Realistically told, emotionally charged, and brimming with compassion, The Draining Lake is likely to challenge the reader’s values system. For this reviewer, at least, Indridason’s latest English-translated novel is one of the highlights of 2007. Although it’s full of pathos, the book also makes clear just how strong the human spirit is, and reminds us that the flip-side of friendship is far from pleasant. It can sometimes be hard to distinguish comrade from foe -- a person can be both at the same time....I wait patiently for the next Arnaldur Indridason/Bernard Scudder collaboration to arrive in bookstores. This is crime fiction at its most insightful, poetic and poignant

Indridason's novels are an undiluted pleasure....this series places Indridason at the centre of the best of contemporary crime fiction. He is a master storyteller, and has a real gift for evoking the complex humanity at the heart of the most dour-seeming individuals.