Finished Sacrifice

I finally finished Sacrifice by S J Bolton and it was absolutely excellent. At times the suspense is just too painful and I found I had to have a break from it. Some reviewers have said they felt the plot was too far fetched to be credible. I don't agree. I thought it was eminently believable.

The Shetland Islands and its history and legends are cleverly woven into the convoluted plot giving an almost supernatural dimension to the story. The runes carved into the skin of the corpse which Tora uncovers at the start of the book are a masterly touch. Tora herself is a down to earth no nonsense hospital obstetrician who does not believe anything without evidence, but soon she is wondering who she can trust in the closed society she lives in. Everyone knows everyone else and is probably related to them. Even her husband and her boss belong to it whilst she feels herself to be an outsider asking awkward questions. She isn't even sure she can trust the police who appear to want to forget about the body on her land.

I felt I almost wanted to read the last few chapter with my fingers over my eyes - like you do as a child when there's something scary on television. It is one of the best books I've read for a long time and I wholeheartedly recommend it.