Close-up portrait of author Michael Ridpath looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.

Michael Ridpath is a Sunday Times bestselling crime and thriller writer whose books have sold over a million copies and been translated into over thirty languages.

He has written the following novels:

  • The Magnus Iceland Mysteries (7 books)

  •  Stand-alone thrillers (5 books)

  •  Financial thrillers (8 books)

Ridpath has that read-on factor that sets bestsellers apart
The Guardian.

Ridpath's thrillers are remarkable for having their finger on the pulse
– Mail on Sunday.

Magnus Jonson is a complex and totally compelling character –
New York Journal of Books.

Book cover for 'Whale Fjord' by Michael Ridpath, depicting a rugged landscape with a small wooden house built into a grassy hill, a stark sky with dark clouds, and a flying bird near a body of water in a mountainous area.

Whale Fjord: Book 7 Magnus Iceland Mysteries

Published Feb 2024

About Michael

Author Michael Ridpath with short gray hair and facial hair, wearing a black blazer over a light blue shirt, sitting on concrete stairs with his hands clasped in front of him, looking directly at the camera.

Michael Ridpath’s first novel, after a career in finance, was Free to Trade, a bestseller about the murky world of bond trading which was translated into over thirty languages. The success of that book enabled him to become a full-time writer.

He published seven more thrillers with a financial background before starting a crime series set in Iceland featuring the Icelandic-American detective Magnus Jonson. He has also written five stand-alone thrillers.

Read more about Michael …

Free Novella

Book cover of 'The Polar Bear Killing' by Michael Ridpath featuring snow-covered mountains, a small red house with a black roof, and a cloudy sky.

A starving polar bear swims ashore in a remote Icelandic village and is shot by the local policeman. Two days later, the policeman is found dead on a hill above the village. Sergeant Magnus is sent from Reykjavik to investigate.

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What’s Next

Vintage street scene in Berlin, Friedrichstraße and Unter den Linden, featuring old cars, pedestrians, and historic buildings with shops and cafes.

I am working on a new series. A British war veteran and a young female American foreign correspondent solve crimes around the capitals of Europe in the 1930s.

The first book in the series takes place in Berlin in 1930, the second in Vienna in 1931.