Last Rituals: Thora Gudmundsdottir Book 1 - Tapa dura

'Dark, deep and icy as an Icelandic fjord; this is a rich and rewarding debut novel of ancient mysteries and very modern murder.' -- Mark Billingham 20071207 'Given the dark subject matter, this is a surprisingly funny book... a quirky and interesting read.' -- Guardian 20071222 'Considering its population is only around 300,000, Iceland seems to have more than its fair share of good crime writers. Yrsa Sigurdardottir keeps up the standard with LAST RITUALS, a grisly chiller set in the depths of winter... Her mystery is absorbing and, untypically, instead of the usual gloomy middle-aged man, her sleuth is a young woman... It's an accomplished debut, with credible characters and a personable heroine.' -- Sunday Telegraph 20080106 'LAST RITUALS shows that Yrsa Sigurdardottir has arrived, fully formed, it seems, as something of a unique talent in the field... What makes Sigurdardottir's crime debut such an exhilarating experience is the way in which she takes familiar ingredients. but throws off a series of innovative riffs on these concepts... [She] matches Tess Gerritsen and Kathy Reichs in the bloodchiller stakes. But like all Scandinavian writers, it's her acute sense of place that gives such character to her work, and readers may feel a keen desire to visit Reykjavik after reading LAST RITUALS.' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 20080129 'You will now have to remember two very good Icelandic crime writers. Arnaldur Indridason, who made his mark with his Inspector Erlendur a few years ago, is now joined by Yrsa Sigurdardottir... This is entertaining, well-plotted and cleverly combines the historical and macabre with Thora's life.' -- Marcel Berlins, The Times 20080120 'Fans of peculiar and grisly crime novels will find much in LAST RITUALS to titillate them.' -- Observer 20080210 'an intricately plotted tale that keeps the reader guessing whodunit, or indeed whether it was murder at all, right until the very end. Following in the footsteps of bestselling crime writer and Icelandic compatriot Arnaldur Indridason, it is clear that while Reykjavik may indeed be cool, it is also murder central as far as the imagination of some of its citizens is concerned.' -- Sunday Express 20080225 'After its grisly opening, LAST RITUALS turns out to be a surprisingly light and playful novel, with a jaunty translation by the late Bernard Scudder. Lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir is an engaging detective, and the black magic and hocus-pocus of the main plot prove to be of less interest than Thora's more earthly concerns, such as coping with her truculent teenage son and embarking on an unsuitable romance.' -- Daily Telegraph 20080120 'A debut jammed with suspense.' -- Woman and Home 20080101 'Enjoyable. a good read. the story is informative and interesting, and makes an encouraging start to a promised series.' -- Literary Review 20071201 'Suspenseful, compelling and unique.' -- Kirkus Reviews 20070801

A young man is found brutally murdered, his eyes gouged out. A student of Icelandic history in Reykjavik, he came from a wealthy German family who do not share the police's belief that his drug dealer murdered him. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is commissioned by his mother to find out the truth, with the help - and hindrance - of boorish ex-policeman Matthew Reich. Their investigations into his research take them deep into a grisly world of torture and witchcraft both past and present, as they draw ever closer to a killer gripped by a dangerous obsession...