My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Thora, the Icelandic lawyer/sometimes investigator in Last Rituals, is back again. This time she is investigating a murder in the West Fjords. She was originally on site to help her client Jonas with a real estate claim. He claims that the land he was sold for his new age hotel and spa is haunted and that fact was not properly disclosed before the sale went through. While Thora is there the hotel’s architect is found brutally assaulted and murdered on the beach near the hotel. Jonas can’t really remember where he was because he tends to forget things while under the influence so he is a prime suspect. Who killed the woman on the beach? And will they strike again?
The desolation of the area is at the forefront of this book. You know that you are in farm country where there isn’t an easy way to get from one point to another. Through the history of the area you see how built up things are becoming, at least by Icelandic standards. The land, its customs and its laws, are at the forefront so you experience Iceland every step of the way.
Thora doesn’t wait for the police to follow her hunches. She persues leads with the help of her long distance (now visiting) boyfriend Matthew. She claims it’s because she doesn’t want to bother the police unless the lead goes somewhere. We know it’s because she simple enjoys investigating and we enjoy following the leads with her wherever they may go.
