Edge of Nowhere

Fire and Ice #2.5

by Michael Ridpath

A short story/novella written by Ridpath.

Iceland, midwinter: the days are fleeting, the nights endless and detective 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 huldufólk - 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...

Genres: Mystery, Nordic Noir, Thriller, Crime, Short Stories, Police, Scandinavian Literature

60 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 25, 2011

About the author

Before becoming a writer, Michael Ridpath used to work as a bond trader in the City of London. After writing several financial thrillers, which were published in over 30 languages, he began a crime series featuring the Icelandic detective Magnus Jonson. He has also written five stand-alone thrillers, the latest of which is The Diplomat’s Wife, published in February 2021. He lives in London.

And if you want a free copy of his novella, The Polar Bear Killing, and to sign up to his quarterly newsletter, just click this link: http://eepurl.com/dlzgFH

Reviews

[Sonia Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

No 1º volume da série, uma das coisas que mais me entusiasmou foi o folclore ou mitologia, da cultura Islandesa, que incluía elfos - ou "hidden people", seres pequeninos que vivem escondidos nas montanhas, debaixo de rocha. Achei o máximo que esta pequena novella fosse buscar essa parte da mitologia e deliciei-me mesmo com a forma como os personagens Islandeses falavam com Magnus sobre os hidden people serem culpados da morte de um homem como se existissem mesmo.

Foi engraçado que, assim que a personagem da mayor (não me lembro do nome dela) surgiu na história, pensei logo: "foi ela"; depois achei que era uma ideia rebuscada demais e afastei-a da ideia; afinal era mesmo ela e, chegando aqui, tendo já sido surpreendida da mesma maneira também no livro anterior, vou passar a confiar nos meus palpites, por mais rebuscados que sejam. Este Michael Ridpath tem cada ideia - LOL. Bom, a mayor assassina - que mulherzinha mais estúpida...

Não sei se iria querer conhecer aquele pedacinho da Islândia onde decorre a ação...

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Ridpath’s Fire & Ice series showcases Iceland and it’s landscapes, geography, major features, in the context of a collection of stories centred around Detective Magnús Ragnarsson. Magnús is an Icelander recently returned after spending many years in Boston.

The series absolutely appealed to my love of all things Iceland and I enjoyed this short novella, telling a brief whodunnit story set somewhere in the timeline of the series as an interlude in the main sequence of stories. As usual Ridpath takes the reader on an Icelandic journey, this time to the remote village of Bolungarvík, the northernmost town in the Westfjords. I love being introduced to places like this and used the book to stimulate my own reading about the area.

The story in and of itself is somewhat entertaining but not riveting. The writing style is enjoyable but fairly straightforward. Overall a nice interlude between other books I’m reading and always a pleasant return to Iceland.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnus Jonson is Icelandic born but raised in the US, where he became a Boston homicide detective; now he's working in Iceland, helping them deal with murder investigations. Superstitions abound and the less than helpful “hidden people” put obstacles in Magnus’ s path…but he sees through all of this to make short work of solving Gustis death. A clue about his own father's death may have come out of his murder investigation passed on by a seer. Does Mangus have answers or just more questions? Maybe we’ll find out in the next book. Overall this one was a good story in an unusual, setting with interesting sidelines about the natives.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot and characters. Not a fun read but well worth the read. Narrator Is an easy to listen to kind of performer.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this novella, Boston Homicide detective Magnus has just finished a six-month stint in the Icelandic Police College to learn Icelandic police procedures. He’s on extended loan to the Iceland police forces as an experienced investigator and probably the only one in Boston who speaks fluent Icelandic.

His first case after finishing his training is the death of a construction worker, killed by a landslide while repairing a road. The man was unpopular and the local constable thinks the death is suspicious. It happened in Bolungarvik, otherwise known as at the edge of nowhere. (N.B. It’s a real place.) The locals think the man was killed by the “hidden people,” i.e. elves.

It’s a good story and a nice introduction to Magnus. Ridpath conveys a real sense of place. I suspected who the killer was fairly early on, if not the motivation, and knew it had to be tragic. After all, it did take place at the edge of nowhere.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story of set in the far north west of Iceland, on the edge of nowhere as they say. Magnus is an ex-Boston homicide detective who moved back to Iceland, where he was born. Having just finished his time in the police college, to retrain, he is assigned a possible murder, mostly as an attempt to put him in his place, where one of the suspects is the Hidden People.

This is a nice easy to read story and and nice reintroduction to the series. I've read one book in the series and would like to read more. Very enjoyable.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read other books by this author and on the whole they are easy enjoyable stories. Was this very short story proof read? Jonni suddenly became David which made no sense at all. How did the proof readers let that slip through? Perhaps I’ve misunderstood an important point, but I don’t think so.
The book was free so perhaps I shouldn’t complain but it seems a bit sloppy on the writer’s part.

[Cobwebs-Iced-Across-SpaceTime · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDGE OF NOWHERE is a novella introducing the backstory and foundation of Icelandic native Magnus Jonsson (Icelandic birth name Magnus Ragnarsson), who as a Boston homicide detective targeted by a Dominican criminal mob after accidentally uncovering police corruption, returns to Iceland, where policing is different and crime has historically been low.

[Advait Petiwale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I managed to find time and squeeze in a read. It's short and good, but not that great. I did indeed solve the case as soon as the perp hit the page. Perhaps because it does not have enough space to fit in a novel-esque whodunit.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short case for Magnus using the Fire and Ice characters. Enjoyed it.

[CarWag · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quick read, continuing the story of Magnus' return to Iceland

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodness me! It was over in a heartbeat! Not a bad read but way too short

[Basia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ends abruptly.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, well written book.

[Christiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

Another quiet, thoughtful read. I REALLY like Magnus. He knows how to use his eyes & his brain. Can’t help but feel the postal worker may show up again. 😉

[Scooby Doo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and sweet little police procedural. Nothing outstanding here, but I did enjoy the exotic locale, a remote village in northern Iceland.

[Julie Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet

Much in the vain of the series this is a quick read which didn't really challenge but was a pleasant distraction.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing quality of this novella is poor compared to his first two novels. His main character acts and thinks differently. It was weird.

[William Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

I can’t help feeling that this short story would have made a fantastic novel. I like the little twist at the end.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short novella covering the death of a worker in a rock fall which may have been started deliberately.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really quick read but it was a good story. I don't know anything about the area the book is set in but I still enjoyed the writing.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story involving the characters from Ridpath's Fire and Ice series featuring the American-Icelandic cop Magnus Ragnarsson.

If you're a fan of the two books published so far then you'll almost certainly enjoy this tale of a possible murder that Marcus is despatched to investigate in a particularly remote part of Iceland.

You probably do need to have read the first two to get the most out of it. Plus this story makes reference to plot details from the first two books which you might prefer to discover as you go by reading them first.

As ever Magnus is a flawed but likeable hero, his faults tending to make him all the more engaging, and the supporting characters are well fleshed-out.

The central mystery works well, though the way it is finally solved did seem a little too reliant on dumb luck (mind you, maybe that's how some police cases are solved in real life).

I'm now looking forward even more eagerly to the release of the next book in the series, in the summer.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect novella. In 60-odd pages the author sets the scene, introduces the protagonists, relates the pertinent background, maps out a likely scenario, muddies the waters, sneaks behind our backs and then finishes up with some unexpected twists and turns right at the end. This is not an easy thing to do. Really - try it yourself! The novella is an art form which most authors of full-length books don't master. They should read this one.

The story is set between books 2 and 3 in the Fire and Ice trilogy, and while it would be useful to read books 1 and 2 first - more for the Icelandic setting and the part in Icelandic history played by the hidden people than for the background of the characters - it could also be read as a standalone story. Either way - just read it. Magnus doing battle with the hidden people is a wondrous thing to behold.

[Stamatios Mantzouranis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Edge of Nowhere without having read Ridpath's previous books with the same protagonist. I don't know if it would have helped if I had done so, but I'm sad to report that this short novel did nothing to pick my interest about them. Detective Magnus is not particularly intelligent or interesting and the plot is sketchy at best. I really don't think that the short novel format fits the crime mystery genre.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved this novella from Michael Ridpath. It was a nice treat to wet the whistle until his next in series is released. It did have the feeling that there were significant aspects missing due to it being a novella and I must admit that I do prefer his full length novels which aren't to be missed! This is one of my favorite NN series.

I did read this quite a bit ago, but my review up and disappeared. Not sure what happened there.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short story featuring a murder and the 'hidden people' of Iceland. An additional piece from the Fire and Ice series of books. Magnus Jonson the American detective assigned to the Icelandic police force is sent to investigate. Not all is as it seems.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book 4 stars because I have read the other books in the series. I probably would have given it 3 otherwise. It was just the right length for this point in the series. There is a good twist and a good nod at the end to the overall series. Looking forward to the next release.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story but agree with the other reviewer that it is best to read the previous two books first.

[Sharon Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read Where the Shadows Lie and had enjoyed it so I was looking forward to reading this short story.
Another great read from Michael Ridpath. I can't recommend this author enough

[Odi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowhere as good as the first two books in the series. A little disappointing.