Where Shadows Lie - Michael Ridpath - 3.5 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

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.

[ShazM]

Thanks for the review. I've had this on my Kindle for years and never read it but now you've reminded me of it I'll definitely read it.