A Maxim Jakubowski Great Male Crime Sleuth.

Who says you have to be Scandinavian to write about an Icelandic police detective? Michael Ridpath, best known previously for his splendid financial thrillers, beats the Nordic mob at its own game in this opening volume of a new series. Jonson has relocated to the country of his birth after he ran afoul of a drug cartel in Boston and brings an American rigour to his sleuthing, which begins here with the murder of a local academic who was rumoured to have discovered long-lost saga manuscript. Atmospheric stuff, but then the Icelandic volcanic landscape lends itself so well to murk and crime.

Comparison: Stieg Larsson, Arnaldur Indridason, M. J. McGrath
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Synopsis

Amid Iceland's wild, volcanic landscape, rumours swirl of an eight-hundred-year-old manuscript inscribed with a long-lost saga about a ring of terrible power. A rediscovered saga alone would be worth a fortune, but, if the rumours can be believed, there is something much more valuable about this one. Something worth killing for. Something that will cost Professor Agnar Haraldsson his life. Untangling murder from myth is Iceland-born, Boston-raised homicide detective Magnus Jonson. Seconded to the Icelandic Police Force for his own protection after he runs afoul of a drug cartel back in Boston, Magnus also has his own reasons for returning to the country of his birth for the first time in nearly two decades - the unsolved murder of his father. And as Magnus is about to discover, the past casts a long shadow in Iceland. Binding Iceland's landscape and history, secrets and superstitions in a strikingly original plot that will span several volumes,

About the Author

Michael Ridpath spent eight years as a bond trader in the City before giving up his job to write full-time. He lives in north London with his wife and three children. Visit his website at www.michaelridpath.com. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation