and captivating. The detective/police investigation section is (as in his other novels) mundane, often simply procedural bureaucracy and its (non) workings, and is in itself simply dull. Indridason's police officers are people I would avoid socially not because they are coppers but because they are SO BORING. But of course that is which gives his better thrillers a textural contrast, between the high drama of real crime and sheer tedium of minutiae, mediocrity, bureaucratic procedure and mundanity which police detective work reduces such dramas to as a 'case'. That contast between subjective levels of engagement of those involved in the original, background historical events and the extremely-belated police investigation is so sharp in this novel that it raised my experience of reading it to a powerful emotional level (OK, so i was in Paris and in poor health too, having bought it at the fabulous Canadian bookshop on rue de la Parcheminerie - go, visit!).
    • 5/5
      This is an Inspector Erlendur novel set in Iceland. That sounds very foreign and exotic and like a bit of a chore but this novel is outstanding. It has a lot of feeling. The characters are appealing and seem real. The backstory of Inspector Erlendur is poignant and memorable. The mystery is intriguing. I also appreciated how the novel is more than just a mystery: it also explores the history of Iceland and teaches you something about the Cold War. Few mysteries touch me deeply but this one did. At the end, I felt a twinge of something, I was really touched by how Indridason brings many strands together at the end.
    • 5/5
      Third in the Detective Erlendur series set in Iceland, this is the best yet. In this cold case study, the narration goes back and forth between Inspector Erlendur investigating a body found on a draining lake bed, and the memories of Icelandic students sent to study in communist East Germany to learn about the "perfect socialist" state during the Cold War in the 1950s. Plenty of suspense, fascinating and chilling historical background.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book I've read by this author and it followed my reading of another Scandianvian crime novel with a very similar structure (Nesbo's Redbreast). That said, I couldn't put it down. The story was slight but there was something in the language and the tone that was so engaging and I look forward to discovering more works by Arnaldur Indridason.
    • 4/5
      Inspector Erlander and his team are called to investigate the appearance of a skeleton chained to a Russian radio transmitter, found at the bottom of a dried lake. The skeleton's identity puzzles the team, and they have virtually no leads to follow up on. All possible clues lead to more questions. Their focus on the Russian radio transmitter leads them to consider the involvement of spies in Iceland during the Cold War but they are stonewalled when they approach the embassies. What emerges through a parallel narrative is a story of student spies and socialist movements through the Eastern European countries in the 1970s. We're given more insight into Erlander's life and relationship with his daughter, and perhaps the start of a relationship with his son.Indridason once again delivers a stunning thriller
    • 3/5
      Again a nice one by Indridason, but not top notch. Somehow the contemporary stories of Erlendur, his love interest and his children, the investigation and the flashback Leipzig scenes don't really come together.Erlendur is plodding through life, so much is clear. The mystery is solved and the one responsible takes a dramatic step. Why so doesn't become really clear. There are many open ends left for all characters.Midway the pace of the novel slows down a bit, like Indridason doesn't know how to advance the story without giving away too much.A bit disappointing, but a pleasant read for thriller/detective fans and Erlendur-fans all the same.
    • 5/5
      Another wonderful ride by this great Icelandic author. Tomas, from Iceland, goes to the University in Leipzig at the turn of the century and becomes a devoted communist until he meets Ilona and she brings doubts into his mind. His story is woven into the ups and downs of Erlendur's investigation of a skeleton uncovered in a lake because of an earthquake. The woes of his children and his girlfriend continue through this book. Wonderful writing with strong character development and yet the story moves faster than the Icelandic landscape.
    • 4/5
      In an Icelandic lake which is draining out via recently-opened fissures, a decades-old body is found, head bashed in and weighted down with Soviet-made spy equipment. Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson and his team investigate the case, which leads them to a story of Cold War espionage and a group of socialist Icelandic students drawn to study behind the Iron Curtain. The tale is told from two points of view: that of the present-day Inspector as he investigates disappearances from the late 1960s, and that of one of the students, who recalls his disastrous experiences in a 1950s Leipzig under constant interactive surveillance (being spied on by one's friends and family, and being expected to do the same).I find mid-century Communism and espionage depressing and rather dull to read about, but the mystery here is intriguing, and after a while I couldn't put the book down. Overall the translation is good, even idiomatic, although there were a few terms which didn't make the transition to American English very well (I read the U.S. edition). I'll be watching for more of this series, for both the mystery and the insights into life in Iceland.
    • 4/5
      A very clever and eleganty structured thriller, The Draining Lake presents Erlendur - an instinctual and deeply flawed detective, investigating a body found in a lake. The present-day action is interspersed with flashbacks to communist East Germany - the horrors of the stasi and their link to the unidentified corpse, make for thriling reading.
    • 4/5
      The story behind Erlendur's Draining Lake investigation begins not with the discovery of bones in a lake bed, but in the 1950s in Leipzig. At that time it was part of the GDR, and students were being recruited to come to the university there to study. Some Icelandic socialist students were part of the recruitment effort -- but many discovered that there was a catch to their free education once they had been there for a while. Flashforward to the present, where a hydrologist examining a lake bed finds bones half buried there and calls police. As it turns out, the body was tied down with an old Soviet listening device, starting Erlendur and his team on an investigation that will take them back to the Cold War years. With very few clues to go on, including the identity of the dead man, Erlendur and his team have their work cut out for them. In the meantime, there's a few hitches in Erlendur's life: seriously drug-addicted daughter Eva Lind has runaway again, and while he's busy worrying about her, his long-estranged son Sindri shows up.Indridason's writing is excellent, as always, and the fleshed-out back story of the students' years in Leipzig is a nice glimpse into the pitfalls of overzealous idealism. Erlendur is a character who has since the outset of this series been portrayed as very human, with real-life problems that don't seem to ever be resolved. The author is able to inject a bit of wry humor into his writing which is often dark and depressing -- there are no warm fuzzies or nice touchy-feely happy endings where everyone goes home happy and satisfied in this series. If that's what you're looking for, then pass on these novels.The Draining Lake is not my favorite of Indridason's novels, but it was still a great read. He continues to follow his pattern of the past's connection to the present, which is one of my favorite motifs in a mystery novel. The book is well written, and my only criticism is that at times things seemed to move very slow. But I still very highly recommend not only this book, but the entire series. You'll want to start with the first book in translation, Jar City, and make your way through all of the books before coming to this one if you want the best reading experience. People who enjoy Scandinavian crime novels will want to read this one, as will people looking for a good mystery novel in general.
    • 4/5
      Although this was every bit the page turner as the other entries in the Inspector Erlendur series, for some reason this installment didn't grab me as much as the others. Nonetheless I continue to look forward to more books by Indridason as they are translated into English.