Category Archives: Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Books of the Month – October 2011

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I didn’t manage a lot of reviewing in October but was lucky enough to have a couple of 5-star reads which means Book of the month is a difficult choice so I’m not going to make it. Tom Franklin‘s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is an absorbing tale about two boys who grown into men, set in rural Mississippi it captures the languid pace of the location beautifully. Although in many ways it is a book that concerns itself with race and racism it isn’t consumed by those issues in the way that a polemic would be. My second 5-star read was Alice LaPlante‘s Turn of Mind which is about Jennifer White, a surgeon who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and is also suspected of the murder of her friend and neighbour. The crime element takes second place to the exploration of the progression of the disease and Jennifer’s attempts to maintain some semblance of control.

Other recommended reads from the month are:

Arnaldur Indriðason‘s Outrage starts out as the investigation of the murder of a young man but ends up as something quite different. It’s one of those storylines you can imagine happening in your own world (unlike the serial killers making suits of human skin variety of book), 4 stars

Barry Maitland‘s Chelsea Mansions is a very tightly plotted police procedural which investigates the murder of an elderly American tourist in London. It’s full of plot twists, interesting characters and fascinating details about an intriguing part of London . 3.5 stars.

The Gallows Bird by Camilla Läckberg is another enjoyable instalment in the adventures of Patrick Hedstrom, his soon to be wife and the slightly incompetent police force of a small town in south west Sweden. I like the combination of humour, personal lives and good old-fashioned policing. 3.5 stars.

Carolyn Morwood‘s Death and the Spanish Lady is the start of a new series set in Australia after the end of World War One. Melbourne is in the grip of a deadly flu pandemic but when one hospital patient is murdered nurse Eleanor Jones is determined to uncover the truth. The historical fiction aspects of this novel are excellent and the characters are enjoyable to meet, the crime is a little bit simple to solve but overall this is a very enjoyable novel. 3.5 stars.

Dan Waddell‘s Blood Atonement is the second book to feature genealogist Nigel Barnes who helps the English police solve a series of crimes that appear to have something to do with one particular family lineage. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable book with a nice mix of sweet moments and hard policing for the professional investigators. 3.5 stars.

Denise Mina’s The End of the Wasp Season was a bit of a mixed bag for me as I thought the story’s structure and individual characterisations were terrific but there was a bit of a stereotypical feel to ‘rich people are awful, poor people are good-hearted’ tone of the book. 3 stars.

John Lawton‘s Second Violin is a sweeping epic set across the leadup to the Second World War and the first couple of years of the conflict. I did find it insightful about some issues, particularly the daft internment camps though I thought it a bit too ambitious in its scope. I’d have preferred it to focus on a few events in more depth whereas it seemed to me to cram all the major events and an example of every kind of war time experience into one novel. 3 stars.

Jussi Adler-Olsson‘s Mercy is a Danish novel telling the story of a difficult cop and his almost reluctant hunt for a woman who has been missing for 5 years. The book is funny and moving (sometimes at the same moment) and very compelling. 4.5 stars

The Man Who Went up in Smoke by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. The Martin Beck books are considered modern classics of crime fiction and I’m slowly reading them in order. This is number two and sees the main character travel from his native Sweden to locate a journalist who went missing in Hungary. 3.5 stars.

Nicole Watson‘s The Boundary tells the story of the aftermath of an unsuccessful native title claim made by the Corrowa people of Brisbane. Hours after handing down his judgment with respect to the claim the Judge who presided over the case is murdered and it’s not long before Police focus on the people involved with the claim as suspects. It is a fine addition to the growing library of contemporary Australian crime fiction which examines our society intelligently and realistically while telling a ripping yarn. 4 stars

Ruth Rendell‘s The Vault uses a fairly unbelievable premise to get now retired Reg Wexford, formerly of Kingsmarkham police, back into an investigation but that aside it’s a nicely complex story which has something of a love affair with the city of London. 3.5 stars

S J Bolton‘s Now You See Me is a bit of a departure for this author, being her first police procedural. It’s major storyline involved someone copying the crimes of Jack the Ripper which left me a little cold I admit but it’s full of suspense as always with Bolton. 3 stars

I thought for a minute that Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurdardottir had become mixed up with a Monty Python sketch when it started talking about the Cod War of the 1970′s but it was a real thing between Britain and Iceland. And people say crime fiction doesn’t teach you anything about the human condition. The book is funny and clever and it has a volcano. 3.5 stars.

