A review by francesmthompson
Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 Am really enjoying working my way through this series of books, and this one was my quickest read yet. If you like crime/mystery stories that develop fairly quickly and have multiple layers to them, AND you love Iceland, these books will tick a lot of boxes. I also really enjoyed the setting on the Westman Islands as I have visited this part of Iceland and written about it so knew the story of the 1973 Eldfell volcano eruption. I also liked that it was more modern history and a different type of story to previous two books that had "other worldly elements". My biggest criticism with this one was that I guessed 75% of the Whodunnit by about half-way through the story, which was satisfying until it was annoying because I was reading on for a long old time with no big reveal. Aaaand again I personally took some issue with there being some comments that felt misogynistic and fatphobic,

and I also felt some elements of the rape culture which was touched on in various different ways could have been done with greater depth or exploration

.