My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland

This was a new author to me and she's fantastic! The story was well-paced, kept your interest and had lots of twists and turns. I will have to get more of her past books because now I want to read them all. She really relates her main character to everyday people with children, ex-spouse problems and work problems. The parts with her secretary really cracked me up (maybe because I am a secretary too)! Just loads of fun and gave up tv for several nights to finish it. Enjoy!

Thóra Gudmundsdóttir's client Jónas Júlíusson wants her to look into the conditions of the land sale he made for the New Age health spa he runs in western Iceland. Would the undisclosure of ghost haunting the place be cause for legal action? Although Thóra does not believe in the ghost, she can't resist his offer for a nice weekend away from the children. Thóra begins research the the history of the farmhouse, a history that becomes more and more disturbing as she unearths more and more details. Even Thóra hears the strange eerie sounds associated with the ghost. Could the haunting be real? When the body of architect Birna Halldórsdóttir is discovered on the beach, Thóra investigates in order to protect her client when his cell phone makes him a possible suspect in the brutal murder. Could the murder have a connection to the haunting or is there some other motive connected to the spa itself? When another body is found, a body with the same disturbing clues, Thóra's investigation becomes all the more pressing. Can the evil of the past influence the present? What deadly secrets will Thora discover? Can those of the past speak to those present now long after their life stories have ended? In the second book featuring attorney Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, MY SOUL TO TAKE, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir prefaces the current day story with an account of a 1945 horrific crime account of the eerie murder of a child, a crime all the more disturbing for its non-violent premeditated murder seen through a child's perspective. At first, the connection between the prologue and the main story seems unconnected but as Thóra unearths the past, the background of the past crime gives an eerie, and at times supernatural, atmosphere to the family history she discovers. Although slightly less macabre in actual crime details than LAST RITUALS, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir's second thriller has elements in common with the first that make the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series so uniquely exquisite: the twisted creepiness of the crime and all its ramifications, a supernatural tone balanced by Thóra Gudmundsdóttir's more practical approach to clues, a connection between past and present and respect for history, and also a look into the deadly secrets within families. In both thrillers, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir weaves Iceland's history, landscape and culture into the very fabric of the thriller. MY SOUL TO TAKE is perhaps less graphically shocking than LAST RITUALS, yet just as disturbing --- if not more so. This reader would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite between the two. Rather than choose, MY SOUL TO TAKE along with her fist novel marks Yrsa Sigurdardóttir a new writer to add to my list of must read, top suspense authors writing today. MY SOUL TO TAKE is an awesome thriller that continues to haunt long after the last page. The crimes seen from the point of view of the victims give the reader a glimpse into the twisted face of evil as one sees through the perspective of the very h

In MY SOUL TO TAKE, Yrsa Sigurdardottir's second book in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series, Thora travels to Iceland's west coast to assist a client who needs her help in a real estate transaction. He wants recompense from the people who sold him the property because the farmhouses he purchased have a hidden defect. They are haunted. Jonas has opened a New Age health resort complete with aura reader and he knows that the presence of ghosts will doom his venture. Jonas knows that there are ghosts; he has seen one. Shortly after Thora's arrival, the police come to talk to Jonas. The body of a woman has been found on the beach; it is Birna, the architect Jonas had hired to build an extension to the hotel. She is buried under seaweed and there are signs that the killer knows the culture of the area. Thora realizes she must stay at the resort longer than she had planned in order to protect Jonas' interests but she is also intrigued by the boxes of old photos and artifacts that Jonas claims have a connection to the hauntings. Among the photos is that of a little girl, the ghost Jonas saw while he was looking in a mirror. Among the ordinary photos and papers, Thora finds a Nazi flag, parts of a uniform, and magazines published by the Icelandic Nationalist Party. The past is very close to the present in this remote section of Iceland. Shame, guilt, greed, pride, and love reach back to 1945 and forward to the death of Birna. Superstition and fear combine for another murder. And Thora is the anchor of the story and the solution. LAST RITUALS involves murder and witchcraft and connects to the very distant past. MY SOUL TO TAKE involves murder and ghosts and connects to the recent past. Both are well-worth reading. I look forward to the next book in the series.

"My Soul To Take" is the first book I have read by the author, but it certainly won't be the last! This was a lovely mystery, with lots of well constructed red herrings! I almost always know "who dunnit," but in this one, I didn't see the resolution! It starts in the 1940s in rural Iceland. A sweet little girl is killed. We flash forward to today: a hotel has been built near where the girl was killed (although no one knows about her), and there are questions of hauntings. Then, contemporary killing begins! Our heroine, a lawyer, goes on the hunt to figure out what is going on. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who reads this review, so enough said! This story is awash in possible motives, history, family gothic, etc. It is well constructed, with perfect pacing. If you love a good mystery, you will love this one.

Jonas Juliusson buys a health spa in Snaefellsnes on Iceland's west coast with the help of his attorney single mother of two Thora Gudmundsdottir. However, he fears the property is haunted so he invites Thora to stay and investigate, which she agrees though feeling he is being silly heeding local myths. Upon arriving at the spa, Thora is greeted with the mutilated corpse of architect Birna Halldorsdottir who designed the new building. Jonas is the prime suspect since he sent the victim a text message to meet him at the place she was found dead. A second body also battered is soon found. Thora quickly changes her inquiry from ghost hunting to homicide hunting. MY SOUL TO TAKE is an exciting Icelandic amateur sleuth mystery starring a wonderful attorney who begins to slowly find clues that lead to several suspects with motives. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the single mom finds the first corpse and never slows down as the brave lawyer makes her inquiries while another body surfaces. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this fine mystery while seeking Thora's last case (see LAST RITUALS). Harriet Klausner