Ashes to Dust (Minotaur, 5/2012) is Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s third book about Reykjavik lawyer Thora Godmundsdottir.  It begins when an excavation of houses buried by an old lava flow reveals three bodies and a severed head.  Thora is a personable, chatty, but persistent sleuth.  She manages to juggle her legal work, her amateur sleuthing, and the care of her teenaged son and six-year-old daughter without much help from her unsatisfactory ex-husband.  Her knowledge of the law and willingness to ask uncomfortable questions (a la Miss Marple) enable her to get to the bottom of some very knotty puzzles.  Her cases often revolve around circumstances  and laws peculiar to Iceland.  Interesting characters and unusual country make these cozies a treat.

–posted  5/13/2012