took me too long to get into the story. It was not easy to follow the storylines, or rather it wasn't easy to see where they led to and what they were supposed to tell about the protagonist.
though getting to the middle of the book was a struggle, it picked up pace somewhere around the middle and then I finished it in no time.
The book left some questions about Magnus' family history open and hence I will have to read another book in the line to find out the solution to the mystery behind the father's death. ( )

took me too long to get into the story. It was not easy to follow the storylines, or rather it wasn't easy to see where they led to and what they were supposed to tell about the protagonist.
though getting to the middle of the book was a struggle, it picked up pace somewhere around the middle and then I finished it in no time.
The book left some questions about Magnus' family history open and hence I will have to read another book in the line to find out the solution to the mystery behind the father's death. ( )

Far North is the second book of Michael Ridpath's “Fire and Ice Trilogy” set in Iceland. Boston police detective Magnus Jonsson is still in Reykjavik working with the Icelandic police on violent crime issues. Magnus, currently teaching at the Icelandic police college, hears of the London murder of Oskar Gunnarsson, former head of Odinsbanki before it was nationalized. While he has no evidence, other than gut instinct, he connects it to the suicide of local banker Gabriel Orn. This leap is one of the weakest parts of the plot but is obviously necessary to advance the storyline.

There is also a second storyline that plays out in the background that revolves around Magnus's family history and how he ended up in Boston. This began in the first book and is obviously leading us toward a conclusion in the final book of the trilogy.

The reason I rated this 3.5 instead of a 4 stars was because the plot of Far North is weaker than the first book, [b:Where the Shadows Lie|8109163|Where the Shadows Lie (Fire & Ice, #1)|Michael Ridpath|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1399977177s/8109163.jpg|12903826]. The back-story starts in 1934 and transitions in an awkward way but once I understood what was going on it made more sense.

Iceland is the star once again. I found the atmosphere, culture and people fascinating. I enjoyed it very much and am on my way to the local bookstore to see if I can find a copy of the next book, Meltwater. Maybe along the way I'll stop at the travel agency too! ( )

Enjoyable read. Good detective series and lots of cool information about Iceland and the great financial meltdown. A bit too much of the lore of old, however. ( )

Far North is the second book of Michael Ridpath's “Fire and Ice Trilogy” set in Iceland. Boston police detective Magnus Jonsson is still in Reykjavik working with the Icelandic police on violent crime issues. Magnus, currently teaching at the Icelandic police college, hears of the London murder of Oskar Gunnarsson, former head of Odinsbanki before it was nationalized. While he has no evidence, other than gut instinct, he connects it to the suicide of local banker Gabriel Orn. This leap is one of the weakest parts of the plot but is obviously necessary to advance the storyline.

There's quite a bit of background on the Icelandic credit crunch of 2009 where the krona was devalued, savings evaporated overnight and everyday Icelander's were financially ruined. It makes it possible to understand how angry the Icelanders were and how the bankers could have been targeted.

There is also a second storyline that plays out in the background that revolves around Magnus's family history and how he ended up in Boston. This began in the first book and is obviously leading us toward a conclusion in the final book of the trilogy.

The reason I rated this 3.5 stars instead of 4 is because the plot of Far North is weaker than the first book (Where the Shadows Lie). The back-story starts in 1934 and transitions in an awkward way but once I understood what was going on it made more sense.

Iceland is the star once again. I found the atmosphere, culture and people fascinating. I enjoyed it very much and am on my way to the local bookstore to see if I can find a copy of the next book, Meltwater. Maybe along the way I'll stop at the travel agency too!
( )