Book Review: Sacrifice - S J Bolton

This is the third and final book I have read as part of The Great Transworld Crime Caper which I have really enjoyed taking part in. Three books, eight weeks = one happy reader.

 

 

The blurb:

Moving to remote Shetland has been unsettling enough for consultant surgeon Tora Hamilton, even before the gruesome discovery she makes one rain-drenched afternoon...

The corpse I could cope with. It was the context that threw me.

Deep in the peat soil of her field, she uncovers the body of a young woman. The heart has been removed, and marks etched into the skin bear an eerie resemblance to carvings Tora has seen in her own cellar.

And there I'd been, thinking the day couldn't possibly get any worse

But as Tora begins to ask questions, terrifying threats start rolling in like the cold island mists...

My thoughts:

This book covers a deeply chilling subject, and one which some may not wish to read about.  The author tackles it well, and it makes for an exciting and chilling read.

 

The negatives: The main character Tora seems a little unbelieveable, one minute she has a high powered job as a Consultant Surgeon, then next she is running around the countryside like daft teenager. I found the overly descriptive parts of the book off putting at times. I would rather have had the information about the location of the islands by way of a map at the front of the book

The positives:  The author writes in a compelling way which makes it hard for the reader to put the book down, and I was fascinated by the descriptions of the ancient runes and their meanings. The setting is in contemporary Britain, but often felt like another world, as the different landscapes and folklore just adds to the chills.

I would have liked to have read more about the "folklore" and less about the relationship between Tora and her boss, however this is a book which kept me interested right up to the final page, and made me want to learn more about  Shetland folklore

This is the debut novel by SJ Bolton and I am lucky enough to have her next novel waiting on my "to be read" pile. I look forward to it.