What are you reading the week of Sunday, October 26, 2014?

[scarletwoman]

20. When I checked in last week, I was about to start on Michael Ridpath's #s 3 & 4,

Meltwater and Sea of Stone. Meltwater was a bit uneven I thought, and the identity of the murderer was a total surprise - there were barely any clues at all foreshadowing who it turned out to be. It felt like a bit of a cheat actually.

However, the thing is, the main protagonist's family history in Iceland is woven into each of the books in this series, and THOSE parts are unequivocally fascinating. So while the foreground elements in each book - the modern day murders to be solved and the straightforward police procedural stuff - do seem to vary in interest and credibility, the historical threads have been consistently compelling.

Book #3 ended in a total cliffhanger in the ongoing family history part of the narrative, and I was really grateful that I already had #4 at hand! I finished #4, Sea of Stone on Wednesday and I was just, "WOW!"

There is no other unrelated (so to speak ) story interwoven with the police procedural stuff in book #4, because the murder to be investigated in this one is the protagonist's own grandfather, and the protagonist himself is accused of committing this murder, and is arrested and jailed. (It's complicated!) Anyway, it was a wonderful read after following the family history through all the first three books. I can't imagine that it would have anywhere near the impact if one had not been following the series from the very first book, so I would not recommend it unless someone has read the first 3 books of the series.

And while Sea of Stone tied up many loose ends in the family story, it left some things unresolved. I certainly hope there is a 5th book on the way - although I haven't found any indications yet that one is planned. But the minute I hear that a #5 has been written, it will go on my library wish list.

I have to admit, when I started the Ridpath series I sort of felt like I was cheating on my beloved Scandinavian authors. Ridpath is a Brit, he's never lived in Iceland (only visited), so how dare he do all these books taking place in Iceland? And while he's clearly a skillful author, he is not someone I would class with the "Nordic Noir" genre - he just doesn't have that dark, gloomy Scandinavian sensibility. Still, he does quite well with bringing his characters to life, and I give him high marks on his descriptions of the Icelandic countryside. When he describes an old lava field, you can absolutely see the lava field, and the fields and the mountains around it.

And he clearly has studied the Icelandic Sagas, Icelandic history, as well as the geography, topography, the political and social history and current events - the whole series takes place against the backdrop of the bank failures from 2008, on. So maybe, as an outsider he has a particularly clear view to share. All I can say is that his books have only deepened my fascination with Iceland.

Meanwhile, after finishing Ridpath's #4, I'm back in Sweden, making my way once again through my trove of the old Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö Martin Beck series. I'm on #9 of the series, Cop Killer - out of order because that one was due back at the library on Wednesday, so I'm reading it now before the fine gets too big. The rest aren't due until November 6th.

Yesterday I got notification that the latest Tana French book is in, The Secret Place - but I'm waiting until next week to pick it up. Hoping to have time to read a little more Martin Beck before I get something else.