LAST RITUALS

Author: Yrsa Sigurdardóttir ISBN: 0061143367 10/2007 CRIME DRAMA Publisher: WILLIAM MORROW

After the body of a young German student—with his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest—is discovered at a university in Reykjavík, the police waste no time in making an arrest. The victim's family isn't convinced they have the right man, however, so they ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, attorney and single mother of two, to investigate. The fee is considerable—more than enough to make things a bit easier for the struggling lawyer and her children. It's not long before Thóra and Matthew Reich, her new associate, discover something unusual about the deceased student: He had been obsessed with the country's grisly history of torture, execution, and witch hunts—a topic made all the more peculiar by the fact that unlike witch hunts in other countries, those in Iceland had targeted men . . . not women. As Thóra and Matthew dig deeper, they make the connection between long-bygone customs and the student's murder. But the shadow of dark traditions conceals secrets in both the past and the present, and the investigators soon realize that nothing is as it seems . . . and that no one can be trusted.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I hope I do a more creditable job reviewing LAST RITUALS than I have had pronouncing the author's name. Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardóttir's name might be the devil of a tongue twister for an American audience, but her debut crime drama is much less complicated.

This simple and direct murder mystery is superbly crafted. The author sets a fast-paced tone early and never veers from the lightening speed. Readers will remain riveted to this fascinating story filled with medieval witchcraft as lead characters Thóra Gudmundsdóttir and Matthew Reich investigate the murder of German college student, Harald Guntlieb. The further the pair delve into the murder, the more twisted and shocking the revelations become... almost as twisted and disturbed as the murder victim himself. And the shocks just keep on coming, even until the end of LAST RITUALS.

Ms. Sigurdardóttir does not bog her story down with too much detail about medieval witchcraft. In fact, nothing is given too much detail... the story moves, and moves quickly. Nor is LAST RITUALS as dark as the subject matter nor as bleak as the Islandic landscape. The author does a fine job injecting humor into her story, mostly through interactions between the lead characters. The balance between the darker elements and the humor almost gives LAST RITUALS a light tone. Almost.

The bottom line—LAST RITUALS is a gritty, creepy, often chilling tale.

While I was entranced with the mystery, I was less enamored with the characters. Aside from the twisted, disturbed murder victim, none of the other characters had much depth ...including Thóra. Since LAST RITUALS is the beginning of a Thóra Gudmundsdóttir mystery series, I hope the author gives this character more substance the next time around. On the other hand, Ms. Sigurdardóttir crafted a great character in Harald Guntlieb... considering he was dead when the story began.

Overall, LAST RITUALS is a intriguing, twisty story filled with all sorts of surprises... most of them not of the good variety. I would definitely recommend reading this crime debut.

Debbie Jett