First off, I found this a reasonably easy read, with short chapters and a plot thats not too difficult to keep track of. The only exception to this being the Icelandic names of the characters (plus the various place names) - I would never claim to be fluent in Icelandic, so I'm glad I don't have to read the book out but really thats a small issue. I liked it as there's more than one story at play - there's a sort of fictional historical story (not that its set primarily in the past but it talks about Christopher Columbus' presumed discovery of America and questions whether Scandinavian's may have actually discovered America before Columbus) as well as the contemporary crime story. There's an authors note following the end of the main text, at the back of the book, which clarifies what is fictional and what has a true historical basis. I was interested in both parts of the story (sub plots) and I liked how different chapters move the focus from one character (or set of characters) to another. I found myself being left guessing what may happen next and being proven wrong. At one point I was suspicious that I may have guessed who had committed the crime but then I was proven wrong within a few pages of reading on and that left me even more keen to read on and find out what the ultimate outcome was. Also, as far as the crime element is concerned, it isn't horrendously gory or violent in terms of descriptions etc., which was good for me as I can be a bit put off by books which are especially gory. If you like Scandi crime noir type shows then this may be of interest to you and I'd say its worth a read. I believe the main character, Magnus, has been written about before and I hadn't read any of the authors' previous novels featuring him but I found it (as I say) easy to follow the story and get an idea of who the people were, obviously including Magnus, so I wouldn't say it should put you off reading it, if you haven't read other novels featuring Magnus before either. I felt the ending was a little unlikely - you may need to suspend disbelief for the very ending - the last 10 pages or so at least. Also, I noticed the quote on the front cover which reads 'One of our finest thriller writers - Daily Mail'. Well, I wouldn't (personally) categorise this as a thriller read as such, as it isn't especially action packed or fast paced as such. I'd say crime drama (with a bit of history) is a better description. If it interests you, I'd say its worth a look but its not a particularly amazing or memorable book (many books aren't) - its a good quick-ish read all the same though.

Michael Ridpath has written umpteen books about policeman Magnus Jonson but this is my first one. There seemed to be several references to a past that might be worth exploring in previous books since Magnus seems to be a likeable, if ever so slightly flawed, character, personable and zealous in the execution of his duty. Since I don’t believe in coincidences and having very recently read The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson I’m wondering if this is the year of the Icelandic novel for me?! Certainly the tale does credit to the country, aside from the crime of course! The writer conveys a real sense of Iceland; what it is to live, work and travel to and from a country deemed to be the most sparsely populated in Europe. Clearly he loves the country. The book is rich, too, in the history and legends of Iceland and it is that which provides the catalyst for the fiction. Yet the book has a truly international flavour. An Italian tourist is murdered close to a location where a documentary film crew are making a film about Gudrid The Wanderer. When there is a second murder it becomes clear that this is far from being a ‘simple’ crime. What follows struck me sometimes as a cross between Dan Brown and Stieg Larsson, Icelandic style!! It’s a myriad spider web of blurred lines and half truths, tangled relationships, red herrings and twos and twos making fives. But as with most crime stories you know as you are reading that the perpetrator is there right in front of your eyes. But can you make the right connections? Can you get there before the police do? I found the plot enjoyable and thought provoking but I can’t say why or I’d have to indulge in a spoiler and I’m just not in the mood!! But in fact there was more than plot at play in this engrossing story which bulked it out a bit. But if I’m honest I’m not sure exactly what it added to the book as a whole other than allow some character development for Magnus. Although blurbed as a thriller I feel that is a little misleading it’s more an historically flavoured crime fiction. It’s easy to read with a comfortable narrative style from an experienced writer. It must surely satisfy fans of Ridpath and Magnus and gain some new ones in the process. Many thanks to Readers First and Corvus books for the opportunity to read this. Michael Ridpath is now definitely on my radar.

2.5 Stars The best bit of this book for me was the Viking Sagas and the little dollops of history served out at the beginning of the book. The story of the Vikings and their exploration to unknown territories is endlessly interesting and I think there is little doubt they discovered the land now known as America long before the accepted discovery in the 15th Century. The only problem with that is there is no hard archaelogical evidence to support the theory. In this book Michael Ridpath takes that and runs with it - a letter from Columbus to his brother is found in the Vatican Secret archives appearing to detail information from Icelandic Sagas that leads him to America. Couple this with the finding of wampum shells at a Nordic settlement in Greenland and it would seem that the proof finally exists. Unfortunately for the team making a documentary about the wanderings of Gudrid and her family this leads them to discover the brutal murder of a young archaeologist at a site closely linked to Gudrid and they could all be in danger. Sadly for this reader it all then falls apart somewhat. I found there to be little in the way of sympathetic characters in the book and there are a lot of loose ends left untied at the end. As this is just one of a series of books around Magnus Ragnarsson then I can understand that but it does mean it loses a little as a stand alone read; this is a pity as knowledge of the previous books in the series is not necessary to read this one - indeed we are told so much of Magnus' history that it may be of a detriment to have read earlier books. The thriller aspect of the tale is pretty standard fare but I found that I could not really become interested in the who or why; it was all just a little bit flat. The writing itself is good and does evoke Iceland and Greenland very nicely and actually makes them seem like a great destination to visit. What it doesn't do is immerse you in the characters so you care about what is happening, or the who or the why. Pretty standard fare that is an easy read but doesn't really involve you as more than an observer. I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.