Customer Reviews

Sacrifice

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was drawn to the book because of the setting: the Shetland Islands off of Scotland's far north coast. What drew me in was the chilling mystery of who the body in the peat was and why was she buried if she had only just given birth, and why was her heart ripped out?

The main protagonists is an unlikely heroine in Tora Hamilton an obstetrician who is obsessed with finding out who was the young lass who she found buried in her yard in the peat. But quickly the reader is thrown into a mystery that engulfs a mixture of ancient Norse legends that clash with the modern technology of criminology. But as our heroine keeps just one step ahead of death, her own, she quickly learns she can't trust anyone on the island including those closest to her.

There are a lot of twists and turns with just enough clues to help the reader but things may not be as they seem, which helps to make this one of the most chilling reads. The only downside is some of the UK terminology of the characters but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book. The pace is well done with only a few bumps in the road and the reader finds their self cheering Tora along the way to solve the mystery of the dead woman hoping that all she loses will be worth it. To realize this offering is from a debut author is equally exciting because we have a wonderful new author to look forward to.

This is a most unique find and should be read by those who like a strong mystery along with a sprinkling of Celtic/Nordic legends and aren't afraid to take a chance on a new author.

SACRIFICE (Suspense-Tora Hamilton-Shetland Island, UK - Cont) - G+
Bolton, S.J. - 1st book
Bantam Press, 2008, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9780593059111

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

Tora Hamilton is a newcomer, but has moved to the Shetland Islands with her husband, who was born there but left 20 years ago. Digging a grave in which to bury a beloved horse who has died, Tora uncovers the body of a woman who had been tortured, body mutilated and runes curved into her back.

While others are telling Tora, an obstetrician and surgeon, not to become involved, what was done to the victim make it imperative for Tora to investigate. The more she learns, the more frightening it all becomes. When an attempt is made on her life, Tora is no longer certain who she can trust.

Bolton's debut mystery certainly had all the elements; an interesting locale well depicted, a gruesome crime, a smart, gutsy protagonist, good suspense, a local legend that became creepier as the book went on, and a wonderful element of uncertainty as to whom the protagonist could trust.

The beginning is fairly gory but I found myself immediately drawn in. The story then lost a bit of steam, took a while to rebuild but then raced on to a very exciting ending. The setting played into the plot perfectly, but the writing did show aspects of it being a first book.

I shall definitely look for Bolton's next book.

How do you make murder and mayhem new and exciting? S.J. Bolton's done it with her debut novel. Set in the Shetland Islands , an unusual and interesting locale. The Viking/Scottish lore and legend is fascinating and, yes, a bit disturbing. The characters are believable, not one dimensional cookie cutter people. Bolton's style of writing often feels like the two of you are chatting over a cup of tea. Nice, very nice. I don't know that she'll write a second book, but I'm certainly hoping.

Loved the first two thirds to three fourths of the book, found the last part so full of improbable twists and reved up to the point where it was too far out there, but the story had given me so much fun and excitement by that time that I was OK with it. Great characters; practically everyone is a suspect, and you don't dare turn your back on a soul. I was intrigued with the mood and setting of the Shetland Islands and enjoyed frequently checking maps to see exactly where we were.

Tora Hamilton, an obstetrics surgeon, is practicing in a hospital on one of the most remote Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland. She joined her husband, Duncan, who was born there, upon his sudden desire to "go home." But he is often away on business, so Tora works and rides her horses, very much an outsider. When one of her horses dies, Tora, wishing to bury the animal on her own land, bulldozes a hole only to discover the body of a young woman who was supposed to have been cremated years ago. The woman's heart has been torn from her body, which shows signs of recently bearing a child. Viking runes have been carved into her flesh. When the police investigate, they try to pass the body off as ancient, having been preserved by the peat in which it was buried. That premise doesn't hold up long, and then Tora finds this woman may not be the only one buried on her land. What does it all mean? Who are these women, and why does everyone on the island, from her father-in-law, the local police, and even the head of the hospital where she works, discourage her questions? Worse, Duncan shows signs of being involved. Persistent, Tora keeps digging into the mystery, only to find she may very well be the next to die.

