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My Soul to Take (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir #2)

by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Bernard Scudder (Translator), Anna Yates (Translator)

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 1,293 ratings · 127 reviews

Long-buried secrets go hand in hand with modern-day murder in this second thriller featuring attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir from Iceland's queen of crime fiction

When the body of a young woman--badly beaten and with pins inserted into her feet--is found at a New Age health resort in a renovated farmhouse, lawyer and single mother of two Thora Gudmundsdottir is called upon to...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published April 28th 2009 by William Morrow & Company (first published 2006)

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Aug 27, 2012 Lorri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book by the author to be translated from Icelandic to English. If you've never been to Iceland, then enjoy the realistic characters and the well developed story line (murdered woman/New Age Health Resort). If you've been to Iceland, or wish some day to visit, then dive in to the vivid descriptions of the Snaefellsness Peninsula and the belief in the supernatural. It is worth your while to start with the first book - Last Rituals - then read My Soul to Take. Then move onto the...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really didn't like this one at all and even took to skimming towards the end, but she gets a star for good prose style. If you are ok with that sort of silly, burlesque humor (such as Ruth Rendell, for example, can get into -- someone I know describes it as 'tongue in cheek'), then you may like this one just fine. Unfortunately, it drives me crazy. So that was part of the problem. There were dopey gags like her 15 yo son walking out of his father's house with his 8 yo sister and his about-to-g...more I really didn't like this one at all and even took to skimming towards the end, but she gets a star for good prose style. If you are ok with that sort of silly, burlesque humor (such as Ruth Rendell, for example, can get into -- someone I know describes it as 'tongue in cheek'), then you may like this one just fine. Unfortunately, it drives me crazy. So that was part of the problem. There were dopey gags like her 15 yo son walking out of his father's house with his 8 yo sister and his about-to-give-birth 15 yr old girlfriend, taking the mother's trailer, in spite of not having a license, because his father's karaoke singing (on the sisters toy machine) was irritating him. And the main character, their mother, in one breath says "I'd better see to my children's safety. They're the most important thing in my life" and in another completely blows them off, not picking them up as planned, saying "oh, they'll be alright". Weird.

Another problem was that the whole set up was too off the wall unrealistic. The main character investigating is a lawyer named Thora. She doesn't work with the police but mostly in opposition to them, doing her own investigation, stealing key evidence because she's curious about it, conducting her own interviews on the thin pretext that she's a lawyer helping her client out, and proceeds to ask the most probing investigative questions - and everyone opens right up to her (unless they're obviously blocking her - which, if they do that, they do with a vengance!). The result of all this is that she never has all the evidence and the police never have all the evidence, so instead of cogently solving a crime, you end up trailing around with this woman as she bounces through her comical life. It ends up feeling wasteful of time and frustrating.

Another anomaly: In pretty much any crime novel in the world, the scene of a horrific crime is secured, people (especially in a setting like a hotel where people come and go) are interviewed right away, and action is at least begun in a meaningful way right away. Not here. These police lolly gag around and barely try get out to start investigation on a crime that happened on a Thurs until the following Monday! They collect some tantalizing evidence but you never see their thought process, their crime-solving. You instead bounce back to Thora, who goes on and on in her crazy way. She's utterly inexperienced at criminal law, but does she try to help this client who could die because of her ineptitude? No. In that burlesque humor - that silly style - she instead sort of laughs and shrugs and says 'oh well' and hopes her client doesn't find her out. It left me saying "oh for heaven's sake!" way too much. And I got really bored as she dragged round and round with incomplete information.

