Author Michael Ridpath with a receding hairline and a beard, wearing a dark blazer and a light blue collared shirt, 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 historical 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 Rirdpath featuring a dark, cloudy sky above a fjord landscape in Iceland with mountains and a house built into the ground, with a bird flying overhead.

Whale Fjord: Book 7 Magnus Iceland Mysteries

Published Feb 2024

About Michael

Aiuthor Michael Ridpath sitting on concrete stairs, wearing a black blazer, light blue shirt, and a watch.

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 a snowy mountain range in Iceland, a small red and black house, and a quote from Peter James.

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

A vintage street scene in Berlin, showing Friedrichstraße and Unter den Linden with old cars, pedestrians, and historic buildings, including a cafe and restaurant on the right.

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.