Tora's irritating and constant preoccupation with having a child ties in with her determination to find the killers. Plural killers, because she soon learns the women's deaths are part of a conspiracy. With those she can fully trust numbered on one hand, she goes against all advice and breaks all the rules in her quest for the truth. Scenes on the island, as well as those at sea, are well-written and evocative; medical procedures seem very real and graphic. The book has a great sense of place. Although the situations Tora puts herself in often depict her as TSTL (too stupid to live), if the reader can suspend disbelief for long enough, this is a fascinating thriller that moves at breakneck speed. New surprises await on every page right up to the end. Reccommended.

Tora Hamilton and her husband, Duncan are living at Shetland Islands, located in Scotland. Tora is an outsider but Duncan is coming back home to Shetland Islands. Life is good, till Tora goes to bury her horse and instead finds a mutilated woman's body in her own backyard. From this point on things start getting interesting for Tora. The woman has weird foreign symbols carved into her back. As Tora investigates more ino this mystery woman and why she was buried in Tora's backyard. Tora stumbles upon a secret that the people of Shetland Islands have been keeping hidden for centuries. A secret so horrible that you couldn't imagine it even in your wildest of dreams. If it was to be uncovered Shetland Islands would never be the same again.



What an amazing, wonderful first novel for S. J. Bolton. Sacrifice brought all the winning moves with suspense, intrigue, and spine-tingling thrills and chills. Tora was such a strong character who also had a good personality. By incorporating these two elements into a character like Tora it made reading Sacrifice very enjoyable and before I knew it I was done with the book. Also really loved the concept of the story as well as picking a location like Scotland which helped bring he chills. I read that S.J. Bolton will be releasing another book. So glad to hear this as S.J. Bolton has quite a splendid story telling quality about her and I know if her next novel is half as good as Sacrifice it is going to be a winner. Sacrifice has got to be one of the best books I have read so far in 2008.

The setting is the remote Shetland Islands, the farthest tip of the British Isles, where obstetrician Tora Hamilton plunges into the driving rain to bury her beloved horse in the peat bog behind her house. Newly arrived to the wildly beautiful land with her husband, Duncan, who has accepted a job offer he simply cannot refuse, Tora is an independent soul, sad that she has not yet been able to bear children, but looking forward to starting her new job at the Franklin Stone Hospital and meeting her new boss, the charismatic Kenn Gifford. When the back hoe catches, Tora climbs into the flooded bog to discover a tightly-wrapped bundle. On further examination, it is the well-preserved body of a woman. What is at first believed an archeological find, is eventually determined to be that of a young woman whose heart has been removed from her chest. Thus does Tora's nightmare begin.

As a scientist, Tora is unable to accept the authorities' explanation for the body. And while she is compliant for a while, Tora is inevitably confronted with a piece of evidence that leads her to question everything she has been told. Tora begins her own clandestine research, a discovery so heinous that she is willing to walk into certain peril to learn the truth, even at the risk of her own life. Tora is faced with the stuff of legends and myths that thrive in such exotic locales, ancient Norse tales of a race of Trolls who kidnap human wives to bear their sons. This is a land of stories, superstitions and contradictions, where the sea is in constant battle with the land and Tora's vivid imagination fails to capture the true extent of the horror; where no one is trustworthy save Detective Sergeant Dana Tulloch, who listens to Tora with rapt attention; where Tora's husband, Duncan, and her boss seem to nourish a long enmity; and where lies cover the actions of those who will kill anyone who might expose their secrets.

In a complicated, brilliant plot, Bolton's extraordinary protagonist uncovers layer after layer of an elaborate enterprise that staggers even her imagination. Terrified beyond reason, Tora bravely walks into the heart of a monstrous place, compelled to know the answers. In a plot that is relentless and riveting, the nail-biting conclusion is fraught with terror. Bolton is an exceptional writer, each of her novels compelling and blissfully addictive. Luan Gaines/2010.

Sacrifice is set in the Shetland Islands and Bolton has drawn on local folklore to form the backbone of her debut novel. She does an excellent job of describing the area and the strong feeling of a close-knit community, distrusting of strangers. It makes for an effective backdrop to the drama and mystery of the main story.

