Great story...

with fantastic narration is a brilliant introduction to Michael Ridpath's marvelous Icelandic detective series. Highly recommended for fans of Michael Ridpath's other novels, and anyone who enjoys Scandinavian and Icelandic noir... Can't recommend it strongly enough. Wonderful !

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Good fun whodunnit with Icelandic twist

US cop ends up in Iceland solving a mystery linked to sagas and to Tolkien. This is a good listen and for me has the right balance of light and enough dark to make it interesting. A good listen for driving to work and a lot less upsetting than Jo Nesbo!

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Icelandic saga

If you can accept that a Boston cop, in hiding as a major crime witness, would be "hidden" in Iceland, then this is a very enjoyable listen.

There are links to sagas, icelandic superstitions and to Tolkien's major opus... and there is a ring too!

Narration is excellent, the plot moves along at a brisk pace - not too much gore despite plenty of deaths. This is a highly recommended book for those who like Nordic novels. Certainly makes a case to visit Iceland!

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4 people found this helpful

Interesting and Enjoyable

Insight in to the Icelandic culture with historical perspective on Sagas and Tolkein. Plot holds interest with the standard, emotionally disfunctional detective.

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4 people found this helpful

Fabulous!

Icelandic landscape, sagas, Tolkien, a detective story - a wonderful combination of ingredients which form the recipe of a thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable book. I loved it.

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Unexpectedly annoying narration

Would you try another book written by Michael Ridpath or narrated by Seán Barrett?

Sean Barrett is one of my favourite narrators and I have listened to and loved many books read by him, especially the Jo Nesbo books. But I would not listen to another "American" book narrated by him.

I may try another Michael Ridpath book - depending on the narrator.

What other book might you compare Where the Shadows Lie to, and why?

There's nothing particularly special about the book - it's on a par with many crime/thriller novels. The added historical/fantasy connection of the Icelandic sagas gives it an interesting edge. It has a similar feel to many of the Scandinavian crime genre.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Did anybody actually listen to Sean Barrett's narration before releasing this? The lead character is an American, and Sean's American accent is, at best, questionable. But what makes it worse, is that he keeps slipping in and out of it.

It wouldn't be too bad if he narrated in his normal voice and only used an American accent when certain characters were speaking. But he keeps slipping into a poor accent during pats of the narration, when some of the text reminds him that a part of the action is set in the U.S for example. So in the space of 2 sentences he'll go from reading in his English accent, to uttering a couple of minutes in a poor American accent (after a sentence contains the word "sidewalk" for example) which then fades out again aver the next couple of minutes.

It really is all over the place and almost made me give up on this book.

Was Where the Shadows Lie worth the listening time?

Yes - just. The story is only just good enough to put up with the narration.

Any additional comments?

Could have been so much better, if only Sean Barrett ha stuck to what he's good at (or some decent audio editors had been on the ball and ensured some consistency).

If you read paper copies, then I'd recommend this book in hard copy rather than audio.

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4 people found this helpful

Lord of the Rings ?

One needs to be conversant with Tolkien’s tale to enjoy this book. I would have returned it, but I had reached my ‘quota ‘ of returns. The excellent narration kept me listening .What a pity that what could have been a decent thriller was spoiled by endless chapters on the sagas. Perhaps a more thorough editor would have helped.

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LOTR/Hobbit fans will love the connections

Any Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fans will LOVE this book if they buy it as it has very strong links to it.

The names and places were a bit difficult to get to grips with but they are Icelandic so I should have expected them.

I really enjoyed it and got though it really quickly. -

Go on give it a try.....

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3 people found this helpful

Police Procedural Meets Tolkien

This is the opening book in Michael Ridpath's Fire and Ice series. It is a decent police procedural but it's fair to say that it does take a different path to the norm. Not unusual is the lead Detective Magnus Jonson who is a tough but principled US cop embroiled in a nasty case of police corruption.

What is unusual is that this tough US cop is taken out of the chaos of inner-city policing to the tranquil and bleakly beautiful environs of Iceland. A country that was once his home. A land where guns are unheard of and everyone seems to know everyone else.

I liked the characters in this one and a decent police procedural thriller does emerge with enough twists and turns to keep a reader interested. What is different is the focus on the Icelandic sagas and the Lord of the Rings. Ridpath cleverly entwines these two elements into a modern story as the modern-day Icelanders get to grips with their history and embroil the obsessed into their story as a result.

So that's the health warning with this one. If you haven't read the Lord of the Rings or myths and legends such as the Icelandic sagas don't appeal then you should be aware that the story is built around them. You could still read it and get something out of it but you will be subjected to some ancient storytelling and the significance of the ring and how it affects people may not be so readily apparent.

Happily for me I love both aspects of this book so I was like a pig in the proverbial organic substances. It will be interesting to see how Ridpath went on to develop this series. The mix of historical superstition with modern policing may well continue to be intriguing to those who enjoy such things.

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2 people found this helpful

Recommended for holidays

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would because I read it when I was a teenager and recently listened to the audiobook again, I thought it held up well and I enjoyed it both times.

Any additional comments?

Just right for taking on a long journey, very absorbing.

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