Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir

Monopoly Book Challenge - Free Parking - Read any book you choose.
"Y" Author

The premise of this book sounded fascinating, but it didn't quite live up to its billing of "A Novel of Suspense".  Quite often the murder plot got bogged down in the details of the history of Icelandic witchcraft and witch hunts and the weird flirtations between the 2 main characters (Thóra and Matthew).

Two interesting facts though: 1. Icelandic witch trials were centered around men - 20 men were executed for sorcery, while only 2 women were convicted as witches; 2. Malleus Maleficarum a/k/a Hammer of Witches (1486) is the leading treatise on witchcraft and for a time sold more copies than any other book other than the Bible.

While the murder mystery neglected to capture my interest, the beauty of Iceland did (pic of lava fields)!

Summary from Goodreads: At a university in Reykjavík, the body of a young German student is discovered, his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest. Police waste no time in making an arrest, but the victim's family isn't convinced that the right man is in custody. They ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, an attorney and single mother of two, to investigate. It isn't long before Thóra and her associate, Matthew Reich, uncover the deceased student's obsession with Iceland's grisly history of torture, execution, and witch hunts. But there are very contemporary horrors hidden in the long, cold shadow of dark traditions. And for two suddenly endangered investigators, nothing is quite what it seems . . . and no one can be trusted.