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Review
'The second book from Yrsa Sigurdardottir is funny as well as being a taut and accomplished novel' -- Independent, Books of the Year 'Yrsa Sigurdardottir brilliantly conjures an atmosphere of creeping menace and unreality.' -- Guardian 'This is well-written, pacey and wonderfully atmospheric, but the USP here is the character of Gudmundsdottir. Wry, very funny and valiantly trying to balance the demands of her private life with her work - she is a joy. I'm looking forward to number three.' -- Guardian 'Sigurdardotittir delivers terrific clammy atmosphere and frequent frissons of fear; she is entitled to join the front rank of Nordic crime writers.' -- The Times 'Both frightening and funny - a terrific trick if you can pull it off.' -- Observer 20090405 'Distinguished by superb evocations of extraordinary landscapes and ... rivetingly gruesome inventiveness.' -- Independent 20090415 'The numerous twists and turns are worthy of Agatha Christie and keep the reader guessing until the very end.' -- Sunday Telegraph 20090415 'A suspenseful, sophisticated story' -- Sunday Telegraph 20090415 'A welcome second outing for the good-natured lawyer-sleuth Thora Gudmundsdottir ... Yrsa Sigurdardottir's lightness of touch is refreshing' -- Daily Telegraph on MY SOUL TO TAKE 20090415 'The novel is both spooky and gruesome. But Thora's distinctly chaotic private life provides a welcome contrast and moments of very black humour ... It's rare to find a crime novel that's both chilling and witty - an agreeable combination' -- Andrew Taylor, Spectator 20090415 'Dark, rich and satisfying.' -- Woman & Home 20090406 'Yrsa Sigurdardottir has arrived, fully formed, it seems, as something of a unique talent in the field ... [She] matches Tess Gerritsen and Kathy Reichs in the bloodchiller stakes.' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 20080129 'Iceland is fast becoming a hotbed of fine crime writing, and Sigurdardottir is at the front of the pack. This second novel builds on her already impressive reputation ... brilliantly paced and expertly constructed.' -- The Big Issue 20080129 'More splendidly accomplished - and involving - fare from Sigurdardottir' -- Good Book Guide 20080129
--This text refers to an alternate
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Book Description
In the mystical SnÆfellsnes region on Iceland's west coast—at a New Age health resort in a renovated farmhouse—the body of a young woman is discovered, savagely beaten, with pins inserted into her feet. ThÓra GudmundsdÓttir, lawyer and single mother of two, has been retained to represent the resort's owner and prime suspect. But a fresh corpse is not the only abomination ThÓra encounters here—for local legend says this place is haunted . . . and a bizarre series of inexplicable occurrences soon suggests it is so.
As ThÓra digs deeply into the farm's past, she unearths a shocking history of evil and depravity—and her once-solid view of reality begins to waver. But a second murder, shockingly similar to the first, pulls ThÓra back to earth by making two inescapable truths abundantly clear: the killer she seeks is very real . . . and is not finished yet.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Chilling Tale of Folklore,
By
This review is from: My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (Hardcover)
Book 2 in the Thora Gudmundsdottir seriesThis Icelandic crime novel is a thrilling read, an array of intricately woven plots unravelling slowly and mysteriously. A novel that has all the essential elements to peak the reader's interest leaving him somewhat spellbound. The story brings lawyer Thora Gudmindsdottir to a recently developed health resort to gather information regarding the newly converted farmhouse. Her client Jonas purchased the propriety earlier and now believes the sellers purposely concealed the property's haunted past, a reputation that hinders the success of the resort . He is seeking compensation. Soon after her arrival, the situation at the resort turns ugly, a grizzly murder is committed and Jonas becomes the prime suspect. Thora needs to help him clear his name. While investigating she uncovers some very disturbing occurrences, events that happened years earlier and were deeply hidden... some of the disturbing findings set a tone of scepticism on her part. Are the apparent supernatural events real or tales of folklore? What else will be revealed? This is a complicated mystery with intricate plotting setting stage for many red herrings. Thora is represented as a wonderful sleuth/lawyer/detective and the story has a cast of numerous and intriguing secondary characters. The tale has its creepiness and supernatural side that lingers long after the last page. "My Soul to Take" is a chilling work of suspense I enjoyed thoroughly.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews) 21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
exciting Icelandic amateur sleuth,
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (Hardcover)
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 14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Past and Present,
By Ted Feit - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (Hardcover)
This second novel in a series featuring Icelandic attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir gives the author an opportunity to not only write a murder mystery, but to incorporate the history and ghost tales of the past into the plot. Thora is a middle-aged single mother of two and apparently becomes involved in matters other than her law practice.A client, Jonas Juliusson, has purchased a couple of farms in western Iceland with Thora's assistance, and has opened a hotel on the property. He asks her to renegotiate the purchase price on the flimsy basis that something is wrong, such as ghosts wailing. She visits the hotel in an attempt to dissuade him from such a claim, but the architect working on an annex is found murdered and Jonas is arrested and charged when a second victim, an employee, is also killed. It's up to Thora and her lover to save the client. While the plot moves forward, the reading is slow (I can't tell if it is the author's style or the translation) and there is a certain amount of repetition which slows things down. On the whole, the book is well-plotted, suspenseful and different, but, at least to this reader, somewhat laborious reading. 15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good reading!,
By Margaret Dybala "too many books, too little time" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (Hardcover)
"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. |
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