(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Although her husband was reared in Unst, 33-year-old Tora Hamilton is a stranger to the remote, weather-beaten Shetland Islands.  She is still getting used to Lerwick, her new hometown, when she comes across a dead body buried on the property she and Duncan recently purchased from a trust associated with the church.  At first, she assumes it's one of the infamous bog bodies—a Stone Age corpse perfectly preserved by the peat.  The post-mortem reveals the truth; not only is the body that of a recently deceased woman, but the victim had her heart cut out.  A few days after giving birth.  

It's this last bit that Tora—an obstetrician who has been trying to get pregnant since she married Duncan five years ago—can't let go of.  Why would someone murder a new mother?  And so savagely?  What are they to make of the runes carved into her body?  Was this a ritualistic killing?  Or something even more sinister?  Obsessed with finding the truth, Tora digs deeply into Shetland folklore and local secrets to solve the mystery.  Everyone warns her to back off, but she refuses to listen.  Even when it becomes apparent that someone will do anything—anything—to silence her.  

I became aware of Sharon (S.J.) Bolton because of her latest book, Little Black Lies.  After being completely blown away by it, I knew I had to read every novel the author had ever published.  So I did.  Sacrifice is Bolton's first novel and it's interesting to compare and contrast it with Little Black Lies.  The former is just as atmospheric, just as unsettling, just as compelling.  It's less sophisticated in some ways, but no less enticing.  With a brave, admirable heroine guiding the story, it's absolutely impossible to look away.  Just like Little Black Lies (which happens to be my favorite Bolton mystery), Sacrifice is a dark, twisty suspense novel that will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning.  Trust me on this—you don't want to start Sacrifice (or any Bolton book for that matter) unless you have all day to inhale it because once you begin reading, you won't be able to stop.  Did I mention that I binge-read all of her books in a matter of days just so I could get on with my life?  Well, I did.  Bolton's mysteries are that addicting.  Consider yourself warned. 

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a bit of Peter May's Shetland trilogy [The Blackhouse; The Lewis Man; and The Chessmen]; also of Ann Cleeves' Shetland mysteries [Raven Black; White Nights; Red Bones; Blue Lightning; Dead Water; Thin Air; and Cold Earth])

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, mild sexual content, and disturbing content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

"I worked with wild animals.  I lived at the end of the quietest street in the most remote village I could find.  I made a point of not knowing the names of my neighbors.  I did my shopping by mail order.  What exactly did I have to do to be left alone?" (68)

All Clara Benning wants is for people to leave her be.  Marked by a vicious facial scar, she can do without all the staring, the gossip, and the questions, thank you very much.  The animals she tends at the wildlife hospital don't care what she looks like.  It's with them that the 30-year-old veterinary surgeon prefers to spend her time.  Only they know the truth—beneath Clara's stern aloofness lies a woman who is smart, compassionate, generous, and deeply lonely. 

Clara's precious solitude is shattered by a sudden influx of snakes in the small English village where she lives.  A horrified mother calls Clara when she discovers a coiled reptile in her baby's crib.  When a local man dies from an apparent snakebite, her expertise is called on once again.  She's ready to pass the whole thing off as a random wildlife migration until she learns the dead man was poisoned with more venom than could ever be found in one snake.  His killer is not serpentine at all, but human.  Someone is using innocent snakes to fulfill their own murderous intent.  But who?

Unwillingly pulled into the investigation by a charming neighbor, Clara finds some very disturbing links between the town's current crisis and a century-old local tragedy.  With her quiet hamlet in an uproar and serpents slithering around every corner, even the unflinching Clara is creeped out.  Can she figure out what's going on in time to save her sanity?  What about her own life?

A shivery, gothic tale like Awakening—Sharon (S.J.) Bolton's second novel—is probably more suited to Halloween than Independence Day reading.  Still.  If you like eerie thrillers, you can't go wrong with Bolton.  She always delivers.  Awakening is no exception.  The story is tense, exciting, and can't-stop-now compelling.  Clara is a wholly sympathetic heroine, a character for which it's easy to root.  She's complex and contradictory, making her just as intriguing as the mystery she's trying to solve.  I would love to see her as a serial character as I feel like I've only just begun to scratch the surface of what makes her tick.  Story-wise, Awakening delivers twists that are not jaw-dropping but still unexpected.  With interesting characters, a twisty mystery, and a sinister vibe that will have you quaking under your covers, Awakening is another satisfying thriller from a genre master.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Sacrifice by Sharon (S.J.) Bolton)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs plus milder expletives), violence, and blood/gore

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find