Iceland's Sigurdardottir is the reigning queen of mysteries, earning accolades worldwide and even an upcoming TV series. She deserves every bit of her praise. Her series about Reykjavik lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir is one of the best out there: spunky but smart heroine, wonderfully exotic setting, great subplots about Iceland's financial collapse and intriguing mysteries that always manage to satisfyingly come together. Someone to Watch Over Me may be her best Thora book, seductively weaving together two seemingly disparate stories about a man with Down Syndrome accused of burning down his group home and the hit-and-run-death of a babysitter who now seems to be haunting her young charge.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer (Grade: A)
“Yrsa Sigurdardóttir is ensconced at or near the summit of Nordic crime writing.” —The Times (UK)
“Someone To Watch Over Me, just out, has already seen Yrsa Sigurdardóttir inevitably labeled 'Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson'” —The Independent (UK)
“This is a dark and brilliant novel.” —Sunday Times (UK)
“Thriller of the week. This is a finely drawn portrait.” —Mail (UK)
“This is a tough but moving novel, with an unusual plot and characters.” —Sunday Times (UK)
“A skilled author ... Extremely well plotted.” —Kiljan TV (Iceland)
“Nordic mystery writers can raise goosebumps as few others can, and Sigurdardottir shows she's one of the best.” —Booklist (starred) on I Remember You
“Sigurdardottir has written an excellent and seriously scary mystery with tangible and supernatural elements that will appeal to fans of John Ajvide Lindqvist.” —Library Journal (starred) on I Remember You
12/01/2014
In Sigurdardóttir’s absorbing if unevenly paced fifth Thóra Gudmondsdóttir mystery (after 2013’s The Day Is Dark), the Reykjavík attorney takes on a client named Jósteinn Karlsson, who claims that he wants his friend Jakob, who has Down’s syndrome, cleared of charges that he set fire to a residential care facility where, 18 months earlier, five people died. Mysterious text messages guide Thóra to evidence of rape, financial irregularities, legal ethics violations, and other abuses, suggesting new suspects and motives for the crime, but key witnesses are less than forthcoming. As she seeks to exonerate Jakob, the manipulative, cunning Jósteinn insinuates himself into the investigation for reasons she can’t identify. Sigurdardóttir adeptly weaves in the stark fallout from Iceland’s recent financial collapse, while poignantly showing the despair permeating working-class families and the devastating impacts on society’s most vulnerable members. A convoluted plot requires too much explanation, but readers fond of happy endings will feel gratified. (Feb.)
01/01/2015
When Icelandic lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is hired to prove the innocence of an inmate at a secure psychiatric facility, those originally involved with the case assure her that the police did their due diligence. She quickly begins to question whether her new client, a young man with Down syndrome, had the ability to plan and execute the fire at his assisted-living facility that killed five people. As Thóra investigates further into the case, she uncovers the many secrets that were conveniently covered up by the fire. Less clear is what connection it might have to a family haunted by the ghost of a young girl killed in a hit-and-run accident. By the end of the book, Thóra has unraveled the mysteries and brought more than one person to justice. VERDICT While her plot follows a fairly predictable line, Sigurdardóttir excels in the intricacies of the storytelling and in writing engaging and realistic characters. A solid bet for fans of Scandinavian mysteries or those who enjoy their suspense with a hint of the supernatural. [See Prepub Alert, 8/11/14; named Crime Novel of the Year by the London Sunday Times.]—Portia Kapraun, Monticello-Union Township P.L., IN
2015-01-08
A suspicious fire in a home for the severely disabled leads to an investigation of the Icelandic social safety net in Thóra Gudmundsdóttir's fifth outing (The Day Is Dark, 2013, etc.).The arson has supposedly been solved, and one of the house's residents, Jakob Porbjarnardóttir, who has Down syndrome, has been convicted and sentenced to a psychiatric facility. However, one of Jakob's fellow prisoners, a sex offender and all-around creep named Jósteinn Karlsson, hires Thóra under the pretense that Jakob's previous lawyer missed compelling evidence that would have pointed to the true fire-starter. What Karlsson really wants, however, is to play a complex game of cat and mouse with our heroine, using her to avenge what he perceives as past wrongs. Sigurdardóttir's thriller moves slowly at first but picks up speed as Thóra speaks to more people involved with the burned-down facility—the families of the other residents, the therapists and other staff who worked there, and the beleaguered former director, who is certainly hiding something (as is Jakob's first, barely competent lawyer). When she discovers that a comatose patient had been pregnant at the time of her death in the fire, the mystery deepens, and Thóra's tenacity becomes more compelling and poignant. The backdrop of the novel is, of course, the collapse of the Icelandic economy, with rocketing unemployment and everyone feeling squeezed (literally, in Thóra's case; her household is composed of her; her out-of-work boyfriend; her two children; one grandchild; and her financially imprudent parents). Yet there are also the moving stories Thóra uncovers of families with disabled children, their sacrifices and their attempts to make the lives of society's most vulnerable members a little better. Unusual material for a mystery, but Sigurdardóttir handles it deftly through Thóra, who is as compassionate as she is intelligent and dogged.
