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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.
Clemence is contacted by her French great aunt in the States to care for an elderly man, Alastair, suffering amnesia after an accident in Scotland. Can she hold the fort until her aunt gets there? Clemence, a university student in Edinburgh, agrees and tries to help jog his memory with photographs and questions until she finds a manuscript and reads him the handwritten story. Mixed emotions of fear, loathing, compassion and concern occur as she reads and Alastair’s memories are awakened. Then the novel changes gear when the two are attacked and forced to flee into the frozen hills. Why? It changes gear again as the denouement approaches and the unexpected twist is presented. This is very much a mystery within a mystery with lots of action, complex relationships and plenty of twists. A wonderful stand-alone thriller from a respected and accomplished author of financial thrillers and the Icelandic detective series starring Magnus Jonson. Highly recommended. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Ollie and Magnus Jonson have spent years trying to escape from the shadows of their past. Raised on a remote farmstead in Iceland, both brothers had to endure brutal violence at the hands of their grandfather. Now, two decades later, the past has returned to haunt them both. When Constable Pall Gylfason gets a dispatch call to investigate a suspected homicide on a farmstead, he is surprised to find that Sergeant Magnus Jonson is already at the scene. Magnus identifies the dead man as his estranged grandfather. As Pall begins to review the crime scene it becomes apparent that forensic evidence has been tampered with and that Magnus's version of events doesn't add up. Before long, Magnus is arrested for the murder of his grandfather. When it emerges that his younger brother, Ollie, is in Iceland after two decades in America, Pall begins to think that Magnus may not be the only family member in the frame for murder...
A fast-paced novel a little out of the norm for this author. It successfully mixes history with fiction, makes the political machinations of both sides understandable and interesting and paints a disturbing picture of life under the fascist regime for it all eventually centres on a plot to assassinate Hitler. Despite knowing the outcome it is our involvement with the main players that keeps us glued to the page. This is gripping throughout.
June 2013 eBook of the Month. A nerve-shredding, intelligent thriller based around the first plot to kill Hitler, the story of a secret conflict ignited on the eve of World War Two.A 'Piece of Passion' from Nicolas Cheetham, Digital Publisher, Head of Zeus...'Michael has taken a 'well-known' period of history and crafted something new, injecting an excruciating tension into a story where we already know -- or think we do -- the ending, immersing us so deeply in Berlin 1938 that we lose our historical hindsight, creating a climax that not only gets the heart racing, but is also morally satisfying and intellectually stimulating.' Click here to read the full comment.A new and exciting direction change for this bestselling thriller writer.
Iceland 1934: Two boys playing in the lava fields that surround their isolated farmsteads see something they shouldn't have. The consequences will haunt them and their families for generations. Iceland 2009: the credit crunch bites. The currency has been devalued, banks nationalized, savings annihilated, lives ruined. Grassroots revolution is in the air, as is the feeling that someone ought to pay...ought to pay the blood price. And in a country with a population of just 300,000 souls, in a country where everyone knows everybody, it isn't hard to draw up a list of exactly who is responsible. And then, one-by-one, to cross them off. Iceland 2010: As bankers and politicians start to die, at home and abroad, it is up to Magnus Jonson to unravel the web of conspirators before they strike again. But while Magnus investigates the crimes of the present, the crimes of the past are catching up with him.
Iceland 1934: Two boys playing in the lava fields that surround their isolated farmsteads see something they shouldn't have. The consequences will haunt them and their families for generations. Iceland 2009: the credit crunch bites. The currency has been devalued, banks nationalized, savings annihilated, lives ruined. Grassroots revolution is in the air, as is the feeling that someone ought to pay...ought to pay the blood price. And in a country with a population of just 300,000 souls, in a country where everyone knows everybody, it isn't hard to draw up a list of exactly who is responsible. And then, one-by-one, to cross them off. Iceland 2010: As bankers and politicians start to die, at home and abroad, it is up to Magnus Jonson to unravel the web of conspirators before they strike again. But while Magnus investigates the crimes of the present, the crimes of the past are catching up with him.
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,
From the million-copy bestselling author, perfect for fans of Stieg Larsson, Anne Holt, and The Killing."e;Michael Ridpath is trouncing the Scandinavians on their home turf. This is international thriller writing at its best."e; PETER JAMESIceland, 2017: When a young Italian tourist is found brutally murdered at a sacred church in northern Iceland, Magnus Jonson, newly returned to the Reykjavik police force, is called in to investigate. At the scene, he finds a stunned TV crew, there to film a documentary on the life of the legendary Viking, Gudrid the Wanderer. Magnus quickly begins to suspect that there may be more links to the murdered woman than anyone in the film crew will acknowledge. As jealousies come to the surface, new tensions replace old friendships, and history begins to rewrite itself, a shocking second murder leads Magnus to question everything he thought he knew...
*NOMINATED FOR THE CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER AWARD*An original short story taken from the anthology Motives for Murder, by members of The Detection ClubFrom acclaimed crime writer Michael Ridpath, a short story starring his Icelandic Detective Magnus.A super recogniser is someone who is outstanding at remembering faces, and when Magnus is stuck with a tricky case his colleague suggests his young cousin from Vik, who could identify every sheep in his flock at the age of twelve, to help with a case. But this leads Magnus to a murder...
