Amid Iceland’s wild, volcanic landscape, rumors swirl of an 800-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 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 … 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, Where the Shadows Lie is the first in a thrilling new series from an established master.
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Very slow moving.
This book is what made me a big fan of Michael Ridpath. The first installment of his Fire & Ice series, Where the Shadows Lie introduces the reader to Magnus Jonson, an Icelander transplanted to Boston. Jonson returns to his homeland “on loan” to the Icelandic police.
Ridpath creates characters w/ depth. The plot has complexity w/ some good …
A good read. The Iceland locale was interesting and informative and the storyline was very entertaining.
If you are fascinated by Iceland, The Lord of The Rings, and the Norse Sagas you will surely enjoy this book! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The multiple story lines are not distracting but rather enhance the primary situation of the solving of a mystifying murder. This is the first in the Fire & Ice series but can be read as a ‘stand alone’ …
Very unusual mystery I loved it
Just couldn’t get interested in it.
Interesting glimpse of Iceland – hard to read the names etc
Too much SAGA, too little detection.
Excellent writer. Action-packed detective story that is hard to put down.
Icelandic names and references kept me interested. I never encountered a plot in that country so I would recommend this book based on that alone
An exciting Thriller set in Iceland! Loved the travels all around the country.
I didn’t finish it. It just went on and on and did not keep my interest.
Set in Iceland and incorporated the sagas.
I liked learning more about Iceland. I got a bit confused with details about the fable, probably because I never read the Hobbitt.
Well-written and original. Classic who-done-it set in weirdly wonderful Iceland with mystical overtones. Realistic setting and characters with a few inspired twists thrown in for good measure. It’s one of those books that you want to re-read after finishing to find all the subtle clues that you missed along the way. Looking forward to more …
Reminded me of Nesbo and Mankell
It is a great mystery for Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) fans. It is about a Boston detective who needs to leave when he becomes a witness against a gang leader. He is placed in protective custody in the police department in Iceland – where he is originally from as a consultant detective. While there he becomes involved in a murder mystery involving …
O really like the fire and ice novels. Now, let’s hope he’s started the next one.
I’ve read several of Mr. Ridpath’s e- books on financial crime; and liked them very much; in fact, I’ve kept them on my Kindle. This book is very different. Coincidentally, my son-in-law was traveling to Iceland that very week that I was reading this book; and I got to visit too; with a mystery to solve!
Didn’t finish it.