So, off to Finland now, and the early 50s…This is a book from one of crimeworm’s favourite imprints, isn’t it?
It is indeed! Bitter Lemon Press have had me travelling vicariously all over the world, with their translations of high quality crime fiction. This is the third book in a series, and after reading it, I can assure you I’m really keen to get my hands on the first two.
From this book it’s clear that Hella Manzer was a homicide detective in the first two in the series, but now she’s moved on to being a private investigator…
Yes, and the main crime she wants to investigate is described in the prologue, and occurred eleven years earlier, when she was in her late teens, and only survived as she was at home unwell. It’s the death of her entire family, who were mown down by a truck on a remote country road, with no witnesses, excepting of course the driver, who failed to stop. Both of her parents, her sister, and her infant nephew were wiped out in this hit and run. If it weren’t for the fact that Hella’s father was a very high-ranking officer in SUPO, the Finnish Secret Service, there would probably be no reason to consider anything awry.
Hella’s given a PI job by her old boss, Jokela, now Chief Of Police, isn’t she?
Yes, but her only reason for accepting it is as a quid pro quo for finally getting to see the file into the investigation into the deaths of her family. The job he gives her is to assess someone’s suitability as head of homicide, Jokela’s previous position. This candidate, Johannes Hiekkinen, is currently in SUPO, the Secret Service where Hella’s father had been employed prior to his death. On the plus side, he might be able to help Hella into the investigation into her family’s death, even in the smallest way.
Hella’s made a couple of other changes to her life since her move into becoming self-employed, hasn’t she?
She’s finally felt able to move back into the family home, which had essentially been mothballed since their death. She’d also ended her five-year relationship with Steve, as he’d been married, so it was essentially going nowhere. Even when he arrives to see her and tells her he’s now divorced she has little inclination to re-ignite things between them – for her, it’s time to change everything in her life. The fact that there’s a handsome new neighbour makes taking up with Steve again even less appealing! Even if nothing happens between her and Erkki, it’s showing her there are other possible options out there for her, and it’s time to start living.
But the file on the deaths of the rest of her family proves a disappointment…
When she goes to pick it up, it’s empty, as she expected. However, that in itself tells a story – for if there wasn’t anything to hide about their deaths, the file would’ve surely still existed, as a cursory investigation at least.
Also, a scruffy-looking stranger is leaving parcels at the house. Are they intended for her – or does someone think her father is still alive? And why are these being left now, eleven years after his death?
What about the job Jokela had given her?
Johannes Heikinnen’s only family seems to be an estranged who everyone describes as slightly bonkers. He’s certainly eccentric, and something of a hoarder, but it’s difficult to judge whether he’s a fantasist. Regarding Heikinnen, his son had died, as had his (now severely depressed) wife shortly afterwards, in a fire. There doesn’t appear to be anything suspicious there, but Hella investigates it thoroughly – imagine how disastrous it would be were they to appoint a murderer as head of the homicide division!
This entire investigation opens up a huge can of worms, as it appeared the “mad cousin” had held something of a torch for Heikinnen’s wife – did he kill her in a fit of jealousy? Or was the fire simply the accident it appeared to be? Heikinnen, after all, still seems a man shattered by grief, and injured himself in his desperate attempts to rescue his wife. And ultimately, which of the men would you believe?
Hella is a thorough and capable investigator, then?
Absolutely, and that’s why I’m looking forward to reading the first two books in the series – and any future volumes, of which I hope there will be many! Ivar is a thorough and capable plotter of historical crime fiction too! She knows how to build a fast-paced story that doesn’t overstay its welcome, at a compact 217 pages. It also taught me some things I didn’t know about Finland historically, both during the war and afterwards.
This’ll be another hit from Bitter Lemon Press, then…
Indeed it is, giving them a score of 100% for quality from me!
Original, well-plotted, and with an engaging heroine at its heart – very highly recommended.
With thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour, and to Bitter Lemon Press for the ARC. That has in no way influenced my opinion, and this is an honest review.
Author Katja Ivar
Check out some of the other bloggers who took part in this blog tour!
BLURB: Helsinki, June 1953, at the heart of the Cold War. Hella, now a reluctant private investigator, has been asked by her former boss at the Helsinki murder squad to do a background check on a member of the Finnish secret services. Not the type of job Hella was hoping for, but she accepts it on the condition that she is given access to the files concerning the roadside death of her father in 1942, at a time when Finland joined forces with Nazi Germany in its attack against the Soviet Union. German troops were sent to Finland, the Gestapo arrived in Helsinki and German influence on local government was strong, including demands for the deportation of local Jews. Colonel Mauzer, his wife and other family members were killed by a truck in a hit and run incident. An accident, file closed, they said. But not for Hella, whose unwelcome investigation leads to some who would prefer to see her stopped dead in her tracks.
crimeworm 