Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

The body of a graduate student researching the witch trials in Iceland is found dead at the college.  (Interesting Fact: the convicted witches in Iceland were almost all male.  Who knew?)  The dead student’s body has been mutilated and it looks like it could be ritualistic.  The student was the son of a wealthy German family and they have retained an investigator of sorts named Matthew.  Matthew speaks no Icelandic so he hires an Icelandic lawyer, Thora, to translate and aid him in his search for the killer.  The Icelandic police have a suspect in custody but the family is not convinced of his guilt.

I was in Iceland two months ago and I fell in love with the country.  It was great to return there, even under such dark circumstances.  It’s always neat when you recognize landmarks and street names in a novel.  While many people read books taking place in the area they are about to visit I recommend for peace of mind that you wait to read the thrillers and mysteries until you’re back home!