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Ashes to Dust [Paperback]

Yrsa Sigurdardottir , Philip Roughton
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Book Description

22 July 2010 1444700065 978-1444700060 1st Edition
Thóra peered at the floor, but couldn't see anything that could have frightened Markús that much, only three mounds of dust. She moved the light of her torch over them. It took her some time to realize what she was seeing-- and then it was all she could do not to let the torch slip from her hand. 'Good God,' she said. She ran the light over the three faces, one after another. Sunken cheeks, empty eye-sockets, gaping mouths; they reminded her of photographs of mummies she'd once seen in National Geographic. 'Who are these people?'
'I don't know,' said Markús...


Bodies are discovered in one of the excavated houses at a volcanic tourist attraction dubbed 'The Pompeii of the North'.

Markús Magnússon, who was only a teenager when the volcano erupted, falls under suspicion and hires attorney Thóra Gudmundsdottir to defend him - but when his childhood sweetheart is murdered his case starts to look more difficult, and the locals seem oddly reluctant to back him up..

The third crime novel from international bestseller Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and the third featuring her popular heroine Thora, ASHES TO DUST is tense, taut and terrifying.

'well-written, pacey and wonderfully atmospheric.' Guardian on MY SOUL TO TAKE

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Product details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton; 1st Edition edition (22 July 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1444700065
  • ISBN-13: 978-1444700060
  • Product Dimensions: 15.4 x 3.2 x 23.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 295,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Product Description

Review

'A chilling read, enhanced by Sigurdardottir's taut plotting, realistic characters, and dry humour.' (Metro Crime Books of the Year )

'Publishers and blurb writers are competing to hail the new monarch of Nordic crime fiction.. I would be tempted to offer a name not from the obvious crime soil of Sweden or Norway, but from bleak and moody Iceland...'

(Marcel Berlins, The Times )

'Stands comparison with the finest contemporary crime writing anywhere in the world' (TLS )

'I can see why so many people are enthusiastic about Yrsa's work. It's very engaging, fresh and exciting.' (James Patterson (on LAST RITUALS) )

'She is entitled to join the front ranks of Nordic crime writers.' (The Times )

'A fascinating setting and realistic characters make this an engrossing read - and Sigurdardottir maintains the intrigue as her clever plot unravels' (Metro )

'Brilliantly plotted and chilling' (Daily Mirror )

'An absorbing mystery . . . Sigurdardottir makes the island under hot lava just as atmospherically chilling as she made Iceland's dark winters in her two prior novels' (The Times )

'Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson' (Daily Telegraph )

About the Author

Yrsa Sigurdardottir works as a civil engineer and lives in Reykjavik. She wrote prize-winning children's novels before writing LAST RITUALS, her first adult novel.

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Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Ashes to Dust---Yrsa Sigurdardottir 24 July 2010
By Simon Clarke TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ashes to Dust is the third novel featuring the engaging Reykjavik lawyer,
Thora Gudmundsdottir. It cannot be easy for the author to continue to
invent credible crime plots set in a largely crimeless society of just
over 300,000 people.Yet she pulls it off marvellously in what is her most
accomplished novel to date.
In 1973,in the Westmann Islands,some 100 miles off the Iceland mainland,
Eldfell volcano violently erupted leading to the evacuation of the islanders.
Thora is hired in 2007 by a client who is resisting excavation of his property.
When this resistance fails three bodies and a head are discovered in his basement
covered by volcanic dust.He becomes the suspect for these murders and a further
very recent one.The police seem convinced of his guilt so Thora carries out
her own investigations,only to find the locals unwilling to assist her.
This is a rich,lengthy,meticulously plotted story ,with plenty of surprises
along the way. Highly Recommended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Underneath the lava 11 Mar 2012
By Sabina
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this book on the strength of the positive reviews and because of the Icelandic setting. The latter was quite enticing, with the investigative action set between Reykjavik and the Westmann Islands, and depicting how the excavation of misdeeds covered up by the lava eruption there decades before, links up with a current murder in the capital. And what a murder - it is decribed in the first few pages in a chilling and original way.
The investigation leads lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir to contact a variety of people in her home town (a plastic surgeon, a tatooist, the self-important young police inspector) and to travel to the Islands with her free-spirited, goth secretary to meet relatives of the victim and suspect. She gets the sense that people are not telling her all they know. At one point she hires a fishing boat tour in order to get information from the knowledgeable guide, though squeamish about the business of killing fish or the puffin hunt they witness.
Back in Rekyavik there is a deeply troubled anorexic girl who is witness to someting to do with the murder.

