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Michael Ridpath
121 ratings | 20 reviews | avg rating:4.11

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Michael Ridpath

Goodreads Author


Born
in Devon, The United Kingdom
Website

Twitter
MichaelRidpath

Genre
Mystery & Thrillers, Crime, Thriller

Member Since
April 2012


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
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Popular Answered Questions

Hello Michael, I'm guessing you are neither a native of Iceland nor Germany, although you must have stayed in both when researching for your writing. My question is: which was harder to write with - Iceland set in your lifetime, or Germany set in the past which obviously you were unfamiliar with?
Michael Ridpath Interesting question! They both require different forms of research. Iceland involved visiting places and talking to people, but not a lot of reading.…moreInteresting question! They both require different forms of research. Iceland involved visiting places and talking to people, but not a lot of reading. There is a limited amount of books about Iceland or novels set there in English. If you ask them in the right way, Icelanders can be extremely helpful.

On the other hand, while I visited Berlin, it looks much different than it had in 1938-40. And while I spoke to some Germans, they were not their grandparents. But there are lots of books published about Germany at the beginning of then war. Obscure memoirs were particularly useful: I read a great description of a Prussian wedding in Alexander Stahlberg’s memoirs, for example, which I drew on in Traitor’s Gate. The problem is that I have to note down every inconsequential detail about daily life and then index them all.

So, to answer your question, Germany set in the past was harder, because of the volume of reading, note taking and indexing.(less)
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I recently read and enjoyed all five of the Fire and Ice series. They were part of my background reading for the Iceland trip we had planned for two months ago. (But of course that was Covid cancelled.) Do you plan to add any more to that series?
Michael Ridpath Yes! I'm working on a new Magnus book now. I've done most of the research (apart from visiting Iceland - that's a problem) and most of the planning. M…moreYes! I'm working on a new Magnus book now. I've done most of the research (apart from visiting Iceland - that's a problem) and most of the planning. May start writing in December. But it probably won't be published until 2022.(less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.94 · 17,928 ratings · 1,722 reviews · 71 distinct works • Similar authors
Where the Shadows Lie (Fire...
3.84 avg rating — 3,804 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions
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Far North (Fire & Ice #2)
3.92 avg rating — 1,455 ratings — published 2011 — 32 editions
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Meltwater (Fire & Ice #3)
4.06 avg rating — 912 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
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Sea of Stone (Fire & Ice #4)
4.20 avg rating — 792 ratings — published 2014 — 14 editions
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Free to Trade
3.68 avg rating — 861 ratings — published 1995 — 46 editions
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The Wanderer (Fire and Ice #5)
4.11 avg rating — 728 ratings — published 2018 — 14 editions
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Final Venture
3.97 avg rating — 741 ratings — published 2000 — 29 editions
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On the Edge (Alex Calder #1)
4.10 avg rating — 695 ratings — published 2005 — 12 editions
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Fatal Error
3.86 avg rating — 725 ratings — published 2003
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Amnesia
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More books by Michael Ridpath…

97 posts
Michael Ridpath's Blog

Gudrid and her husband discover America

In my last blog post, I described how Gudrid the Wanderer wandered from Iceland to Greenland. But she didn't stop there.

The two Vinland Sagas disagree on who first made landfall in North America, which became known as 'Vinland'. One saga says it was Bjarni Herjólfsson, who got lost on the way to Greenland, the other says it was Leif Eriksson, Erik the Red's son. These days Leif seems to get all th Read more of this blog post »
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Published on May 21, 2024 11:49 • Tags: greenland, vinland, writinginice
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Series by Michael Ridpath

Where the Shadows Lie Far North Meltwater Sea of Stone The Wanderer Death in Dalvik Whale Fjord
(7 books)
by
3.97 avg rating — 9,329 ratings

Free to Trade Trading Reality The Marketmaker Fatal Error On the Edge See no Evil Final Venture
(8 books)
by
3.85 avg rating — 4,863 ratings