Other happenings at the blog

Things were a bit quiet other than this, though I didn’t review Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca which generated a good discussion and I didn’t review Booker Prize shortlisted Snowdrops either. This one generated the nastiest (and most bizarre) email I’ve had since starting the blog. The silver lining to that cloud may be that I’ve learned a good Russian curse word but I want to check it out with a colleague who speaks fluent Russian before I start using it in impolite conversation.

My lone contribution to the SinC25 challenge was a post about genre busting female crime (or not) writers. Sorry Barbara, I’ll try to do better in November.

My review of reading apps available on the iPad is quite handy if I do say so myself, though I think there might need to be a part two in a couple of months.

What about you…was October a good reading month? Did you have a favourite book? Or did you acquire anything you’re itching to read? Any issue you need to get off your chest?

Maximum reading: minimum reviewing

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The main prompt for me to start this blog was to write down my thoughts about the books I read so that my future self would be a little less ignorant about my reading than I had been in the pre-blog days. Sadly this only works when I actually go to the bother of writing a review, something I have abjectly failed to do over the past week and a bit. I have read a rather astonishing 9 books since October 21 (the upside to insomnia) but only managed to review 2 of them. If I don’t at least write a few words about the rest my future self will be able to read them again as entirely new in a few short months so here are some mini reviews.

Outrage by Arnaldur Indriðason (translated by Anna Yates)

The 7th (in English anyway) of what must now be called the Reykjavik mysteries (due to the potentially sinister absence of its regular protagonist from this instalment) is a good old-fashioned police procedural in which one of Erlunder’s colleagues, gourmet cook Elinborg, investigates the murder of a young man in his Reykjavik apartment. Despite the fact the investigation is a slow one, featuring many frustrating dead ends, it makes for compelling reading as it uncovers the hidden layers of the victim’s life and, ultimately, leads the reader to ponder what they might do in the circumstances described in the book. There is a very authentic feel to both the crime and its solution. There’s also a rather nice depiction of Elinborg’s personal life which is one of highs and lows.  For me it’s not quite as hauntingly memorable as last year’s Hypothermia but still an excellent contribution to the series and the genre. Rating 4 stars.

Now You See Me by S J Bolton

Bolton’s fourth book tells the story of young DC Lacey Flint who finds a dying woman leaning on her car one evening and then becomes embroiled in the hunt for a killer whose gimmick is to recreate, at least partially, the crimes of Jack the Ripper. I’ve really loved Bolton’s first 2 books (and have the third here ready to read but was happy to read out of order when my library got this one in as the novels are all standalones) but did not enjoy this one quite as much. Partly this is because I think the theme of Jack the Ripper’s crimes being repeated is overdone and it bores the pants off me and I therefore found the folklore in the first half of the book more than a little tedious. I also was never entirely convinced that young Lacey’s role in the investigation was terribly realistic. I think crime writers have more license to be creative when they use ‘amateur sleuths’ as Bolton has done in the two other books I’ve read but in police procedurals things like a copper’s rank and relative experience have to ring vaguely true and here it just seemed bizarre that someone so new to the job would be given such status in the investigative team. There’s still suspense a-plenty though and the book actually got better as it went along (as the ‘Ripperology’ reduced). Rating 3 stars.

The Gallows Bird by Camilla Läckberg (translated by Steven T Murray, narrated by Eamonn Riley)

The fourth instalment of this semi-cosy series set in a small community in south-west Sweden is another solidly entertaining contribution. As always there is a strong element of the personal lives of the investigators as senior policeman Patrick Hedstrom prepares (or rather fails to prepare) for his wedding to Erica, his colleague Martin has some good news of his own and their newest colleague Hanna Kruse seems to have a rather dark secret. The story itself surrounds the death of a local shopkeeper in what is first thought to be a suicide and the subsequent linking of this to a series of other deaths around the country. There’s also a reality TV show being shot in the town and this too provides its own dramas as well as a dead body. As always the crime could be solved a bit more quickly by a bit brighter police force (and surely the poor old boss of the station deserves to have a change of luck with the ladies soon) but this does not detract from the naturally entertaining story full of humour and engaging people. I must admit I was thrilled when I learned my pre-order of the paper version of this book was not going to be issued because I thoroughly enjoy Eamonn Riley’s narration of the stories and am happy to see that volume 5 is already available via audible. Rating 3.5 stars

The Man Who Went up in Smoke by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo (translated by Joan Tate)

The second of 10 books featuring Martin Beck sees the protagonist called back from his summer holiday (after only 1 day) to head off to Budapest on the search for a journalist who has disappeared. In an attempt to avoid an international incident of any kind the investigation is an unofficial one though Beck does interact with both the Swedish embassy and the Hungarian police.  As something of a late starter to this series (first published 40 years ago) I am slowly reading them in order and finding them quite a treat, especially these editions from Harper Perennial which have forwards by modern-day crime writers (here it’s Val McDermid) and lots of interesting titbits at the end (interviews and wotnot). The story itself is tautly written, full of a dry humour (for which both the authors and the translator must be particularly congratulated) and makes compelling reading. I loved the sense of location (much of the story takes place in Hungary) and the period which somehow manages to convey the differences to today’s world without making it feel dated. Rating 3.5 stars.

Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (translated by Philip Roughton)

Reading the the third tale to feature Reykjavik lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir felt a lot like visiting the home of a good friend who you don’t see often enough. Three (and a quarter) bodies are discovered in the basement of a house on an Icelandic island which, along with its neighbours, was abandoned during the 1973 eruption of the island’s volcano. Although people have returned to live on the island this particular stretch of houses was covered by lava and ash and is only now being incorporated into an archaeological project. Thóra’s client Markus wants to rescue some items from his home before the project takes over but he is not expecting the bodies. When he becomes a suspect in the crime that led to their burial Thóra takes it upon herself to investigate the decades-old secrets being kept by various islanders. I love the combination of humour, domestic life and somewhat haphazard investigative style that are the hallmarks of this series though do have to admit that a bit of editing could have helped this instalment along (it’s 450+ pages for what is ultimately a fairly simple story). Still I did find the history of the island and its volcanic eruption very engaging and the starring role of Thóra’s secretary was a real treat in this outing. Rating 3.5 stars

Review: My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

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The second novel to feature Icelandic lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir opens with a chilling prologue from 1945 in which a young child appears is locked in some kind of cellar. The story proper takes place in contemporary times when Thóra is asked by the owner of a health spa, Jónas Júlíusson, to see if she can renegotiate the property’s sale price because it is haunted which is affecting staff and guests. When the architect working on the property’s extension is murdered and Jónas becomes a suspect her legal skills are tested. She and German lover Matthew, in Iceland for a holiday, investigate both the murder and its possible relationship to events from the past which may also explain the property’s haunting.

As with the first book in this series, Last Rituals, the most enjoyable aspect of this novel with much to offer is the dry, slightly cynical approach to life displayed by Thóra. Whether she is tackling the prickly staff and guests of the health spa or handling her problematic family which includes a 16-year old son who is about to make her a grandmother, Thóra is independent, inventive and witty. I suspect it’s no secret to regular readers of this blog that I like my female characters to be strong and interesting and Thóra is a definite favourite. The other characters, of which there are a plethora, are not quite so well developed and in particular I’d like to have seen Matthew do a bit more than tag along with Thóra playing the quirky but largely silent love-interest. That said, the dialogue between the two is terrific and its wholly natural feel is part of the evidence of an excellent, nuanced translation.

My Soul to Take is extremely well-plotted, linking present-day events with those of the past very cleverly and in a way that keeps the reader fully engaged. The book was a however little too long at 450+ pages and I think some of that length might have been saved by the inclusion of an old-fashioned family history chart to prevent the need for several repetitions of the complicated familial relationships involved in the events of the past. In the main though the traditional whodunnit with a pool of suspects who all seem to have hidden secrets is first-rate and the incorporation of a possible ghost and ‘those bloody Nazis who always make an appearance’ add nice touches.

I am a sucker for books that make me laugh at the same time as telling me a great story and so far Sigurdardottir’s series does both. Particularly with regard to its plot I think My Soul to Take is an improvement on its predecessor (which was a very good debut) and I’m very keen to read the third novel, Ashes to Dust, which happily for me has already been released (at least in the UK). A combination of a strong female character, intricate plot and dry humour is to be celebrated, especially when of this quality.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

My Soul to Take has been reviewed at DJs Krimiblog, Euro Crime and Reviewing the Evidence

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

My rating 4/5
Translators Bernard Scudder and Anna Yates
Publisher Hodder [this translation 2009, original edition 2006]
ISBN 9780340920664
Length 456 pages
Format trade paperback
Source I bought it

Books of the Month – May 2010

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That was then

I finished 15 books in May and, thankfully, had no DNFs (though I might have done had I not been too warm and lazy to get out bed and find a book other than this one). Only four of these were audio books though that was enough for me to achieve the obsessed level of the 2010 Audio Book Challenge (1 challenge down, 3 to go).

My pick of the month is Simon Lelic’s A Thousand Cuts which I read in print. It’s a very sad book but beautiful in its way and I found it extremely difficult to put down. It blurs the genre boundaries too and I’ve already recommended it to people who don’t normally read crime fiction.

