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markhoh's review
3.0
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.
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.
ericwelch's review
4.0
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.
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.
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