This novel can be read as a standalone, but it's best to start with the first novel in the series, Snow Angels, to avoid spoilers.
*****
Inspector Kari Vaara and his American wife Kate have moved from Kittilä in northern Finland, to Helsinki, where Vaara is a member of the police homicide squad and Kate manages a high-end restaurant.
Vaara has been lauded for solving his last big case, the murder of a Somali actress, but the investigation was troublesome and Kari is suffering from anxiety and constant migraine headaches. Kari is also concerned about his wife Kate, who's pregnant and due in two weeks.
Vaara has a rookie partner, Milo Nieminen, who got elevated to the prestigious homicide squad because of his intelligence and assistance with previous investigations. Notwithstanding, Neimenin is a conceited loose cannon who's prone to showing off, breaking the rules, and defying authority.
Vaara and Nieminen are doing routine death certifications when Vaara gets a call from his boss, National Police Chief Jyri Ivalo.
Ivalo tells Vaara that a 90-year-old Finnish national hero called Arvid Lahtinen has been accused of war crimes. A new book claims Lahtinen worked in a prisoner-of-war camp called Stalag 309 during World War II, and collaborated with the Gestapo to kill Russian POWs. Germany is now trying to extradite Lahtinen, to put him on trial as a war criminal.
The Finnish mindset is that their country has no war criminals, and Chief Ivalo tells Vaara to make the whole sordid business go away. When Kari interviews Lahtinen, however, the old man admits to killing Russians at Stalag 309, and claims Kari's Ukki (grandpa) did the same thing. Lahtinen explains himself by describing Finland's complicated history with Germany and Russia, which sparked the old man's hatred for Russians. (Note: this is an interesting history lesson in the midst of the novel.)
Russian POWs during World War II
In any case, Lahtinen has cards to play. If the war criminal charges don't go away, the old man will reveal the war crimes of several Finnish 'heroes' and politicians who collaborated with the Nazis. All this puts Vaara and his boss on the horns of a dilemma.
Meanwhile, Vaara and Nieminen get a troubling homicide case. An Estonian businessman named Rein Starr claims he was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.
When Rein woke up, he was lying next to his dead lover Iisa Filippov.
As Vaara and Nieminen investigate, they discover that Iisa was repeatedly burned with cigarettes and lashed with a horse whip before being suffocated. The detectives also learn that Iisa was having an adulterous affair with Rein, and was married to Russian property developer Ivan Filippov.
Vaara and Niemenin have hardly begun investigating Iisa's homicide before Chief Ivalo puts pressure on them to charge Rein Starr with murder. The detectives resist because they believe Ivan Filippov murdered his wife. As the case proceeds, it becomes clear that sexual fetishes played into Iisa's death, along with attempts at a cover-up and frame-up by 'higher ups.'
As Kari goes about his business, his headaches are crippling; he hasn't slept in months; and he's consumed with worry about Kate's pregnancy.
To top it off, Kate's brother John and sister Mary arrive from America, to 'help with the baby', and immediately cause problems. John is a broke alcoholic druggie and Mary is a judgmental conservative Christian who loudly disdains Finnish culture.
By the end of the book there's a surprising denouement to the murder investigation and a hook that leads to book three.
I'm enjoying this series, but have some reservations. Kari has a spiteful side to his personality that I find off-putting, and his constant smoking and drinking seem excessive. I do like the peeks at Finnish culture, like the celebrations around the birth of a baby, and the Karjalan Paisti (meat stew) Kari prepares for guests.
If you're a fan of Nordic noir, you'd probably like the Kari Vaara books.
Rating: 3.5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment