Where the Shadows Lie

By Michael Ridpath

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Aug 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781429995832

Michael Ridpath

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.

Reviews for Where the Shadows Lie

[andrew1theqm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very different take on a murder mystery. A straight forward police procedural (set in Iceland) which has the Icelandic Sagas and the Lord of the Rings book as a backdrop. Very cleverly done. It dropped off a little in the middle but certainly picked up pace towards the end of the book. Different to so many mystery and suspense books out there. It will be interesting to see how this is taken forward into Book 2 in the series.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If the story had not depended for much of it's interest on Lord of the Ring connections then it would deserve a higher rating, but the gimmicky aspects of the mystery kept alerting me to the fact I was reading fiction and I am a LotR fan. I like the characters and the setting, the pacing, and the way the complications were layered on.

[samm4-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this. A good blend of mythology, Icelandic sagas, modern skullduggery and quite a lot of boinking people on the head and pushing them off things. Looking forward to more - this is supposed to be the first of a trilogy.

[viking2917_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun Icelandic romp. Boston detective with Icelandic heritage heads to Iceland and ends up investigating a murder involving JRR Tolkien and a lost Icelandic saga. My kind of book...

[rayaowen · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

At the beginning, I thought I would really like this book and I was hopeful of having found a new series. Unfortunately, about mid way in I started to quite dislike the protagonist. Then, I was bored by the 'saga' and I started skimming just for plot. I did enjoy the Iceland setting.My Kobo purchase includes book 2 in this Fire and Ice series ,so I guess I'll read it at some point. maybe, I'll enjoy the second installment.

[msgumby · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a really brilliant book. The setting is Iceland, and the author manages to interweave the The Lord of the Rings amid the plot in a really natural way. Great characters, great atmosphere, great pacing--it'll make you want to buy a plane ticket to Iceland!

[kglattstein · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good murder mystery set in Iceland and weaving in Icelandic culture and scenery. Intriguing background stories and good writing encourages me to read other in the series, which I'll put on my "to read" list. A sign of a good book - you want to read more books by the author. This one fits the bill.

[olivermagnus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting mystery by an author I'd never read before. The story begins when Magnus Jonson, an American detective born in Iceland, is send to Reykjavik on a two-fold mission. The first is to “hide out” until he can be called back to Boston to testify in the trial of a corrupt cop and the second is to help train other members of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police in “serious crime investigation”.

He soon finds himself a member of the team investigating the death of a scholarly expert on old Icelandic sagas. There is a particular saga that is evocative of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and even involves an ancient gold ring, as well as correspondence from JRR Tolkien.

It's a fairly formulaic police procedural. Magnus feels left out by the lead detective so he breaks the rules so he can solve the crime. We've seen it many times before. What makes this more interesting is how the author connects Icelandic culture and history to a modern day crime story in what I consider to be an original idea.

Magnus is an interesting character and we learn more about his background throughout the story. While Magnus is likeable, the Icelandic culture was what made this above average for me. The plot line of a hitman searching for him seemed pointless whereas the storyline about the missing saga/ring and the numerous Icelandic characters were more than enough to carry the story.

The descriptions of the barren landscape of Iceland were fascinating to me. The author did a great job of creating the right atmosphere for the story. If you know something about the Lord of the Rings trilogy you'll probably enjoy it even more.

I would recommend this to any mystery fan who would like to read a creative story involving Icelandic mythology and history merged together in a murder mystery.

[amanderson_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Perfectly decent, good quality crime novel about a Boston cop, Magnus Jonson who gets temporarily transferred to Iceland to lie low because a Boston gang is trying to kill him. Magnus was raised there as a child and speaks the language. He sleuths around with the cops in Iceland, trying to solve the crime of a murder of a professor, which seems to have to do with ancient Icelandic sagas - or so Magnus believes. His Icelandic supervisor, not appreciating being assigned an American officer with much more experience with murders, doesn't agree. Sagas, authentic details about Iceland and its ways, Tolkien's possible inspiration for The Lord of the Rings, a stark volcanic landscape, and an Icelandic love interest spice up the novel, but not enough to make me read more in what seems to be a budding series. I am just not enough of a mystery reader. I'd recommend it without hesitation to readers of Scandi mysteries, though. It has violence but isn't terribly bloody, by the way.

[samo4_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this. A good blend of mythology, Icelandic sagas, modern skullduggery and quite a lot of boinking people on the head and pushing them off things. Looking forward to more - this is supposed to be the first of a trilogy.

[edwardsgt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was quite interesting until the Viking sagas and Tolkien took over the plot, but if you're a LofR fan you may appreciate it more than me!

[ebyrne41_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's got Iceland's economic woes, an Icelandic saga and its magical ring that was supposedly the inspiration for Tolstein's ring storyline in Lord of the Rings, the obligatory murder or two, an Icelandic-American policeman from Boston helping out while on witness protection, interesting characters, and Iceland the place. You do get a sense that this is written by an outsider, but that is not a criticism. He has researched well and Ridpath's fondness for, and knowledge of, Iceland are evident. This is a new departure for Ridpath who 'til this crime thriller wrote financial thrillers. I liked this new departure, it is well structured, pacy, inventive, and overall a good read. Should be of interest too to Lord of the Rings fans. First in his 'Fire & Ice' series, I can highly recommend.

[bsquaredinoz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Magnus Jonson is a Boston cop who took the unusual step of reporting one of his colleagues for accepting payment to destroy evidence in a gang killing. Since then the gang leader has been trying to silence Magnus for good as he is the only witness in the case. After he and his girlfriend are nearly killed, Magnus’ boss tells him about a request from Iceland’s police authorities to have an American policeman advise them as their country starts to experience similar crimes to those which have been common in the US for years. As Magnus was born in Iceland and speaks the language he is the ideal candidate for the assignment and it is hoped it will put him out of reach of the gang until the case can be brought to trial. In Iceland Magnus’ first case is the investigation of the murder of a Professor of Icelandic literature who appears to have been killed due to his knowledge of the whereabouts of a written version of a previously secret ancient Icelandic saga which was the basis for one of the English speaking world’s most famous literary works.

Ridpath has created a very believable and enjoyable novel here about a man who feels like an outsider no matter where he is. Although he has lived in the US since he was 12 Magnus doesn’t fit in with the Boston Police anymore because he has reported his colleague and that’s just not the done thing (a sentiment I will never understand no matter how many times I see it depicted). And though he was born in Iceland he doesn’t quite fit in there either. He can’t be a ‘proper’ policeman until he does some study but even then he won’t be able to carry a gun (police in Iceland don’t) and many of the local cops aren’t thrilled to have an American telling them what do do. I really found myself feeling quite sorry for Magnus, especially as all this was followed up by learning some unpleasant things about his own family that meant his personal history wasn’t what he’d been led to believe either. No wonder the man went on a bender.

This is all set against a great backdrop of the country itself which is revealed differently to the way a native writer would do so but it is equally engaging. The adventure surrounding the saga is compelling, involving both outsiders desperate to own the written version as well as the current descendants of the original creators of the saga who have been impacted by their family’s role in the saga for generations. Involving elements of myth and legend this could have become a really corny plot line but was handled intelligently and very credibly. More general aspects of modern Iceland are also displayed thoughtfully including the country’s current financial woes and attitudes to foreigners of various kinds. The range of reactions to Magnus joining the local police, from outright hostility to near sycophancy, had a realistic feel as well.

I’m always a little wary of books written by people who don’t live in or have extensive experience of their setting but Ridpath’s love for the country is palpable and infectious. He has created an intriguing protagonist and an entertaining series debut. He has also left much scope to explore both the characters’ histories and the country in future installments of the series which I very much look forward to reading.

My rating 3.5/5

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While there was much in this book I liked, the characters, the storyline was good, the constant retelling of Icelandic fables and stories served to make me lose the connection to the main case. In the beginning I liked all the references to Lord of the Rings and other Icelandic sagas, but they were told in such depth that it proved to be a distraction. Not your typical Nordic novel as the book starts in Boston and than combines elements of both cultures into the story which was interesting.

[clevinger_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Standard piece of police procedural genre fiction, inoffensively worth three stars. The plot isn't particularly gripping nor are there any major twists or turns that the reader doesn't see coming. However the book gets an extra half point for introducing me to Iceland and its sagas, about which I knew nothing previously, and which has sparked an interest I would like to pursue further if I come across any.