LAST RITUALS. (2007). Yrsa Sigurdardottir. ***.This was the first novel from this novelist from Iceland. There were lots of kudos when it came out, and it was subsequently translated into “over thirty languages.” It was meant to be representative of Icelandic noir, but it really came out to be a cozy with a few weird scenes thrown in to make it seem non-cozy. The jacket gives a lot away; the novel is described as one of “secret symbols, medieval witchcraft, and modern murder.” Well…there you are. The reader certainly gets what he is promised; there are all those things. What this mystery/suspense/thriller lacks is mystery, suspense, and thrills. Although well written, it reads like expanded outline of a business proposal. A company’s annual report provides more suspense than this novel. I can’t deny the talent: It’s there. Ms. Yrsa just needs to learn to write so that the reader is compelled to turn the page. Anyway…the story starts out with the body of a young man being found in one of the offices of the history department at a university in Iceland. The young man was from Germany on an exchange program. He had been killed and mutilated: his eyes had been gouged out. His mother calls from Germany and talks with Thora Gudmondsdottir, a young (36-years-old) lawyer, and a single mom with two children. She wants to engage Thora to investigate the murder since she doesn’t believe that the local police did a thorough job – even though they have a suspect under arrest. Knowing nothing about investigations, Thora takes on the case, and we go on from there. The flaps on this copy that I read say that a second book was on the way. I’ll have to see if it did come out and if she managed to change her approach.
While not totally overwhelmed with this one, I'll chalk it up to being the first in a series of novels planned by this author. It takes a while for characters, etc. to be developed, so I'll wait for her second novel to see how it turns out. Last Rituals wasn't bad but it wasn't great. The main character is lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, a lawyer in a tiny firm with an unruly secretary that came with the place. She doesn't make a lot of money to support her two children, so when she gets a very unusual request that promises to pay well, she is intrigued. It seems that a German student, one Harald Guntlieb, has been found dead in the History Department building at the local University. The police have a suspect in jail, but Harald's parents don't think he did it. They are paying Thora to look into the case, and send a representative (Matthew) with some files for her to look over. As time goes on, Thora & Matthew find out a lot about not only Harald, but his gruesome interests. The book has a bit of Icelandic church history in it, as well as some history of the dark arts. It also gives a peek into Thora's character, as a mom and as a lawyer. Some of the parts involving her kids were a bit unbelievable, but the mystery is okay and interesting.I would recommend it to anyone who has an interested in mysteries from outside the US, or anyone who likes Scandinavian mysteries. It's a series opener, so you know the best is yet to be.
What do You think about Last Rituals (2007)?
More like 2.5. I felt this novel was the author's almost amateurish attempt at a first novel. I don't know whether it was me, the unpleasant characters, the bad translation from Icelandic or the dated pop cultural references, but I was not captivated by this novel in the least. This series might improve in subsequent volumes.A German exchange grad student studying witchcraft folklore in Iceland, Harald, is strangled; his eyes are removed and odd markings made on his body. Thora, a lawyer, and Michael from Germany investigate. Thora feels the suspect the police have arrested is innocent. Involved are a group of Harald's "hippie"-type friends. I did learn something of medieval Icelandic witchcraft, although I'm not sure how authentic the author's information was.
—Jane
When a wealthy young German, Harald Guntlieb, is found dead in a Rekyavik university, the cops are quick to pin it on a drug dealer with whom he associated. Thora Gudmndsdottir is a thirty-something single mother of a lawyer struggling to get by. When Harald’s mother offers Thora impressive money to look into her son’s death, she teams up with the family’s representative in Iceland and the hunt is on. As Thora learns, Harald was no ordinary spoiled rich kid. He was into some pretty strange stuff. This is a fun read, with an interesting mystery and enough local color to matter.
—Will Byrnes
Even thought Last Rituals starts with a gruesome murder, the rest of the book is fascinating romp through the ancient history of Iceland as well as through the contemporary events in attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir's life. Thora is an appealing main character. She has a sense of humor about her life and she also deals with the realities of being a single working mother with a practical, down-to-earth approach. When she agrees to help the German Matthew Reich to look into the bizarre death of a German student who came to Iceland to study the witch hunts that characterized Iceland's history, they make an appealing team. Yrsa Sigurdardottir, the author, has the good sense to balance the macabre facts of the murder with scenes of Thora's family life, as well as scenes of Iceland's barren beauty. The only problem with the book is not with the plot or the characters, which are both satisfyingly developed, but with the translation. I can't imagine the difficulties of translating from Icelandic to English, but at times the syntax gets somewhat choppy.
—Diane
