Free Download | My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland | Yrsa Sigurdardottir Novel

Long-buried secrets go hand in hand with modern-day murder in this second thriller featuring attorney Thóra Gudmundsdóttir 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 Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is called upon to represent the chief suspect, the resort's owner. But upon her arrival she encounters more than a fresh corpse—local legend has it that the resort, located in the mystical region of Snæfellsnes on Iceland's west coast, is haunted. At first Thóra dismisses the claims as nothing more than myth and superstition, but even she can't explain the bizarre occurrences she witnesses in her search for answers. As Thóra digs deeper into the farm's past, she discovers long-buried information on the property's disturbing history, and her once-solid view of reality begins to waver. Are the hauntings real, or just a case of folklore gone wild? And, more important, does the farm's eerie past have something to do with the murder? When another body is discovered—looking very much like the first—Thóra is forced to put aside her doubts and confront the horrors of the present before a twisted killer strikes again. With its confident plotting, chilling atmosphere, and smart, compelling heroine, My Soul to Take confirms Yrsa Sigurdardóttir as a new maven of mysteries. 

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The book's prologue, set in 1945, depicts someone cruelly leading a small girl to her death, a scene all the more terrifying because it involves no physical violence. Sixty-one years later, Thora Gudmundsdottir, lawyer and divorced mother of two, gets a call from Jonas Juliusson, a former client who now owns and runs a New Age resort on Iceland's west coast. Thora represented him in the negotiations for the purchase of the land for the resort. Now Jonas claims that the property has a hidden defect and he wants compensation from the sellers. According to Jonas, the defect is that the existing hotel and the grounds are haunted.Thora is skeptical both about the haunting itself and whether it can be a grounds for compensation. But she agrees to represent Jonas again. Thora arrives and soon learns that the body of a brutally murdered woman has been found. The murdered woman was Birna, the architect for the resort. The police find evidence that links Jonas both to the original crime and to a second equally brutal murder of a hotel employee, making Jonas the chief suspect. Thora, as Jonas's lawyer, finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and one with supernatural undertones. She works the case with her German boyfriend who has arrived to visit her.

The mystery is well-plotted and tragic as the original evil ruins lives when it is committed and years later ruins later generations. The characters are well drawn and come across as real people. All of them have flaws and good points.