Last Rituals: An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder

"Yrsa Sigurdardottir is excellent writer from Iceland. Her first book to be released in the US is 'LAST RITUALS: A Tale of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft and Modern Murder.' Thora Gudmundsdottir is a single mother of two and a struggling attorney who is approached by the German parents of an exchange student. The police have arrested a suspect in the murder of their son but they don't believe the police have the right person. They are willing to pay Thora a significant amount of money if she concentrates on finding the person really responsible. "She is soon joined in her investigation by Matthew Reich, a German also hired by the victim's parents. As they investigate they discover that the murder is connected to Iceland's very dark, mythic past. The victim was very interested in Iceland's history of witchcraft and the hunts for the practitioners most likely because these witches were men. "This is an excellent story begging to be read straight through to the end but it is more than a bit grisly. I scanned the details. I think the difference between a story like this and a Hannibal Lector story is that the latter smacks everyone in the face with their vulnerability. The victim in this case has gone willingly into a past that may or may not be real. "A second book in the series is being released in May and I am looking forward to it, grisly or not. "Beth"

Meet Thora Gudmundsdottir, an attorney and divorced mother of two, a teenage son and a six-year-old daughter. As if her life is not hectic enough, she receives a phone call from a German woman whose son has been killed at the local university. Amelia Guntlieb wants to hire Gudmundsdottir to investigate the death of her son, as she and her husband do not believe the police have investigated it thoroughly and further believe they have the wrong man in custody. Gudmundsdottir agrees to think about taking the case and she is to meet with a German man, Matthew Reich, who works for the Guntlieb family in order to ascertain more about the victim and the case. She, of course, accepts the case and will work closely with Reich for the remainder of the novel. Once she takes the case she starts to find how just how strange the victim, Harald Guntlieb, really was. He was enrolled in the graduate program at the university in the history department and his field of expertise was witch burnings in Iceland and on the mainland. As Gudmundsdottir and Reich delve into Harald's past more they find he was into the dark arts and on a relentless search for an old book entitled The Witches' Hammer. They investigate his friends but they all seem to have an air tight alibi for the night of Harald's murder. This is an exciting who-done-it book along with a great cast of characters. If you like murder mysteries you won't want to miss this book. I can hardly wait to start her next novel.

Last Rituals opens with Thora facing Christmas coming with a bank account in need of CPR when she recieves a call from the mother of a murder asking Thora to investigate her son's death. Thora doesn't want to take the case, but with her law office struggling to pay the bills, she feels she has no choice. Thora soon meets with family representative Matthew Reich and the sparks begin to fly. This novel is a real page turner as Thora and Matthew investigate the last few days of the murder victim's life. There is a wonderful sense of being in Iceland with all its beauty and freezing temperatures. Surprisingly, there is humor sprinkled throughout the book to offset some of the macabre details of Last Rituals. The budding romance between Thora and Matthew was an added bonus. Hopefully, the reader will not have long to wait before the sequel to this book, "My Soul To Take", is published. To anyone who enjoys a Nordic mystery, I say "Highly Recommended"!

In Reykjavik, Iceland, the police arrest a drug dealer for murdering and mutilating German college student Harald Guntlieb. However, the victim's affluent parents do not believe the police caught the right person; they cannot comprehend why a drug dealer would asphyxiate a victim rather than just shoot him, not carve out their son's eyes nor carve ritual symbols on his chest. They assume their offspring was killed in a witchcraft homicide. Still seeking closure, the parents send trusted family friend Matthew Reich, a former CID agent, to Iceland to investigate. He knows even before he leaves the continent that he will require local assistance so through Harold's grieving mom Amelia, Matthew hires lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, a single mother, to assist him on the case as she speaks his language as well as that of the locals. They follow up on the odd LAST RITUALS by looking into Harold's life in Iceland and learn he belonged to a strange group that participated in unusual sexual rites and had a passionate fascination with medieval witch-hunts. As they dig deeper, they find the case spiraling out of control even as Thora's family life intrudes. Thora makes this exciting Icelandic whodunit an entertaining read as she struggles between balancing a complex investigation with the demands of her children especially her teen son. Matthew knows he can go nowhere without her as he does not speak the language besides being a foreigner no one would cooperate with him. Thus her family needs intrude on the case driving Matthew to distraction. The mystery is clever as the audience will find many suspects to choose from even while the police seek to end the case with a second arrest of a student. LAST RITUALS is a terrific investigate thriller. Harriet Klausner

Last Rituals: Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft and Modern Murder by internationally acclaimed author Yrsa Sigurdardottir and translated into English by Bernard Scudder will thrill readers with the finely written mystery and more intimate look at a glimpse of Iceland as the background, a country that intrigues but often remains mysterious. The author combines an obscure part of history with dark psychological details while also creating a realistic and sometimes humorous backdrop in the characters investigating this unusual case. Thora Gutmundsdottir, a divorced mother who started her own legal partnership receives a phone call from Germany from the Amelia Guntlieb who had been given her name by one of Thora's former professors. Amelia's son was murdered in Iceland and the family needs assistance. The Guntliebs do not feel the local police investigated their son's case thoroughly. Amelia proposes that Thora work with Matthew Reich, a man who spent 5 years with the Munich CID. Although Matthew has the investigative skills needed, he does not know the Icelandic language well enough to ask questions and mix with the locals well enough to get real answers. Certain shocking details of Harald's murder are just too mysterious, eerie and gruesome to believe the murder is connected to a drug deal gone bad. Does someone have a personal vendetta against Harald? After initial reservations, Thora accepts the case and Matthew hands over a dossier detailing many of the particulars of Harald's life. Do the details of his murder relate to his studies of history or to some dark hidden aspect of his personal life? Are the gruesome details a measure of the killer's rage or a clue to the identity of some mysterious group? What does the strange symbol mean? Harald had gone to Iceland to study Medieval history. In particular, his research compared Icelandic witchcraft with witch burnings, execution and torture in Medieval Germany. Whereas women were often the target of witch burnings in Germany, in Iceland, the majority of witches executed were men. Does this difference have any bearing on Harald's research in Iceland? As the investigation narrows, the two discover Harald began to develop strange practices while in Iceland. An investigation into Harald's personal life in Iceland as well as in Germany unearths more and more secrets. Thora and Matthew's investigation takes them through the history of Iceland in many forms and the author gives the reader a fascinating view of both historical and modern Iceland. The more clues they find, the more mysterious the murder appears and the two are no longer sure whom they can trust. Yrsa Sigurdardottir creates the perfect balance between realistic characterization and a darker multi-faceted mystery that intrigues the reader as it unfolds. As the details of Thora's family life interfere with her investigation, the reader sees a glimpse of her as whole person ---one who cares for her children as only a devot