In the Land of Mordor?

Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath is not your ordinary police procedural. When Icelandic expat and Boston detective Magnus Jonson finds his life threatened, he is whisked away into temporary witness protection via the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. He attempts to swallow his bitter memories of his homeland as he is called to investigate the murder of a professor of Icelandic literature. What follows is a web of greed, buried history, and family secrets involving a supposedly cursed ring, a long-lost saga, and two half-crazed Lord of the Rings fans. Though I found myself having to suspend disbelief at several plot points in Ridpath's tale, it was a quick and enjoyable read that kept me guessing til (almost) the end. HM