Edge-of-the-seat thriller ( )

It all starts when obstetrician Tora Hamilton finds a human body buried on her land. She is new to the Shetland islands off the coast of Scotland, but her husband's people have lived here for generations. To think she was trying to bury a horse! What she finds instead is the body of a young woman who used to have red hair and appears to have given birth. Who is this woman and why is she on Tora's land? To dig into the mystery of the buried woman is to reveal a scandal much bigger than a simple death. To dig into history of Shetland is to uncover an ancient secret that is better left for dead. Despite the danger, Tora cannot let the mystery be. The more she uncovers the more she questions her marriage of five years, her job, and her future. Why has her husband stayed away from his homeland for twenty years and does her boss look so much like her father-in-law?
While Tora had questions I had questions for her. What kind of person can shrug off a pig's heart left on her kitchen table in the dead of night? What about crushed strawberries in the basement? Are those normal occurrences in Shetland? Wouldn't it drive her crazy that her keys go missing for days? As more strange events start to pile up I questioned Tora's judgement. That was exactly what Bolton wanted me to do. ( )

SWEDISH REVIEW

Sharon Bolton has a underbar förmåga att skriva böcker som håller ens intresse uppe från början till slut. Som med alla andra böcker jag har läst av Sharon Bolton så är offer både fängslande och fascinerande att läsa. Men inte bara berättelsen är bra. Karaktärerna; Tora, Duncan, Kenn, Dana och Andy får liv och i och med att det är en thriller så vet man inte heller vem man ska lita på medan man läser boken. Precis som Tora inte hade en aning om vem hon kunde lite på. En sak som jag verkligen gillade var att Dana Tullock är med i boken. Jag har läst om henne i Bolton's Lacey Flint böcker och det var en trevlig överraskning att ha en henne plötsligt dyka upp i handlingen.

Handlingen är intressant och besynnerlig och alla verkar arbeta emot Tora förutom Dana. Är det så att de faktiskt har något skumt på gång eller är Tora bara paranoid? Att lägga handlingen på Shetland tycker jag är ett briljant drag då det skapar en speciall atmosfär. Alla dessa familjer som känner varandra, kanske de till och med har hemligheter ihop?

Eftersom jag inte vill avslöja för mycket av av handlingen tänker jag bara avrunda denna recension med att säga att det är en briljant bok med intressanta vändningar och jag njöt verkligen av att läsa boken. Handlingen blev aldrig tråkig eller seg, den rörde sig framåt i en perfekt hastighet och jag var nästan liten ledsen över att komma till slutet för jag hade fäst mig vid Tora och de andra.

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISHREVIEW

Sharon Bolton has a wonderful ability to write books that keep you interested from the beginning until the end. Sacrifice is just like the rest of the books that I have read engrossing and fascinating to read. But, not only the story is good. The characters, Tora, Duncan, Kenn, Dana, and Andy and the rest come alive through the pages and since this is a thriller you just don't know who to trust while reading the book. Just as Tora don't know who to trust. One thing that I liked very much with the book is that Dana Tulloch is in it. I have read about her in Bolton's Lacey Flint books and it was a pleasant surprise to have her suddenly show up in this book.

The story is interesting and strange and everyone seems to be working against Tora, well except Dana. Are they hiding something, or is it just Tora that's being paranoid? I think having the books setting on Shetland is a brilliant move since it adds a special tone to the book. All those families that know each other are they perhaps hiding something?

I don't want to spoil the story, I just want to say that it's a brilliant book, with twists and turns and I enjoyed it very much. It just never got boring, it didn't move to fast forward, it had a great pace and I was almost a bit sad to read the ending because I grew to like Tora and the rest of the characters very much.

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy! ( )

I guessed a lot of the supposed twists and turns in this book, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment. A creepy tale based on the legend of the Kunal Trows, a human-like, patriarchal species with many gory secrets. ( )

This started off well, but then went completely bonkers.

SPOILERS

Absolutely all the characters we had met were involved in a revolting utterly unbelievable baby-creation/woman murdering scheme to perpetuate their super-race (or something - I lost patience and skimmed to the end). I was waiting to see Duncan get his comeuppance, but no - Tora and he lived happily ever after. That was the final straw.

Disappointing. ( )