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Out of Thin Air

A True Story of Impossible Murder in Iceland

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Out of Thin Air

By: Anthony Adeane
Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
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About this listen

As seen on BBC Storyville.

Every Icelander knows about the Gudmundur and Geirfinnur disappearances.

1974. In two separate incidents, two men vanished into thin air. Then, out of it came six murder confessions and six convictions. Yet in the decades that followed, these too evaporated.

Anthony Adeane explores the stranger-than-fiction story that has unravelled in Iceland across 45 years. He provides the first full account of the case, paints a fascinating picture of the country and places each development in the contexts that shaped them: from the Cod Wars to the Cold War, the 2008 economic crash and beyond.

Using unprecedented access, and exploring his own personal obsession with the case, he exposes the mistakes that were made, the lives that were ruined, the questions that remain unanswered and the headlines that continue to be printed.

Out of Thin Air is at once a brilliant portrait of a society, a story of a shocking miscarriage of justice and a compelling true crime narrative.

©2018 Anthony Adeane (P)2018 Quercus Editions Limited Murder True Crime Crime

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Critic reviews

"Reads like a great thriller." (Ragnar Jonasson, best-selling author of the Dark Iceland crime series)
Most relevant  
This book will take you on a journey. A very compelling murder mystery with unpredictable twists and turns. My only criticism - there are definitely tangents into Iceland's history and politics that take you away from the murder mystery. Even when they're relevant they're a bit too wordy. Still, I loved this book.

Completely unpredictable

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Gripping analysis of Icelands most famous murders. Well written and with great narration. Recommend it.

Fascinating story...

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I’ve read / listened to a couple of books about this case and found this one to be the best so far - does a good job of telling the story of the disappearances while also giving a really good sense of the context, culture and history of Iceland too. Drags a bit about 2/3 of the way through, when I felt the same points were being made over and over (the investigation was flawed, the investigation was flawed, the investigation was flawed - ok ok, I get it). But overall, a good listen.

Evocative story of a real life mystery

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A lot of facts/ stories presented in a not too interesting way. Lots of duplication, expected more.

Not that interesting

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