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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
i chose this because its Icelandic & set in Iceland. i didnt really pay much attention to the plot. overall, i enjoyed the book. most of my "issues" could be put down to translation & different cultures. i think I'll look for the next book. :)
Wholly enjoyable procedural mystery with some gruesomeness and some Icelandic and European witchcraft history thrown in for color. Sigurðardóttir writes compellingly with no pretense to anything other than a solid plot, which is not a complaint. I blew through this book, even if I guessed the culprit about 1/3 of the way into it. Managed to find the audiobook from the library, so I mainlined it. Would probably read the second one if it presented itself.
This is an English translation of a first novel by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardottir. A most interesting mystery that involves secret soticeties, symbols, witchcraft, and family secrets. If you are a fan of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code you will most definitely be interested in this new author. Sigurdardottir makes characters who we care about and a most interesting mystery that one cannot guess right away. I am most interested to see where she goes with her next installment in this series.
Besides the historical aspects of men in Iceland being put to death for being witches I didn't really enjoy this book. I think the main character (Thora) was not that great and her partnership with Matthew didn't do a thing for me either. He was rude, she was rude, I did not get any chemistry there at all. And then there was a whole thing with her son and I don't know. I may read the next book in the series to see if there is anything there, but just felt letdown when we get past the descriptions of Iceland and the historical pieces we get. Also Thora has to beyond naive for not putting together what her daughter was saying and then what follows. I was the least surprised person ever.
"Last Rituals" follows attorney Thora Guðmundsdóttir. Thora is trying to make ends meet after her divorce from her husband. She's primarily in charge of raising their two kids and worries she is not around enough. When Thora gets a call from a man named Matthew Reich, she may have the answer to her money problems. Matthew is calling on the behalf of his clients, the Guntliebs. Thora knows the name since recently a German student who was studying in Iceland, Harald was found dead at the university. A man has been taken into custody, but the family does not think he did it and wants Thora to look over the police's case. The book follows Thora and Matthew interrogating people as well as following in Harald's footsteps. They find out he was obsessed with witchcraft and black magic and they wonder if someone out there was focused on making sure Harald paid.
Thora kind of sucks. She acts like a jerk about her office's secretary and makes a lot of fat jokes about her and is somewhat jealous that Matthew talks to her. I also found her judgmental as hell.
Matthew was rude and just not doing a thing for me.
The plot was confusing and things really don't come together until you find out who killed Harald and why and then you get more information about Harald's family life. I felt nothing but sympathy for his family and rolled my eyes at once again Thora being judgmental.
"Last Rituals" follows attorney Thora Guðmundsdóttir. Thora is trying to make ends meet after her divorce from her husband. She's primarily in charge of raising their two kids and worries she is not around enough. When Thora gets a call from a man named Matthew Reich, she may have the answer to her money problems. Matthew is calling on the behalf of his clients, the Guntliebs. Thora knows the name since recently a German student who was studying in Iceland, Harald was found dead at the university. A man has been taken into custody, but the family does not think he did it and wants Thora to look over the police's case. The book follows Thora and Matthew interrogating people as well as following in Harald's footsteps. They find out he was obsessed with witchcraft and black magic and they wonder if someone out there was focused on making sure Harald paid.
Thora kind of sucks. She acts like a jerk about her office's secretary and makes a lot of fat jokes about her and is somewhat jealous that Matthew talks to her. I also found her judgmental as hell.
Matthew was rude and just not doing a thing for me.
The plot was confusing and things really don't come together until you find out who killed Harald and why and then you get more information about Harald's family life. I felt nothing but sympathy for his family and rolled my eyes at once again Thora being judgmental.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Interesting and slightly creepy start to this series but i do love a spunky female protagonist. Ours is an attorney in Iceland hired to make sense of and improve upon a police investigation of a macabre death. The dead man comes from a wealthy German family. Lots of characters and twists were present but not shocking.
I started later in this Thora series and have since circled back to some of the earlier books including this one. It is not Yrsa’s best work and it is definitely not as good as others later in the series. If you found the ideas and writing interesting, I highly recommend trying some of the books later in the series (such as “The Silence of the Sea”). This book was not terrible, but it was also not fabulous as others have been. Quick read though and interesting plot.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It seemed like a good story: wealthy weirdo who studies witches, sorcery, and witch burning found murdered with his eyes removed and strange symbols carved onto the body. Alas, it was just meh. Perhaps we can blame the translator for the clunky language and unmesmerizing prose. Perhaps we can blame me for having high expectations since I liked her other book about the ghost hunters so much. Either way, this one wasn't great. Interesting enough, but not a real page turner and no exciting payoff at the end.