W. D. Valgardson

Valhalla is a fictional village in Manitoba on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. A fishing village populated mostly by descendants of 19th century Icelandic immigrants and Metis where the primary industry is the commercial fishery on the lake and catering to summer visitors and tourists. Valgardson introduces large blocks of fact and fantasy Icelandic history, Viking sagas and Old Norse religion into his story of Tom Parsons, a former RCMP officer who elects to leave the big city for what he presumes will be a peaceful life in Manitoba's wilderness. Instead Tom gets pulled back into his former investigative role when he finds a dead body on the lake shore.… (mere)