The storyline itself was pretty interesting (I won't put out any spoilers), and so if you can stand the other issues with plotting and character, it could be a good read. Personally I couldn't get over what I thought were its flaws. (less)

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Jan 06, 2013 Anna rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Bridget Jones and Nancy Drew

Shelves: 2013, bookcrossing

Iceland's perhaps best known accidental detective, Thora, investigates ghosts and two deaths in a holistic spa in the rural Ireland.
World, or those who missed Last Rituals, meet Thora: a single mum and lawyer, 40ish, who is definitely not your standard alcoholic loose cannon detective. Imagine an adult Nancy Drew... a single mum Nancy Drew who's much more a 40 year old Bridget Jones (charm, clumsy awkward things she says, thinks, wears, and does)... gone Angela Lansbury. With her, like in the fi...more Iceland's perhaps best known accidental detective, Thora, investigates ghosts and two deaths in a holistic spa in the rural Ireland.
World, or those who missed Last Rituals, meet Thora: a single mum and lawyer, 40ish, who is definitely not your standard alcoholic loose cannon detective. Imagine an adult Nancy Drew... a single mum Nancy Drew who's much more a 40 year old Bridget Jones (charm, clumsy awkward things she says, thinks, wears, and does)... gone Angela Lansbury. With her, like in the first book, is her German boyfriend Matthew, and her kids.

Thora gets a nice break of her typical cases involving e.g. older folks who don't like the Icelandic rules of where the opening for mail delivery should be located on the door when a friend and client asks her to investigate ghosts and bad spirits in his holistic spa far away from everything. Since that'll be a nice break she accepts, and soon she finds herself investigating the death of the architect who was planning the renovation of the hotel. I still don't know if the book, like the first one, is supposed to funny, or is it just me who finds Thora like soaps in TV; seeing how she's awful in mostly anything (financially a disaster, and has no problems when her 15 years old son knocked up a 14 year old girl, and who now drives her SUV and winnebago she can't afford, without a licence... for which the legal age in Iceland is 18 by the way. That's just a few examples), she makes everyone else feel good about themselves. The story is again told much from Thora's point of view, so there are plenty of moments when you'd want to smack her, but it's getting better. The story has good elements, lots of interesting characters that could work in a lot of twisted ways for the resolution. The location, Iceland, the bits of myths and history are interesting too.

Yet for a while again I was wondering why I read the book. Well, I had got this book before I read the first one (I wasn't that impressed with the first one, by the way). It has still the same kind of awkward and funny pieces in both Thora's thinking or her dialogs, and in the general telling that I did add on the first book's notes. Thora's still awful. But it had it's grace - the elements and possibilities in the story, some of the delicious and way more interesting characters than Thora. But it still had also Thora, and it still felt too much of a Bridget and a bad soap. If Thora was ever to be made in films or TV series, I'd want to see either a really fattened up Renee Zellweger or a fat version of Amanda Freitag (from Chopped in Food Network) play her, as I can' t think of any ladies to do the bridgetness better.(less)

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Apr 27, 2012 David Fuller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

In today's spiralling Icelandic economy, it helps to have a second career to fall back on.

Fortunately for Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, a director of one of Iceland's largest engineering firms, she sidelines as an award-winning mystery writer.

Sigurdardóttir, who has also written five children's novels, saw her debut adult novel, Last Rituals, published in 30 languages in 100 countries. The book, which introduced her crime-solving heroine Thora Gudmundsdottir, garnered international acclaim.

She brings Tho...more

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Feb 24, 2010 Sandra Kasturi rated it 3 of 5 stars

I quite liked this--Iceland itself (or part of it) becomes a kind of bleak character in the book; in fact reviews state that that's one of the things that appeals. But I actually think that there should have been MORE of Iceland in the novel...it felt very prosaic at times when I wanted it to be lyrical. Perhaps that's just a translation issue? Other difficulties include characters making statements that seem kind of naive and ludicrous (i.e. "Women don't do...[fill in blank:]" or "Men of that a...more

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Dec 04, 2009 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hearing babies cry in the fog and shadowy images of young girls in mirrors can be chalked up to skittish nerves and flights of fancy, not ghosts, as far as Thora Gudmundsdottir, single mother and attorney at law is concerned. Her client, Jonas, on the other hand is a true believer and he has promised her an all expenses paid indulgent weekend at his New Age resort if she will come and see these supernatural occurrences for herself.

