Michael Ridpath

Michael was born in Devon in 1961, but grew up in Yorkshire. He was educated at Millfield School in Somerset, and Merton College, Oxford, where he read History.

After University, Michael joined Saudi International Bank, a part-Saudi, part-American owned bank based in London. He started off his career as a credit analyst, but then became a bond trader, managing one of the largest junk bond portfolios in Europe.

In 1991 Michael left bond trading to join Apax Partners, a venture capital firm.

Michael’s first novel, Free to Trade, was written during evenings and weekends over a four year period. When it was accepted for publication with a large advance, he gave up working in the City to become a full-time writer.

Michael is the former Vice Chair of The Crime Writers Association and current Treasurer of the Royal Literary Fund.

Michael is married to Barbara and lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, with their three children, Julia, Laura and Nicholas.

Lived: 1961 -

On the Edge

From his past as an RAF fighter pilot to his job as a bond trader in the City, Alex Calder is a man known for taking big risks – and winning. But when colleague Jennifer Tan decides to pursue a sexual harassment case against her boss, Calder witnesses the ugly side of his word. And(…)

See No Evil

We follow the English delegation, selected by King Henry VIII himself, to the glittering city of Constantinople, where the most amazing tournament ever staged will take place. But when the stakes are this high, not everyone plays fair, and for our team of plucky English heroes, winning may not be the primary goal.

Where the Shadows Lie

Amid Iceland’s wild, volcanic landscape, rumours swirl of an ancient manuscript containing a long-lost saga about a ring of terrible power. The manuscript, which is believed to have inspired Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, exists…but why is it worth killing for? Untangling murder from myth is Iceland-born, Boston-raised homicide detective Magnus Jonson. Seconded to the(…)

66 Degrees North (Far North)

As barbaric murders occur, a more immediate goal might simply be staying alive.

Meltwater

Operation Meltwater: FreeFlow, a group of internet activists committed to the freedom of information have video evidence of a military atrocity in the Middle East and have chosen Iceland as their HQ while they prepare to unleash their greatest coup on the world’s media. On the glacial rim of erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull, they christen their(…)

Final Venture

After young venture capitalist Simon Ayot finds his father-in-law lying dead from a gunshot wound, and all the damning evidence points to Simon. With the police determined to prove his guilt, and even his grief-stricken wife beginning to suspect him, he races to clear his name and save his marriage-all too aware that the next(…)

Free to Trade

Paul Murray is an ex-Olympic runner, so his training is perfect for the rigors of bond trading for a London financial house. The pace is breakneck, the smell of success intoxicating. Paul has really found a home here, and maybe even the love of his life in his colleague Debbie Chater–until her lifeless body is(…)

The Marketmaker

An inexperienced stockbroker at a high-powered financial firm sees his career take off with the stunning success of his first major transaction, pulling him into a world of money and pleasure beyond his imaginings. But when his colleagues suddenly become accident prone, he discovers the sinister truth behind the façade of normal business tactics and(…)

Trading Reality

While investigating the murder of his brother, Richard, Mark Fairfax comes across a plot by competing companies to take over Richard’s breakthrough VR company.

The Predator

Ruthless, selfish, dangerous. In fact, just right for the job. At top investment bank Bloomfield Weiss, they taught them to be predators, killer deal-makers. While on the bank’s training programme in New York, Chris and Lenka had become part of a close-knit gang of trainees. But when a drunken boat trip ends in tragedy, the(…)

All Action, All the Time