Tangled Web UK Review February 2008
Last Rituals by
Yrsa Sigurdardotti
hbk out January 08
Published by Hodder
at £11.99
Crime-witing locations have certainly moved away from the traditional London, Home Counties, East Anglia, Lake District and Scottish venues. I have recently reviewed books set in Laos and Mongolia and now this one is sited in modern Iceland. However, it was written and published there and this is an excellent translation by Bernard Scudder. The author is a remarkable lady, having already written about five children's books, but hit the best seller list with this Last Rituals, which has sold in translation in twenty-five countries. In addition she is a working civil engineer, being the technical manager for the largest hydroelectric construction project in Europe. 'Last Rituals' is a cracking story, with the lead character Thora Gudmundsdottir, a lawyer, divorcee and mother of two. Because she studied in Germany, she is approached by Matthew Reich, an ex-Muich detective and agent for the rich German parents of a post-graduate student who has been murdered in a bizarre fashion. The victim was Harald Guntlieb, who had an obsession with witchcraft and was comparing 16th century burning of witches in Germany with those in Iceland.
Although the police have a student friend of Harald's in custody and are happy that they can get a conviction, the family are not convinced and want German-speaking Thora to look into the case. Though crime is out of her usual line of work, she is hard- up and the fee offered cannot be turned down.
Much of the plot revolves around Icelandic and Danish religious history, as ancient documents and a sinister book are at the heart of the matter. Thora, already beset with her own family problems, travels around Iceland with Matthew, while a weird group of students who had gravitated around the rich and generous Harald, remain evasive and obstructive. The outcome is perhaps not that unexpected, but still most enjoyable. The writing is excellent, though of course much depends on the translator's skill. In spite of the morbid and sometimes gruesome content, the author writes with a light and witty touch, which makes one look forward to the sequel, which is already published in Iceland called My Soul to Take, so hopefully this will soon appear in English.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
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