She travels to the newly renovated health resort that was erecte...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Wanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers, scandinavian-authors

I wish I liked this series of books more than I do. But I remembered, as I read this novel, that I felt the same ambivalence about the first one. After thinking it over for a while, I realized that I just don't connect to the main character, Thora. I don't care about her. Its like the author looked at other successful Scandinavian fiction and just created a checklist: Divorced? Check! Problematic ex-spouse? Check! Kids being challenging? Check! Foreign love interest that she's not sure about? Ch...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Páll Gudmundsson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Det var faktiskt ljudboken jag hade men hittade inte den i listan på Goodreads.

Det var intressant för mig som islänning att lyssna på en isländsk bok på svenska. Maria Richardson som läser den gör ett riktigt bra jobb och lyckas uttala de isländska namnen nästan 100% rätt förutom huvudpersonen som hon uttalar som tóra istället för thóra.

Jag misstänker att när man läser en bok som är översatt från ett annat språk är det alltid lätt att missa små nyanser i språket fast den kan vara bra översatt o...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Margarethe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: island, krimi

Das war eine Steigerung zum ersten Buch (Das letzte Ritual). Das war ja schon etwas arg abwegig. Im gefrorenen Licht geht es isländischer zu, Fabelwesen, Wiedergänger und Leute, die daran glauben. Und einige die verunsichert werden.
Angesiedelt ist das Buch in einem WEllnesshotel i Westen Islands. Die "sensiblen" Leute reagieren auf Spuk und zack schon ist der erste Mord da. Das WEllnesshotel ist um einen alten Hof gebaut worden und nach und nach kommt die gruselige Geschichte des Hofes auf. Dor...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Henni rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, krimi

Islandske krimier er ikke det jeg har læst meget af, men denne krimi kunne nu i og for sig sagtens have foregået et sted i resten af norden - bortset fra de islandske navne og en enkelt henvisning til et islandsk digt er der ikke meget Island over bogen.
Plottet er egentligt ganske godt skruet sammen, vores heltinde Thora kommer til kurstedet for at undersøge (afvise) påstande om spøgeri, men bliver viklet ind i mordet på en ung arkitekt der har arbejdet på kurstedets udvidelse.
Via Thoras undersø...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this 2nd book featuring Thora. It reminds me a little of Camilla Lackberg (the female protagonist, her relationship with her family and the fact that they're a part of the story). I also like that the beautiful landscape of Iceland is basically a character in its own right. The mystery here is pretty good, with many twists and unexpected turns. Some of the humor seems a little simplistic, but I wonder if that might be the translation?

The relationship between Thora and Matthew se...more

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May 10, 2010 S.D. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This is the second in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series which is set in Iceland. Thora’s client owns a New Age resort which he believes is haunted. He feels the rumors and folklore will hurt his business and asks for Thora’s assistance. There is a lot of history to the property where the resort has been built and some old farm houses are still standing. But something happened years ago during an era when people left their children in the cold to die because they couldn’t feed them. There were also...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Kirsten Whyte rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"A grisly murder is committed at a health resort situated in a recently renovated farmhouse, which turns out to be notorious for being haunted. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is called upon by the owner of the resort - the prime suspect in the case - to represent him. Her investigations uncover some very disturbing occurrences at the farm decades earlier - things that have never before seen the light of day . . ."

"My Soul to Take is a chilling, dark and witty crime novel, and a welcome return f...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Cathy Cole rated it 4 of 5 stars

First Line: The child felt the cold creeping up her legs and back, and she tried to sit up straight in the front seat to get a better view.

The body of a young woman is found on the beach of a New Age health resort, and attorney Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is asked to be present when the resort owner is questioned by the police. At first her time away could be considered a bit of a vacation away from the workplace and her children, but the feeling doesn't last long. The entire area is thought to be haun...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scandinavia, crime

This is the second novel featuring Icelandic lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, and having read the first novel last year I found this follow up to be another enjoyable read.