Honourable mentions for the month go to

  • Shona MacLean’s debut historical mystery The Redemption of Alexander Seaton for transporting me virtually to a fascinating version of 17th Century Scotland
  • the latest installment of Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe series Midnight Fugue for being one of the most cleverly plotted books I’ve read in ages
  • Elly Griffiths’ The Crossing Places for introducing me to someone I think will become one of my very favourite characters, Ruth Galloway

I didn’t realise it until after finishing the list but the three honourable mentions are all audio books.

New Additions

It’s pretty easy to tell when my life is a bit pants because there is a correlation between the amount of books I acquire and my crankiness level. This month’s acquisition of 28 books should make most of you very glad you only know me virtually. My frenzy of buying, mooching, dowloading and saying yes to an unprecedented number of ARCs has gone part way to mitigating my bad mood. Among my new treasures are

Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s My Soul to Take which I am very much looking forward to reading, having enjoyed Last Rituals.

Imogen Robertson’s Instruments of Darkness because it seems I haven’t had my fill of historical crime fiction and am continuing to try new authors in this genre.

Affairs of State by Dominque Manotti is one of only a handful of books I’ve bought in an Australian bookstore this year as most books I buy these days make their way here from Book Depository with its cheaper prices and free shipping down under

What to read next?

I’ve still got three challenges to complete for this year but with 7 months to go I’m not panicking. Before the winner is announced on July 23 I also want to read the four remaining books that are on the shortlist for the Crime Writer’s Association International Dagger (an award for books translated into English). So in June expect to see reviews for

Rob Kitchin’s The White Gallows (its official publication date is 12 June and I want to have it read and reviewed around that date) (plus I’m itching to get to it)

Johan Theorin’s The Darkest Room (one of the six International Dagger hopefuls)

Petros Markaris’ Zone Defence (which I’m going to use for the final European leg of my global challenge)

The Uncomfortable Dead by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (a Mexican novel that I had to work hard to find so I could have a third country represented on the North American leg of my global challenge)

Hopefully there’ll be a whole lot more besides these but I don’t like to be too prescriptive about what I’m going to be reading as I never know where my mood might take me.

Chart of the month

Review: Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

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Title: Last Rituals

Author: Yrsa Sigurdardottier (translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder)

Publisher: Hodder [this translation 2008, original edition 2005]

ISBN: 987-0-340-920633

Length: 423 pages

Genre: Amateur Sleuth

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

My rating: 4/5

One-liner: A book about a mutilated body shouldn’t be funny but this one is deliciously so.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

At the University of Iceland the mutilated body of student Harald Guntlieb tumbles onto one of his professors when the door to a small room is opened one morning. Police soon arrest Harald’s friend Dori, who they believe to have been his drug supplier, for the murder. However Harald’s family in Germany are unsatisfied with the investigation and send an investigator they know, Matthew Reich, to Iceland who teams up with a local lawyer, Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, to find what the police might have missed. Together they re-trace the steps Harald took during his research into the history of witchcraft and magic, believing that might have played a role in his death.

When Last Rituals won the ‘what shall I read next’ roulette wheel spin I dove in without even reading the blurb let alone taking another look at the reviews that must have prompted me adding it to the TBR pile in the first place. Consequently I wasn’t anticipating a funny book so the laughs generated by Thóra’s humorous and somewhat cynical internal monologue and her sarcastic bantering with Matthew were a wonderful surprise (and a tribute to the translator as I think linguistic humour must be a difficult thing to get right). Probably because I tend to have a similarly bent view of the world I really appreciated Thóra’s attitude which, though irreverent in some circumstances, never got in the way of her getting things done. She also demonstrated genuine backbone when it came to standing up for her son in the face of overwhelming disapproval and I found myself liking Thóra, and the overall tone of the book, very much.

The plot is a standard whodunit despite the macabre overtones provided by the mutilated body and the research topic chosen by Harald. His small group of friends, all part of a group devoted (at least part-time) to the performance of sorcery, provide a pool of potential suspects although I have to admit I didn’t find these characters quite as believable as the two main characters. However the fact that the case led Thóra and Matthew to discover interesting tidbits about Iceland’s history of dealing with witches and witchcraft was interesting (if a bit complicated at times).

Last Rituals is the author’s first adult novel (she also writes children’s books) and it’s quite a stellar debut. The characters and style are original and the plot is intricate but logical. I’m looking forward to more from Yrsa Sigurdardottier.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Last Rituals is also reviewed at Euro Crime, again at Euro Crime, Reviewing the Evidence and at Aust Crime Fiction