|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Well, here's a neat variation on several themes… For those of us fed-up to the back teeth with the latest contorted twists on holy grails, Michael Ridpath brings us a search for a Tolkeinesque ring. And in place of the morose Icelandic or Scandinavian detective, we have a gloomy Yank. Detective Magnus Jonson needs to get out of Boston's mean streets pretty damn fast. Snitching on a corrupt colleague isn't a good career move – and doesn't look like doing much for his life expectancy either. So it turns out to be really rather convenient that Iceland's police chief wants an American detective who can speak the language to go over and give them a hand investigating the growing number of murders. So Magnus – soon to be known once more by his real name of Magnús Ragnarsson – is reluctantly on his way back to the land of his fathers. It's not plain sailing for our hero, who can't put girlfriend Colby out of his mind, and who soon finds that not all Icelandic cops are delighted to see him. But he's determined to prove himself when it comes to solving the murder of academic Agnar Haraldsson – and turns out to be the latest in a long line of maverick cops. Michael Ridpath's earlier books were financial thrillers. Now he's left the sharp suits and the millionaires behind, and yomped well off the beaten track into the wilds of Iceland and Magnús's beloved sagas. And for the LORD OF THE RINGS fans out there, there's a hefty dash of Tolkein in the mix. WHERE THE SHADOWS LIE is a very intriguing start to what's set to be a series. Ridpath's an accomplished story teller, and juggles his American and Icelandic plots efficiently enough, although you will need to check your disbelief in at the door when it comes to some of Magnús's more bizarre actions. I'm sure the way he deals with some of the witnesses and suspects isn't in the Icelandic Guide to Good Policing! And one or two of the plot twists aren't what you'd call subtle. What kept me glued to the book, though, was the bleak setting and the vividness of Iceland's history and its literary sagas, which I adored when I read them at university. For the record, though, I've never read LORD OF THE RINGS…. § Sharon Wheeler is a UK-based journalist, writer and lecturer.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, June 2010
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