But I found much of the book fairly enjoyable and then frustrating in turn. The author does not seem to credit her readers with enough wit, and insisits on going over the same details and over-explaining all the possible motives and her own dilemnas. Some of the 'clues' are so obvious, but surrounded by too much uninteresting filler that if it weren't for the 'Icelandic interest' I may have put the book aside. Tightening up the writing would have made this a much better book. I may give another Ysra Sigurdardottir a try sometime, but in the hope that the plot and writing are less sluggish and crisper.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this 22 Feb 2012
By EMB
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had put off reading reading "Ashes to Dust" even though I had enjoyed the author's first 2 books as I was discouraged by the negative reviews that I read. I changed my mind and decided to give it a go when I read that the plot was based in the Westmann Islands. As I have been to Iceland recently, I thought I would get something out of reading it even if it wasn't a great thriller. Much to my surprise, I really liked this book and read it in a couple of days. I personally am glad it was more focused on the plot and not as much time spent on Thea's boyfriend or children. I thought the plot was satisfyingly complex and was interested in the dynamics of a small Icelandic community that were portrayed in the book. I wouldn't really compare these thrillers to the "Millennium" trilogy or even the the Wallander series. They are simpler but still enjoyable to read. It will really depend on what you want from a thriller. If you like lots of action and gore, this is definitely not the book for you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Lost in Translation?
I enjoyed the first two books in the series and so bought and read this one - and the following one. Read more
Published 22 days ago by J. Ogden
5.0 out of 5 stars Rivetting
Couldn't put it down - a real page turner of a murder mystery. Especially good if you've been to Iceland - it's motivated me to visit again!
Published 26 days ago by Helen Mullineux
5.0 out of 5 stars Great scando drama
A great great addition to my scando-crime drama. Beautifully descriptive events and a tribute to the author's previous life as a children's book writer
Published 2 months ago by Ms. J. Mcaree
3.0 out of 5 stars A particularly convoluted plot
There is a particularly convoluted plot; the whole story lacks the author's usual suspensive writing and in this offering the author abandons any interaction with Thora's sidekick,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lili
3.0 out of 5 stars Clunky writing
I have read all of Yrsa Sigurdardottir's books so far, but I have found the translation of the last few books to be annoyingly clunky. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Orna G
5.0 out of 5 stars good purchase
The book arrived on time. It was well packaged and reasonably priced. It was a good buy and I would use this company again.
Published 4 months ago by Ms. S. H. Pether
3.0 out of 5 stars thora is becoming a little boring
Loved the previous two books but I struggled with this story. I am finding Thora less and less sympathetic, there is little here about her boyfriend or children and so it almost... Read more
Published 8 months ago by cartoon
5.0 out of 5 stars Is this where I lived?
As a Scandi-crime fan, and as an Englishman who actually lived in the Westmann Islands for two years in the 90s, this tale was an absolutely must-read! Read more
Published 10 months ago by IcelandJohn
5.0 out of 5 stars A great detective story
This is a complicated story with many twists. It is written with great knowledge of the subject, the Westermann Islands in Iceland, in particular the eruption in 1973. Read more
Published 12 months ago by M. E. Leonard
4.0 out of 5 stars daring to be different
I write this after reading the other 11 or so reviews preceding it, and partly in response to them.
I enjoyed this book, not so much for the plot, which can mostly be worked... Read more
Published 12 months ago by C. Heneghan
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