It's a gritty crime novel similar in many respects to other novels of this genre but I like the fact that the lead character is a 30/40-something woman with a female outlook rather than your typical 50-something male grumpy detective with a chip on his shoulder about life.

The crime mystery is also well constructed and leaves the...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Rebecca Martin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: global-detective-fiction

My feeling about this book: What the heck is everyone so excited about? I read several very positive reviews of the book, but I found it extremely hokey and old-fashioned and the writing....well, I can't take Sigurdardottir to task because I have no idea what the original prose is like, so let me just complain about the atrocious translation instead. I recall having the same feelings about this author's earlier novel, Last Rituals. The prose is flat and only rises in interest when the choice of...more

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May 15, 2010 Toni Osborne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series

This Icelandic crime novel is a thrilling read, an array of intricately woven plots unravelling slowly and mysteriously. A novel that has all the essential elements to peak the reader's interest leaving him somewhat spellbound.

The story brings lawyer Thora Gudmindsdottir to a recently developed health resort to gather information regarding the newly converted farmhouse. Her client Jonas purchased the propriety earlier and now believes the sellers purpos...more

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Oct 10, 2009 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries

I broke my own rule and jumped into the middle of series with this one. I will definitely go back and start at the beginning. I think this is the only mystery set in Iceland that I've ever read, and I really enjoyed it. Thora was a little annoying as a main character, as she was always doing things she would never get away with in real life. It's more like a cozy than the darker Scandinavian tone I was expecting, but I did enjoy it.

Thora's biggest client, New Ager Jonas, calls her to report a p...more

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Sep 01, 2011 James Perkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a spooky and atmospheric Icelandic detective novel featuring lawyer-cum-sleuth Þóra Guðmundsdóttir. Initially hired by the owner of a New Age health resort to argue about the purchase with the former owners, she gets more than she bargained for when a murder is discovered on the hotel property. Determined to clear the owner's name, Þóra's does her own detective work to try and find the killer, and uncovers old secrets that continue to have repercussions today. The translation is good and...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Arwen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-suspense

Two murders, ghostly babies crying, impossibly long Icelandic names and complicated family trees, all set against a broody, hostile background make for an interesting book. I enjoyed it though don't think it is particularly well written. The heroine is a lawyer but another of those slightly irritating ones who decide to do police work, accompanied by her totally superfluous boyfriend - seriously the only role he plays is to say 'Shall we take this to the police?'
The choice of crime scene, an is...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Margot rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scandinavian, detective-suspense, international, translation

Hauntings and creepy family history, with some Nazi stuff thrown in. And of course, Iceland as a setting makes everything more exotic. The protagonist/lawyer-detective Thora has the human, not-really-a-detective quality that makes the outsider perspective at once frustrating and satisfying. "Why won't they look at her evidence?" the readers rail against the head inspector for the case, about some flimsy theory that seems to plausible to us, through Thora's view. And at last, vindication when her...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Eva rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scandi-and-nordic-crime

3.5 stars would be more appropriate. I like Yrsa's books. The first chapter was really scary and sad at the same time. Then the scary part evaporated in spite of the ghost line of the story. That was the biggest drawback. I must agree with with a review I read on eurocrime.co.uk, that the attention is focused more on Thóra - the "detective" and not on the personages responsible for the crime so the story lacks more insight as the background is percieved through Thóra's eyes only. What I apprecia...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Regi Caldart rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book as a part of my university's cultural experience (this year, the theme is Scandinavia, with various books, lecture and movies to introduce students to the culture of the area). I must admit, when I found this novel to be a murder mystery, I was thrilled and finished it within a week. I was, however, disappointed in that there was not more about Iceland in it. Some of the cultural references were lost on me, so I think I didn't get as much out of it as I could have. However, the...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Beth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not to be too critical here, but either a lot was changed in translation (from the Icelandic) or it’s just not a very good read. It didn’t deliver the “frequent frissons of fear” promised by the London Times—just a number of frissons of irritation. The first few chapters were fast and competent, but there were way too many characters whose heads the author hopscotched through. Head hopping, the Nazi theme, and the fact that the killer didn’t even step on stage until the last third of the book ma...more