On the Edge See no Evil
(2 books)
by
4.06 avg rating — 908 ratings

Traitor's Gate Shadows of War
(2 books)
by
3.78 avg rating — 526 ratings

Michael is Currently Reading

The Raven Scholar
Michael Ridpath is currently reading
by Antonia Hodgson (Goodreads Author)
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May 28, 2025 07:38PM

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Michael’s Recent Updates

Michael Ridpath is currently reading
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1)
by Antonia Hodgson (Goodreads Author)
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fantasy
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May 28, 2025 07:38PM  · 
More of Michael's books…
Quotes by Michael Ridpath  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“the”
― Michael Ridpath, Fatal Error
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“But the danger added to the thrill. It was a long shot: perhaps the police would get to the ring first. Perhaps the ring was a fake all along. Perhaps no one would ever find it. But there was a chance, a real chance, that Isildur might end up the owner of the actual ring that had inspired The Lord of the Rings, that had been carried to Iceland by his namesake a thousand years before.”
― Michael Ridpath, Where the Shadows Lie
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“The often-uttered words of Colonel Rydal ran through Conrad's head. *What a shambles.*”
― Michael Ridpath, Shadows of War
tags: recall, tension, thriller
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Polls

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Nordic Noir: This topic has been closed to new comments. July - Nominations Open 8 46 Jun 30, 2012 07:41PM  
Icelandophiles: Authors who write about Iceland 1 247 Jul 09, 2012 11:34PM  
English Translati...: About Nordic cop characters 70 163 Aug 04, 2012 01:51AM  
English Translati...: "Where the Shadows Lie", book of the Month for June 2012 42 75 Aug 14, 2012 12:57AM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Summer Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC 2637 935 Sep 01, 2012 08:32AM  
Nordic Noir: July - Michael Ridpath 26 36 Sep 08, 2012 04:06PM  
Historical Fictio...: Around the World Challenge (Aug 1 - Sept 30, 2012) - Report Points Here 118 238 Oct 04, 2012 05:23AM  
Challenge: 50 Books: Susan T's 50 books in 2012 List: COMPLETE! 9 40 Oct 27, 2012 11:42PM  

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Michael’s Groups

52781 Nordic Noir — 507 members — last activity Sep 12, 2018 09:30AM
Did you enjoy Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy and want to explore more in the genre? Or just looking for something new to read ...more
353 J.R.R. Tolkien — 3855 members — last activity Dec 26, 2025 03:21PM
Discussion, recommendations, and all-over appreciation for Britain's own myth maker, Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. ...more
25x33 Icelandophiles — 87 members — last activity Feb 01, 2024 04:51AM
Members enjoy Icelandic fiction
131310 Cityread London 2014 — 15 members — last activity Apr 08, 2014 11:35AM
This April join us in reading Louisa Young's "My Dear I Wanted to Tell You", and Michael Morpurgo's "Private Peaceful", and join in our discussions. ...more

Michael’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-3)    post a comment »
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message 3: by Michael
Jan 20, 2016 10:19PM

Michael Ridpath Kenneth wrote: "Michael we have your short story The Polar Bear Killing as one of our reads this month and we have a reader from California wanting to know if this was used as part of a TV show cal..."

Kenneth, I'm so pleased you are reading it. Let me know if anyone has any trouble getting hold of it - on the launch date it wasn't available for some amazon US readers. I asked my publishers to sort that out, and I hope they have done so.

To answer your question, no, the story was not used in Fortitude, at least not with my knowledge. I haven't actually seen the show, since I don't get Sky. I believe it was filmed in Isafjordur in Iceland, but was supposed to be Greenland.

Any more questions, happy to answer them!

Michael


message 2: by Ken
Jan 20, 2016 10:05PM

Ken Fredette Michael we have your short story The Polar Bear Killing as one of our reads this month and we have a reader from California wanting to know if this was used as part of a TV show called "Fortitude".
Scandinavian and Nordic Crime Fiction - Ken


message 1: by Zoë
Jun 12, 2012 11:56PM

Zoë Sharp Hi Michael. Lovely to catch up with you here. I'm sorry we only seemed to pass in corridors at CrimeFest. Next time we must stop to chat!


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