My Soul To Take

Title: My Soul to Take

Author: Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Number of pages: 456

Started: 17 January 2013

Finished: 21 January 2013

Opening words:

PROLOGUE

February 1945

The child felt the cold creeping up her legs and back, and she tried to sit up straight in the front seat to get a better view. She peered into the white snow surrounding the car, but could not make out any farm animals. It’s too cold for the animals outside, she thought, wishing she could leave the car and go back inside the house, but she didn’t dare say a word. A tear crept down her cheek as the man beside her struggled to start the engine. Pursing her lips, she turned her face away from him so that he wouldn’t notice. He’d be so angry. She looked at the house where the car was parked and looked for the other girl, but the only living creature in sight was the farm dog, Rover, sleeping on the front steps. Suddenly he lifted his head and stared at her. She sent him a weak smile, but he stretched out again and closed his eyes.

Plot summary:

If I die before I wake . . .

A grisly murder is committed at a health resort situated in a recently renovated farmhouse, which turns out to be notorious for being haunted. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is called upon by the owner of the resort -  the prime suspect in the case -  to represent him. Her investigations uncover some very disturbing occurrences at the farm decades earlier - things that have never before seen the light of day . . .

What I thought:

Yet another book where the jury is out.  This book was perfectly readable, and in some ways I enjoyed it, although that was probably partly influenced by reading immediately after returning from Iceland, where the book is set.

It was a book that relied rather on a supernatural element, which might seem odd to some, but actually having learned a bit about Iceland while I was there, it actually didn’t seem very strange.  The “little people” are a part of their lives.  But ultimately the resolution to the crime, which clearly I can’t really comment on here, was somewhat crude and relied on coincidence that was somewhat annoying.  I would read another book in the series though, in the hope that it picks up. 

Last Rituals

Title: Last Rituals

Author: Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Number of pages: 432

Started: 31 May 2012

Finished: 8 June 2012

Opening words:

The head caretaker, Tryggvi, stood idly by the coffee maker.  The sound of boiling water dripping through the machine was the only thing to be heard in the empty building, which housed the university’s History department. Soon the bustling cleaners would arrive, chatting and giggling, dragging their carts and vacuums out of the housekeeping room. The caretaker revelled in the silence and the aroma of brewing coffee. He had been employed by the university for over thirty years and had seen his share of changes, not the least of which was the complete turnaround in the nationality of the cleaners who worked under his supervision. When he started they had all been Icelandic and understood his every word; now his interactions with his subordinates consisted of a series of hand gestures and loudly-spoken basic orders. The women were all immigrants, and all recent arrivals from south-east Asia, except for one woman of African descent.

Plot summary:

A young man is found brutally murdered, his eyes gouged out. A student of Icelandic history in Reykjavik, he came from a wealthy German family who do not share the police's belief that his drug dealer murdered him. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is commissioned by his family to find out the truth, with the help - and hindrance - of boorish ex-policeman Matthew Reich. Their investigations into his research take them deep into a grisly world of torture and witchcraft both past and present, as they draw ever closer to a killer gripped by a dangerous obsession...

What I thought:

This is probably the only Icelandic novel that I have read.  A new venture for me in the Scandinavian crime genre.  It was a decent enough read, and better than some crime novels I have read of late.  The plot revolved around a murder that the police believed they had already solved, but the victim’s family, who he didn’t get on with, believed otherwise.  An interesting idea for a novel, but not as exciting as it could have been.  This is the first in a series and I would like to try the next one and see how I get on with that.