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May 19, 2013 Sigfríður Guðjónsdóttir rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mín uppáhalds bók eftir Yrsu. Kannski vegna þess að hún gerist á einum af mínum uppáhalds stöðum á Íslandi þ.e. á Snæfellsnesi. Dularfullt morð er framið við Búðir á Snæfellsnesi og leiðir sagan okkur um sveitirnar, farið er með mann aftur í tímann þar sem útburður barna var algengur og óútskýrt "útbúrðarvæl" heyrist reglulega. Stundum frekar "krípí" á köflum en þannig eru nú einu sinni sögurnar hennar Yrsu. Þóra lögmaður stendur sína plikt og er farin að vera með þýskum manni sem við kynntumst...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Jetty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: eigen-boeken, 2012

Advocate Thóra Gudmundsdóttir reist af naar het eiland Snaefellsness. Een van haar cliënten, Jonás Juliusson, wil namelijk een schadeclaim indienen in verband met misleiding bij de verkoop van het perceel. Reden: het zou er spoken en hiervan was bij de verkoop geen melding gemaakt. Thóra wil proberen om haar cliënt op andere gedachten te brengen aangezien een rechter een dergelijke claim naar alle waarschijnlijkheid af zal wijzen.

Wanneer Thóra eenmaal op het eiland is wordt er een vrouw dood aan...more Advocate Thóra Gudmundsdóttir reist af naar het eiland Snaefellsness. Een van haar cliënten, Jonás Juliusson, wil namelijk een schadeclaim indienen in verband met misleiding bij de verkoop van het perceel. Reden: het zou er spoken en hiervan was bij de verkoop geen melding gemaakt. Thóra wil proberen om haar cliënt op andere gedachten te brengen aangezien een rechter een dergelijke claim naar alle waarschijnlijkheid af zal wijzen.

Wanneer Thóra eenmaal op het eiland is wordt er een vrouw dood aangetroffen op het strand. Haar gezicht is onherkenbaar verminkt, ze blijkt verkracht en er steken naalden in haar voetzolen. Hiermee komen de prioriteiten van Thóra heel anders te liggen, zeker wanneer haar cliënt eerst als getuige en, na een tweede moord, als verdachte in deze zaak wordt gehoord. Deze tweede moord is zo mogelijk nog gruwelijker dan de moord op de vrouw. Hierbij is een man vermoord met een paard. Ook deze man heeft naalden in zijn voetzolen.

Thóra geloofd in de onschuld van Jonás maar de politie denkt er toch anders over. Daarom gaat Thóra deze zaak zelf onderzoeken, samen met haar Duitse vriend Matthew, en zij ontdekt al snel dat er in het verre verleden, binnen de familie van de vorige eigenaren, de nodige geheimen waren en dingen zijn gebeurt die tot op de dag van vandaag bij ontdekking nog de nodige gevolgen kunnen hebben. Het lijkt erop dat de vermoorden iets hadden ontdekt wat de dader voorgoed in het verleden wil laten. Er zijn alleen ook meer recente geheimen die een reden voor de moorden zou kunnen zijn. Gedreven door de wil om achter de waarheid te komen raakt Thóra alleen maar meer gefixeerd op deze zaak en bijt zij zich er steeds verder in vast.

Dit is een boek dat je oppakt, opent en pas weer dicht wilt slaan wanneer het uit is. Ik heb het dan ook vrijwel in een ruk uitgelezen. Niet omdat het zo vreselijk spannend is, want dat valt eigenlijk wel mee, maar omdat het een boek is dat je in zijn greep houdt. Na elke pagina wil je snel omslaan om te kijken of je er dan eindelijk achter zult komen wie de schuldige is. Je zult echter bijna tot het laatst moeten wachten voordat je weet wie de dader is, en het blijkt iemand te zijn die je niet verwacht. (less)

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Jan 10, 2013 Maria João Fernandes rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

"Os pecados antigos crescem tal como as velhas dívidas." - Uma citação desprovida de uma significação especifica, de um livro igualmente liberto de reflexões de maior.