From the million-copy bestselling author, perfect forfans of Stieg Larsson, Anne Holt, and The Killing."e;Michael Ridpath is on the war path, trouncing the Scandinavians on their home turf. This is international thriller writing at its best, fine characters, page turning suspense and a great, fresh location."e; PETER JAMESWhen a polar bear is sighted in a sleepy Icelandic fishing village, then shot dead by local policeman Constable Halldor, it triggers a debate in the local community. Was Halldor a hero for killing the bear, or should the animal have been protected? Animal rights activists in the area see the constable as a villain, and when days later the dead body of Halldor is discovered at a remote beauty spot, the activists are immediately under suspicion. As Sergeant Magnus Ragnarsson and his colleague Detective Vigdis Audardotti begin to investigate the policeman's murder, they soon discover that things are not as clear-cut as might first appear. By degrees, Magnus and Vigdis are drawn into this small and complex community - one riven with rivalries and grudges - in search of a deadly killer...
October, 1939: War has been declared, but until the armies massed on either side of the French-German border engage, all is quiet on the Western Front. There are those who believe the war no one wants to fight should be brought to a swift conclusion, even if it means treachery. A year ago, Conrad de Lancey came within seconds of assassinating Hitler. Now the British Secret Service want him to go back into Europe and make contact with a group of German officers they believe are plotting a coup. But this is the Shadow War, and the shadows are multiplying: it's not only disaffected Germans who are prepared to betray their country to save it...
October, 1939: War has been declared, but until the armies massed on either side of the French-German border engage, all is quiet on the Western Front. There are those who believe the war no one wants to fight should be brought to a swift conclusion, even if it means treachery. A year ago, Conrad de Lancey came within seconds of assassinating Hitler. Now the British Secret Service want him to go back into Europe and make contact with a group of German officers they believe are plotting a coup. But this is the Shadow War, and the shadows are multiplying: it's not only disaffected Germans who are prepared to betray their country to save it...
October, 1939: War has been declared, but until the armies massed on either side of the French-German border engage, all is quiet on the Western Front. There are those who believe the war no one wants to fight should be brought to a swift conclusion, even if it means treachery. A year ago, Conrad de Lancey came within seconds of assassinating Hitler. Now the British Secret Service want him to go back into Europe and make contact with a group of German officers they believe are plotting a coup. But this is the Shadow War, and the shadows are multiplying: it's not only disaffected Germans who are prepared to betray their country to save it...
October, 1939: War has been declared, but until the armies massed on either side of the French-German border engage, all is quiet on the Western Front. There are those who believe the war no one wants to fight should be brought to a swift conclusion, even if it means treachery. A year ago, Conrad de Lancey came within seconds of assassinating Hitler. Now the British Secret Service want him to go back into Europe and make contact with a group of German officers they believe are plotting a coup. But this is the Shadow War, and the shadows are multiplying: it's not only disaffected Germans who are prepared to betray their country to save it...
A fast-paced novel a little out of the norm for this author. It successfully mixes history with fiction, makes the political machinations of both sides understandable and interesting and paints a disturbing picture of life under the fascist regime for it all eventually centres on a plot to assassinate Hitler. Despite knowing the outcome it is our involvement with the main players that keeps us glued to the page. This is gripping throughout.
June 2013 eBook of the Month. A nerve-shredding, intelligent thriller based around the first plot to kill Hitler, the story of a secret conflict ignited on the eve of World War Two.A 'Piece of Passion' from Nicolas Cheetham, Digital Publisher, Head of Zeus...'Michael has taken a 'well-known' period of history and crafted something new, injecting an excruciating tension into a story where we already know -- or think we do -- the ending, immersing us so deeply in Berlin 1938 that we lose our historical hindsight, creating a climax that not only gets the heart racing, but is also morally satisfying and intellectually stimulating.' Click here to read the full comment.A new and exciting direction change for this bestselling thriller writer.
'Michael Ridpath is on the war path, trouncing the Scandinavians on their home turf. This is international thriller writing at its best, fine characters, page turning suspense and a great, fresh location.' PETER JAMESThe first two Magnus Jonson mysteries brought together into one ebook volume.Where the Shadows LieAmid 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.66(deg) North In Iceland, the credit crunch is biting. The currency has been devalued, banks nationalized, savings annihilated, lives ruined. Grassroots revolution is in the air, as is the feeling that someone ought to pay... the blood price. And in a country with a population of just 300,000 souls, where everyone knows everybody, it isn't hard to draw up a list of exactly who is responsible. And then, one-by-one, to cross them off. As bankers and politicians start to die, at home and abroad, it is up to Magnus Jonson to unravel the web of conspirators before they strike again.
"e;Michael Ridpath is on the war path, trouncingthe Scandinavians on their home turf. This is international thriller writing at its best, fine characters, page turning suspense and a great, fresh location."e; PETER JAMESAn atmospheric novella set in the remote north of Iceland, featuring lone-wolf police sergeant Magnus RagnarssonIceland, midwinter: the days are fleeting, the nights endless and sergeant Magnus Jonson has been sent to an isolated fishing village in the West Fjords to investigate the possible homicide of a road construction worker. Ringed by steep mountains, this bleak village is cut off from the rest of Iceland and from the modern world. The locals are adamant that Iceland's legendary huldufolk - hidden people - had a hand in the death. Magnus finds their superstition suspicious... As he digs deeper, Magnus discovers that the victim was not a popular man, leading him to suspect that other, more human, passions are at work...
An ancient saga. A modern legend. A secret worth killing for.Amid Iceland's wild, volcanic landscape, rumors swirl of an ancient 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 rumors 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 detective Magnus Jonson. On loan to the Icelandic Police Force for his own protection after a Massachusetts drug cartel puts a bounty on his head, Magnus is eager work the Haraldsson case, a rare lethal crime for the island nation. But his unorthodox investigative technique soon gets him into trouble with his more traditional superiors, intensifying his mixed feelings about returning to his native country-a place of tangled family loyalties haunted by his father's unsolved murder-after nearly two decades. 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 in the tradition of Arnaldur Indridason and Henning Mankell, Where the Shadows Lie is a heart-pounding new series from an established master.