Sigurdardottir, Yrsa 1963- (Yrsa Sigurðardóttir)

PERSONAL:

Born 1963; married; children: two.

CAREER:

Civil engineer and technical manager at Kárahnjúkar dam project, Iceland; author.

AWARDS, HONORS:

International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Award, 2000; Icelandic Children's Book Award, 2003, for Biobörn.

WRITINGS:

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

þar lágu Danir í ðví (title means "Trouble Afoot for the Danes") Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1998.

Við viljum jólin í júlí, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1999.

Barnapíubófinn, búkolla og bókarránið, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2000.

B 10, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2001.

Biobörn (title means "Cinema Children"), Vaka-Helgafell (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2003.

"THORA GUDMUNDSDOTTIR" MYSTERY NOVEL SERIES

þriðja táknið, Veröld (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2005, translated from Icelandic by Bernard Scudder, published as Last Rituals: An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2007.

Sér grefur gröf (title means "My Soul to Take"), Veröld (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2006.

Aska (title means "Ash"), Veröld (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Yrsa Sigurdardottir balances her life as a civil engineer in Iceland with her life as a novelist. Even before gaining an international reputation as an author with the publication of her mystery novel þriðja táknið, translated from Icelandic by Bernard Scudder as Last Rituals: An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder, she received critical acclaim for her children's books. Her author profile for the Veröld's Publishing Web site, states that she has written five books for children: þar lágu Danir í ðví, Við viljum jólin í júlí, Barnapíubófinn, búkolla og bókarránið, B 10, and Biobörn ("Cinema Children"), which was awarded the Icelandic Children's Book Award in 2003. Since then, stated Iceland Review contributor Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir, Sigurdardottir has been considered "Iceland's uncrowned ‘Queen of Suspense’ and the country's only internationally-successful female crime author."

Last Rituals is the first book in the "Thóra Gudmundsdottir" mystery novel series. This series focuses on lawyer and single mother Thóra Gudmundsdottir and her investigations. Last Rituals begins when University of Reykjavík history professor Gunnar Gestvik discovers German student Harald Guntlieb dead in his office closet. It is determined that Guntlieb died of asphyxiation—but his eyes have been gouged out and a strange mystical symbol has been carved into his chest. Within a few weeks, Thóra is contacted by Harald's mother Amelia Guntlieb, who firmly declares her belief that the drug dealer arrested for Harald's murder was not responsible. She hires Thóra to work with a German investigator, Matthew Reich, to discover the person who actually killed Harald.

Thóra discovers that Harald studied medieval history at the university. His specialty and fascination, encouraged by his late grandfather, was in witchcraft and the ways in which it was punished throughout the medieval period. He took his interest in the subject matter a step further than most students, however, by joining a group called "Malleus Malificarum" (after the famous German witch-hunting manual) and by having a friend and fellow student named Dzri give him a surgically forked tongue. "When Harald's former landlord finds some key additional evidence, the police arrest Dzri, but Thóra and Matthew still worry that pieces are missing," explained a Kirkus Reviews contributor. "They tie up the loose ends, free the innocent … and … fall in love."

Reviewers celebrated Sigurdardottir's accomplishment in Last Rituals. Thóra and Matthew "have in common a sense of drollery that enables their relationship to develop in a bantering manner that seems more natural than fictional," Frank Wilson wrote in a review for the Philadelphia Inquirer. "In fact, by the time they have solved the crime, they are well on their way to becoming a Nordic-Germanic Nick and Nora Charles." The book, said Sharon Wheeler, a contributor to Reviewing the Evidence, "is a highly readable and entertaining debut novel which introduces two strong main characters amidst some fascinating historical and cultural storytelling." A reviewer for My Favourite Books stated that the book is full of Icelandic history, "and some stunning locales [are] visited. It also holds up a mirror to show the disenchantment of today's young people with being normal and revels in pushing the boundaries to show how far some people would go to prove that they are different and unique." Merrimon Crawford, in a review for YourHub.com Castle Rock, stated that the author creates "the best of two worlds" by blending a "realistic portrayal of Iceland's unique place in Medieval history and literature without being weighed down by a pedantic academic treatise." Crawford added that Sigurdardottir's "attention to precision makes Last Rituals a more intriguing read than some of the missing codex, manuscript, [and] symbol novels in current vogue." Crawford also noted Sigurdardottir's "careful attention to detail," calling the book "one of the best recent novels in the genre." "Thóra," Marx Swanholm stated in a Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune review, "is sharp, likable and wholesome—a pleasant companion in this lively, cleverly plotted page-turner."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Iceland Review, February 6, 2008, Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir, "Brilliant Plot, Bleak Characters: Aska by Yrsa Sigurdardottir," review of Aska ("Ash").

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007, review of Last Rituals: An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder.

Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, November 9, 2007, Marx Swanholm, "Nordic Noir," review of Last Rituals.

New York Times Book Review, October 7, 2007, Marilyn Stasio, "After-school Special," review of Last Rituals.

Philadelphia Inquirer, November 28, 2007, Frank Wilson, "Last Rituals, A Whodunit, with a Nordic Touch."

ONLINE

International Noir Fiction,http://internationalnoir.blogspot.com/ (July 17, 2008), Glenn Harper, review of Last Rituals.

My Favourite Books,http://myfavouritebooks.blogspot.com/ (July 17, 2008), review of Last Rituals.

Reviewing the Evidence,http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/ (July 17, 2008), Sharon Wheeler, review of Last Rituals.

Veröld Publishing Web site,http://www.verold.is/ (July 17, 2008), author profile.

YourHub.com Castle Rock,http://denver.yourhub.com/ (July 17, 2008), Merrimon Crawford, "Modern Murder Mystery with Medieval Witchcraft," review of Last Rituals.