Author Michael Ridpath.

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.

A dark, stormy sky with mountains, a body of water, a small wooden house with a thatched roof on a rocky landscape, a bird flying, and a quote at the bottom that reads 'One of our finest thriller writers' Daily Mail.

Whale Fjord: Book 7 Magnus Iceland Mysteries

Published Feb 2024

About Michael

A middle-aged man with gray hair and a beard, dressed in a black blazer and blue shirt, sitting on outdoor concrete stairs, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.  Michael Ridpath.

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 featuring snowy mountains, a small red house, and large bold text that reads: 'Michael Ridpath, The Polar Bear Killing, An international thriller' by 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 photograph of Friedrichstraße and Unter den Linden in Berlin, featuring old-style cars, pedestrians, and buildings with signs advertising cafes, restaurants, and shops, with tram tracks and traffic lights in the street.

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.