Portrait of an Unknown Woman vs The Blue Ice: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Thriller

Portrait of an Unknown Woman Daniel Silva ★★★★☆ 4.2 403 pages · ≈ 7 h 28 m · Moderate

Portrait of an Unknown Woman is the twenty second novel by Daniel Silva. It was released on July 19, 2022, and as with others in Silvas Allon series is a ''New York Times'' bestseller.

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The Blue Ice Hammond Innes · 1948 ★★★★☆ 3.8 246 pages · ≈ 4 h 33 m · Challenging

Ten years after George Farnell's disappearance, two lines of poetry and a lump of mineral ore are found. It's enough to send mineral expert Bill Gansert to Norway. But word of his findings has leaked out and Gansert…

Fiction

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Portrait of an Unknown Woman highest: Portrait of an Unknown Woman 4.2 · The Blue Ice 3.8.
The Blue Ice is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 7 for Portrait of an Unknown Woman.
Portrait of an Unknown Woman has the widest readership — 34662 ratings behind its score.
Portrait of an Unknown Woman runs the darker storyline; The Blue Ice stays the lighter read.

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? The Blue Ice ≈ 4h vs 7h for Portrait of an Unknown Woman Just want the better-reviewed one? Portrait of an Unknown Woman 4.2 vs 3.8 from readers New to the genre? Portrait of an Unknown Woman Moderate vs Challenging for The Blue Ice In the mood for something dark? Portrait of an Unknown Woman a darker storyline than The Blue Ice Want something lighter? The Blue Ice an easier tone than Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Scores by source

	Portrait of an Unknown Woman	The Blue Ice
Goodreads	4.2 (34662)	3.8 (449)
Hardcover	4.1 (30)	4.0 (3)
Apple Books	4.0 (3394)	—
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Reception

	Portrait of an Unknown Woman	The Blue Ice
Ratings	34662	449
Editions	—	30
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	14807	179
Reading it now	5693	59
Written reviews	2040	31
Wikipedia attention	314	46
Pages	403	246
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Portrait of an Unknown Woman or The Blue Ice?

Portrait of an Unknown Woman has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Portrait of an Unknown Woman 4.2/5, The Blue Ice 3.8/5).

Which is shorter to read: Portrait of an Unknown Woman or The Blue Ice?

The Blue Ice is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Blue Ice (246 pages, ≈ 4 h 33 m); Portrait of an Unknown Woman (403 pages, ≈ 7 h 28 m).

Which is harder to read: Portrait of an Unknown Woman or The Blue Ice?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Portrait of an Unknown Woman: Moderate; The Blue Ice: Challenging.