"Ladrão de Almas" é o segundo livro da série de Þóra Guðmundsdóttir. Com excepção do prólogo, que remota a acontecimentos passados no ano de 1945, a acção desenrola-se num hotel que privilegia eventos espirituais e se foca em tratamentos de bem-estar. Situado na península de Snaefellsnes, na Islândia, este local vai ser o palco de...more "Os pecados antigos crescem tal como as velhas dívidas." - Uma citação desprovida de uma significação especifica, de um livro igualmente liberto de reflexões de maior.

"Ladrão de Almas" é o segundo livro da série de Þóra Guðmundsdóttir. Com excepção do prólogo, que remota a acontecimentos passados no ano de 1945, a acção desenrola-se num hotel que privilegia eventos espirituais e se foca em tratamentos de bem-estar. Situado na península de Snaefellsnes, na Islândia, este local vai ser o palco de um assassino que, curiosamente, espeta alfinetes nos pés das vitimas, de forma a impedir que voltem como espíritos.

Thora é advogada do dono das instalações, Jonas Juliusson, e é a pedido deste que se vai instalar lá para investigar os espíritos que o andam a atormentar. Apesar do seu cepticismo em relação ao mundo sobrenatural, Thora sente-se entusiasmada por ver a sua rotina alterada. Durante o desenrolar da história vão-se lhe juntar o namorado alemão Matthew, ambos os filhos e a futura mãe do seu futuro neto.

O livro começa com uma promessa de um enredo misterioso e estimulante. Porém, o ritmo da narrativa torna-se cada vez mais cansativo e previsível.No final, nem o tom de humor cativante de Yrsa Sigurðardóttir consegue salvar o enredo.

Relativamente às personagens, com excepção do casal principal, desde os clientes e funcionários do hotel às pessoas que vivem na vizinham-se, todos parecem estar envolvidos numa aura de indiferença: as suas personalidade são isentas de características interessantes e o seu poder de atracão é mínimo, para não dizer inexistente.

Ao longo da história, no decorrer da investigação e procura pela resposta ao enigma, o leitor depara-se com eventos passados. Thora descobre a história de uma família que está ligada ao acontecimento que nos introduziu a obra. Quero manifestar o meu desagrado em relação à complexidade desnecessária deste fio condutor e a irrelevância de algumas situações descritas. O número excessivo de personagens e as fracas descrições das suas relações apenas contribuem para uma maior alheamento em relação ao livro.

O que mais me agradou, tal como no livro "O Último Ritual" foi a personalidade de Thora, a personagem principal, da sua família invulgar e da forma como todos se relacionam entre si. Os desafios domésticos da advogada e a sua relação amorosa com o bancário alemão - com quem comunica em Inglês - conferem ao romance uma atmosfera divertida. Contudo, mesmo neste detalhe, senti que a autora não desenvolveu o suficiente as personagens e várias ideias parecem ter sido apenas parcialmente postas em prática.
Os diálogos que, inicialmente, começam por ser escritos de uma forma perspicaz e dotados de observações engraçadas, acabam por se tornar maçadores e repetitivos. O mesmo acontece com as descrições.

A temática do nazismo é abordada tão superficialmente que me questiono acerca da sua contribuição para o enredo. O prólogo que prometia uma viagem por um passado obscuro revelou-se uma desilusão.

Apesar dos inúmeros suspeitos com quem Thora se depara ao longo da sua estadia no hotel, o desfecho revela-se muito pouco surpreendente. Os motivos do assassino são tão desinteressantes, que seria melhor que a autora islandesa os mantivesse apenas para si.

O ponto alto do livro "Ladrão de Almas" é o caso que Thora tem em mãos no inicio da narrativa: um casal deixou de receber a sua correspondência devido ao facto de a caixa do correio se encontrar demasiado próxima do chão, o que vai contra um regulamento particular da Islândia. A partir desta premissa poderia ser escrito um mistério bastante mais envolvente do que aquele que se segue e em que nada lhe está relacionado.

Podia vos dizer que estou ansiosa pela leitura do "Cinza e Poeira",que aguarda a sua vez na minha estante, na esperança de me ver envolvida num enredo de qualidade superior, mas estaria a mentir.(less)

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Sep 16, 2011 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

Scandinavian mysteries seem to be popping up quite frequently these days. Arnaldur Indridason, Asa Larsson, Helen Tursten, and Yrsa Sigurdardottir represent the vanguard of this Scandinavian invasion. Coming across Sigurdardottir’s My Soul to Take here at the library I decided that I brief respite from my typical genre reading was in order. Subtitled as “a novel of Iceland” My Soul to Take is an engaging mystery with numerous twists and turns that constantly keep readers guessing.

My Soul to Take...more Scandinavian mysteries seem to be popping up quite frequently these days. Arnaldur Indridason, Asa Larsson, Helen Tursten, and Yrsa Sigurdardottir represent the vanguard of this Scandinavian invasion. Coming across Sigurdardottir’s My Soul to Take here at the library I decided that I brief respite from my typical genre reading was in order. Subtitled as “a novel of Iceland” My Soul to Take is an engaging mystery with numerous twists and turns that constantly keep readers guessing.

My Soul to Take is the second novel to feature attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir (after Last Rituals). The novel opens with Thora’s client Jonas, a superstitious New Age type, calling her to ask for assistance in determining if he has any legal grounds to contest the purchase of a farm on the grounds that it is haunted. Thora, who reluctantly agrees, arrives at the farm turned hotel just in time for the murder of Jonas’ architect Birna. Birna’s death sends Thora on a whirlwind investigation to discover the killer.

Thora is a fascinating character. A divorced mother of two, and soon-to-be grandmother she is struggling to make ends meet working at a small law firm. My Soul to Take doesn’t give reader’s a positive view of her role as a mother, she sort of passes the kids off on her ex-husband for part of the novel and their reappearance later in the novel seems a tad irresponsible on her part. At the same time she is obviously a working woman trying hard to perform well in her job and be a good mother. Still I felt later in the novel, as Thora sticks her nose in more and more places it doesn’t really belong, that the presence of her children as she went on to anger potential murder suspects was rather distressing. I’d have been more comfortable if a similar level of distress were evidenced in Thora’s behavior but that wasn’t the case. You do get the feeling that her full-time work, plus motherhood, combined with financial problems have left her a very tired woman. Her agreement to help her client is predicated on her need for a weekend away at a hotel/spa. Regardless of the argument if Thora is a good or bad mother she is a tenacious and dedicated investigator who doesn’t back down. I was extremely pleased that, despite the presence of Thora’s German boyfriend Matthew during most of the novel, she was never placed in a position to really require any kind of masculine assistance. In fact I rather enjoyed that Matthew was rather nonplussed, and somewhat baffled, by Thora’s dogged pursuit of the truth.

The primary mystery of My Soul to Take, teased during the novel’s prologue, takes a lot of turns. Sigurdardottir does a great job of constantly misdirecting readers with short, interspersed point of views outside of Thora’s main narrative. Each of these little sections sends readers in a different direction and challenging what few solid facts readers had been able to glean so far. It’s a clever narrative trick that easily sets leads both false and true. My Soul to Take, from my experience, is not a mystery whose outcome readers will be able to guess by the novel’s end. While the individual pieces of the puzzle are expertly revealed over the course of the novel both readers and Thora constantly struggle to fit those pictures into a cohesive whole. The ending provides a satisfying “aha!” moment made manageable by the fact that intuitive leaps to get to the truth conclusion were never glaringly obvious.