Tora Hamilton and her husband, Duncan Guthrie, have just moved to the remote Shetland Islands. For Duncan it's a return to his childhood home, but Tora is far away from everything familiar. When she uncovers a body buried on their property Tora's life is turned upside down. The young woman has been brutally killed and it is discovered that she also gave birth shortly before her death. Who was she and what happened to her baby? Tora becomes obsessed with finding the answers to these questions. And the more she digs, the more questions she raises and the more she puts herself in danger.

Sacrifice is a slickly written debut with medical and historical detail woven easily into the narrative. Bolton builds suspense throughout the story and creates an unnerving atmosphere. It may be because I read this book over a number of days, but I did find myself frustrated at times. There was this great feeling of suspense while reading this book, but it was sometimes drawn out for too long before something happened to break it or change the mood. And, no matter how good the writer, it is very difficult to sustain that feeling with little more than a character's assumptions and suspicions supporting it. I would have liked to see more action or drama breaking up those drawn out sections. Or even just a shift in the mood.

Tora is a strong female character whose actions drive the story. Although she comes across as stubborn and wilful at times, it is her desperate longing to be a mother which lies at the heart of the character. Her job as an obstetrician puts her into contact with expecting mothers and babies everyday, which Bolton uses to highlight what Tora feels she is lacking. It is this longing which makes Tora unable to forget about the young woman whose body she finds and drives her to look for answers.

The second character who stands out in Sacrifice is Detective Sergeant (DS) Dana Tulloch. She, like Tora, is convinced that there is more to the body than her boss seems to think and launches her own investigation. She is a smart, capable policeman and her growing friendship with Tora adds depth to the story.

Sacrifice is a very enjoyable debut and I look forward to seeing how Bolton builds on this in future books.

I'm typically not a "murder mystery" reader, but the added elements of folklore and the setting drew me to this book by SJ Bolton.

I was immediately hooked by the character of Tora Hamilton, an obstetrician and unlikely sleuth who discovers the body of a brutally murdered woman on her land. Stubborn, impulsive and haunted by the fact that the woman had just had a child before being killed, Tora is unable to hand the investigation over to the local authorities without knowing the outcome.

She starts to follow her own trail of evidence, which uncovers a plot far more sinister and wide-spread than she could possibly have imagined. She's gutsy, and her medical training allows her to be both the layman and the expert in the scenarios she faces. This was a very quick and engaging read, and I didn't want the story to end. (I'm trying REALLY hard to keep this spoiler free!) I purchased Bolton's second book yesterday, and can't wait to get absorbed into the next plot.

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

Obstetrician Tora Hamilton is a newcomer to the Shetland Islands, although for her husband it's merely a matter of returning to the place where he grew up. While digging a large hole in the peat on their property, Tora unearths a human body.

At first thought to be centuries-old, the body is actually much newer. The female victim's heart was cut out, and she'd given birth a few days before she was killed. Tora becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the dead woman, no matter how many people tell her not to get involved. What she uncovers almost defies belief.

Used to the islands of Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island Quartet, I expected puffins on the windowsills and the incredible natural beauty:

"My favourite place to ride on Shetland was a half-moon beach, where dusky-pink, grass-tufted cliffs rose like the sides of a pudding basin around a bay of deepest turquoise. As I thundered along, spray blurred my vision and all I could see was colour: emerald grass, turquoise sea, pink sand and the soft, robin's-egg blue of the distant ocean. There are times on the islands when flowers seem superfluous."


In that I was not disappointed. I also wasn't disappointed in the character of Tora Hamilton. Although she admits that she relies too much upon the reassurance of others, when faced with a victim whose death doesn't seem right, Tora is quite prepared to throw all caution to the wind in an attempt to discover what really happened. She's also a person who is not transportationly challenged. She drives a car, is willing to walk, is an excellent equestrian, and a very good sailor. All she needs is a pilot's license so she can fly away from (or into) danger.

The plot moves at a very deliberate pace, setting itself up for the denouement, and although it is a bit over the top, it is gripping all the same and creates a wonderfully creepy atmosphere. A strong and unusual female protagonist, a beautiful setting filled with history, good use of forensics, and a spine-chilling gothic plot-- Sacrifice grabbed this reader by the throat and wouldn't let go.