Description
From Booklist *Starred Review* Bodies found in peat bogs—the peat preserves human flesh—make irresistible launching points for crime fiction. Erin Hart’s Haunted Ground was one of the best first crime novels of 2003, and now Bolton’s debut is in the running for the same distinction this year. Hart’s bog was in Ireland, and the novel drew on Irish history. Bolton’s is in Scotland, on one of the Shetland Islands, and she draws equally effectively on an ancient Scottish legend. Tora Hamilton, an obstetrician recently relocated to the Shetlands with her husband, a native of the region, is digging on her property when she discovers the body of a young woman. Pathologists determine that the body is not ancient, as was first supposed, but contemporary. Further investigation reveals that the victim died within days of giving birth and that her heart had been cut from her body. As Tora begins to investigate, she is warned off by the police, her hospital colleagues, and even her husband. With the help of another outsider, a police detective also new to the area, she discovers further anomalies: Why does the death rate of young women in the Shetlands spike every three years? As she comes closer to the truth, the connection to ancient lore emerges, and the Shetlands, once so tranquil and charming, turn menacing and deadly, much in the manner of the English moors when a certain Baskervillean hound was on the loose. Bolton combines rich history, precise forensic detail, and breathtaking use of landscape in what is a stunning blend of medical thriller and creepy gothic suspense tale. Yes, the plot is outlandish, but it grips us all the same and doesn’t let go. --Bill Ott Advance Praise for Sacrifice “Inspired by an eerie ancient legend, Sacrifice is a chilling, mesmerizing debut thriller. S. J. Bolton is one to watch.”---Tess Gerritsen, author of The Bone Garden “This slick, fast-moving thriller has a cracking opening scene and goes on to develop into a gripping story of intrigue and adventure . . . . An interesting and skillful debut.”---Margaret Yorke, author of Cause for Concern “Part forensic thriller, part medical thriller, Sacri?ce combines both elements to great effect in this atmospheric and original debut.”---Simon Beckett, author of Written in Bone “A really creepy plot based on one of the Shetland Islands’ nastier legends . . . The combination of folklore and forensics works well, and the story grabs from the very beginning and holds on tight.”--- Literary Review SHARON BOLTONxa0grew up in Lancashire, England, and now lives near Oxford with her family. Sacrifice , her first novel, was inspired by her fascination with British traditional folklore. Sharon Bolton was previously published as S.J. Bolton. Read more
Features & Highlights
- In this masterful debut that starts off as a mystery and becomes much more, Tora Hamilton is an outsider at her new home on the rocky, wind-swept Shetland Islands, a hundred miles from the northeastern tip of Scotland. Though her husband grew up here, it’s the first time he’s been back in twenty years. Digging in the peat on their new property, Tora unearths a human body, at first glance a centuries-old bog body, interesting but not uncommon. But realizing that the body is in fact much newer, that the woman’s heart has been cut out and that she was killed within a few days of bearing a child, Tora, herself an obstetrician, becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her—even when the police, her colleagues and eventually her husband warn her against getting involved.Reading town records and researching local lore, Tora discovers a disturbing link to ancient Shetland legend and uncovers a collection of deep, dark secrets---the kind of secrets worth killing for.
- Sacrifice
- is a bone-chilling, spell-binding debut that will grip readers from its beginning to its startling end.