The windswept and rocky landscape of the Icelandic shore provide a colorful and expansive backdrop for My Soul to Take. The bleak nature of the surrounding environment, and a real sense of history (including a deep seed superstitious nature amongst the local populace) do wonders in terms of setting the tone. Indeed, the landscape becomes almost a character in its own right. That superstitious element in particular lends a spooky air to the novel that while reader’s, and characters, know them for false manage to cultivate a tiny seed of doubt.

My Soul to Take is a fascinating novel that keeps its focus on the mystery. While the characters are interesting, including Thora Gudmundsdottir, they are only give enough life to let them interact with the mystery. Indeed, that mystery itself remains the primary focus of the novel and, other than curiosity (at least at the start) there seems to be very little reason for Thora’s investigation. Thora is given just enough to make her character feel realistic but with broad enough strokes that she stands in as an adequate substitute for the reader. I finished the novel without a real sense of who she was as a person. I admire that she is a strong, independent female lead but lament the fact that she isn’t quite as fleshed out enough to make her feel real. Still, My Soul to Take is worth a look for mystery fans looking to give a foreign author a try and the setting provides a nice change of pace from that of American mystery fiction.(less)

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Jun 04, 2011 harryknuckles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I suppose, being Icelandic, that it can be said the author comes from that school of Scandinavian writers who have blossomed in the world of crime writing in recent years. However, she has a style which is her own, and should not be pigeonholed so simply.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a writer of both children's books and crime fiction. This is her second crime novel, using her main character, lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, although it is the first I have read.

The story of My Soul to Take begins in 1945...more I suppose, being Icelandic, that it can be said the author comes from that school of Scandinavian writers who have blossomed in the world of crime writing in recent years. However, she has a style which is her own, and should not be pigeonholed so simply.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a writer of both children's books and crime fiction. This is her second crime novel, using her main character, lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, although it is the first I have read.

The story of My Soul to Take begins in 1945. A child is taken from her home. Whatever happens in the present is influenced by this event.

Thora finds herself contacted by an old client , Jonas, who is setting up a holistic hotel on the site of two farms he has bought. He wants to know if he can get compensation for something not revealed at the sale - the fact that the site is haunted. Thora agrees to stay at the hotel to investigate, only to arrive just as the body of architect Birna is found on a remote beach.

The background to the murder goes back a generation to the two brothers who owned the two farms on the site. Soon there is another death and matters become more and more confused. Thora's investigation is not helped by the fact that her precocious young son runs off with his pregnant girlfriend. The life of the fictional detective rarely runs smoothly.

The beginning of the novel, in 1945, is suitably chilling with the child's viewpoint graphically described as the little girl is taken from her home. I almost didn’t want to continue reading the book because I am not very comfortable with horrific events like this. Fortunately, I continued. I wanted to discover what the connection was to the present day and the murders that take place.

Iceland is a fascinating background to the story, although the names are quite hard to follow, some of them seeming similar to one another to a British ear and eye - the book probably would benefit from being read in a fairly short space of time to make that aspect easier to follow.

In this book Thora has to tackle unpleasant family histories and Nazism in wartime Iceland. This was handled with a lightness of touch due to the nature of the protagonist. Thora can deal with unpleasant facts, and nasty deaths. The story pulls no punches, but does not wallow in grisly detail either. Neatly translated, this is a compelling read with a clever mixture of darkness and wit.
(less)

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Jan 31, 2011 Dave Riley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction

I thought the plot was a bit forced but with the greats sense of place and an appealing investigative lawyer, My Soul to Take has many charms that warrant the read. It may be a bit of 'Girl's Own" adventure and rely on Agatha Christie type dialogue to solve the murderings, but the secluded spot locale substitutes for the drawing room well enough primarily because whodunnit aint an easy prediction.

As Icelandic crime fiction goes -- Siguardardottir is a long way from the mind encased meanderings...more

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About Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997. Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.
In 1998 Yrsa published her first book for children, Þar lágu Danir í því (The Danes Were in Trouble There...more

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