Saturday 28 May 2011

CRIME REVIEW: Fire and Ice 2: 66 Degree's North - Michael Ridpath

Release Date: 12/05/11

SYNOPSIS:

Iceland 1934: Two boys playing in the lava fields that surround their isolated farmsteads see something they shouldn't have. The consequences will haunt them and their families for generations.

Iceland 2009: the credit crunch bites. The currency has been devalued, banks nationalized, savings annihilated, lives ruined. Grassroots revolution is in the air, as is the feeling that someone ought to pay... ought to pay the blood price. And in a country with a population of just 300,000 souls, in a country where everyone knows everybody, it isn’t hard to draw up a list of exactly who is responsible. And then, one-by-one, to cross them off.


REVIEW:

Having read Michael’s original release I fell in love with Iceland, not that I’ve ever visited but the descriptions of not only the landscape but the peoples really struck a chord with me as they’re not just a snapshot but a fully rounded gathering of a culture that is not only fascinating but reminiscent of a time long gone in the UK where everyone knew who was who locally.

It’s beautifully written, the prose sharp with an overall arc that keeps the story moving at a wonderful pace as well as allowing the reader the chance to gather their thoughts as each clue pops up. Add to this a friendly as well as authoritative writing style and it’s a title that I really couldn’t put down. The only thing that could have been better I suspect would be to have read this book in the land to which it walks through the lava fields and visiting the rich heritage of the saga’s. Wonderful.

1 comment:

Jessica Peter said...

Even though I'm not usually a crime reader, I'm adding this to my to-read list. I adore books set firmly in a place, that make the place come alive. (And as I mentioned in my comment in the author guest post, I have a fascination with Iceland!)