An old man has been found run over, seemingly an accident involving a young Hungarian au pair. Anna has been called in to investigate, given her common language with the suspect. Meanwhile her partner Esko is investigating an immigrant gang, who are trying to muscle in on Hell Angels drug dealing territory. It is only when a knife and a pool of blood is found that the two investigations begin to merge together.

Given the refugee crisis that has enveloped the world at the time of reading this story echoes what has been happening over Europe as those seeking help from persecution leave their homelands. This I think makes it even more hard hitting and poignant.

There is something inexplicably sad about this book. That sadness runs throughout the story, echoing almost the long nights of a Finnish winter. Part of the sadness comes from Anna and Esko, both having their own reasons for being sad and unsatisfied with life. The main darkness comes from the story of Sammy, the Afghan illegal immigrant. I will say no more about his involvement in the story for fear of spoiling the same.

Esko’s inherent racism was apparent in full force. Whilst it is part of his character and the racist language is necessary to some point to show his prejudices I did find it upsetting and the constant exposure to it was at times draining.

I would have liked to see more character development. There is a little of Anna and Esko’s separate histories hinted at, though little is revealed. I can see though that this is the author’s intention and that more will be revealed in future stories. There were some aspects of Anna I found contradictory, though this perhaps is a commentary on people as a whole. For example she is very aware of Esko’s alcoholism  but then promises herself she will go out and get drunk. It was good to see more of Anna’s relationship with her family emerge, and  her feelings regarding where she fits in life, where is ‘home’ were interesting reading.

I had commented in my review of The Hummingbird that for me the translation was obvious. By this I mean that I could tell I was reading a translation as some of the words used were colloquial to England. That was not the case with this book. The translation seemed to feel more true to the original, an assumption of course, but one that for me shows the signs of a good translation.

I was however drawn to the book. I wanted to keep reading to find out what had happened and why. The fact that I wanted to read on despite my deep loathing of Esko is an indicator of a good story-teller. Part of what drew me to the book was the location. I love the setting of this book. I found the social commentary on Finland, its cultures, values and views that were decpicted fascinating.  I will be looking out for more books by Kati Hiekkapelto, all the while hoping she perhaps makes Esko less of a racist, sexist dinosaur.

This isn’t easy reading. It is not a cosy crime drama. It is a thought-provoking, at times dark read, that is also a commentary on asylum seekers and those who decide who stays and who goes.

Whilst this is the second book in the Anna Fekete series you do not need to have read The Hummingbird, the first book, before reading The Defenceless. I’ll be keeping a look out for book three.

A young woman goes out for an evening run. She doesn’t return. Her body is found the next morning. She has been brutally shot. Anna Fekete’s first day on the job as a police detective finds her head first in the investigation. Soon possible leads run dry. But then another body is found and it becomes apparent that Anna’s on a race against time to stop the killer before he or she strikes again.

This is the first in the Anna Fekete series from Kati Hiekkapelto and being someone who likes her crime series I was keen to read this one.

Anna is a complex character. She moved to the country in her youth, escaping the war in the former Yugoslavia she had settled in Finland. Keen to do well she is met with the ultimate obstacle in the form of Esko, her new partner. He is a mysognist, openly racist character who makes her life hell. Others seem to pander to him, or at least excuse his actions. Having learned in the past it is not always best to confront prejudice, Anna internalises the upset Esko causes. I wasn’t always sure I liked Anna. There were times that she came across as a caring, friendly person, eager to repay the country that had taken her in and to help others who needed it. Other times she was rash or acted in a way that I wanted to shout at her and urge her to stick up for herself. However I did feel that Anna’s personality was not fully shown to the reader. There was the impression that the author was holding something back. This makes sense in some ways as it appeals to the reader, encouraging them to want to read more stories featuring Anna Fekete. It was also though slightly frustrating as I felt I couldn’t get a proper handle on her character.

As for Esko I positively hated the man. He racist rants and childish actions offended me and it was these that made me wish Anna would just stand up to him. Again I think the author was holding something back from the reader as to his background as others seemed to excuse his actions as if something in his past warranted them.

There are a whole host of other side characters that add to the story. Virkkunen, Anna’s boss, seems to be slightly kowtowed by Esko, but hovers around in the background as most good fictional bosses do, popping up now and then to cause a headache for the lead character. I liked the interaction between Anna and the coroner and her colleague Sari.

The mystery is engaging. The reader is kept guessing and it wasn’t until shortly before the reveal that I figured out the killer’s identity.

One thing I have noticed as I read more translated fiction is the fact that, for me, the key to a great translation is the fact that I can’t tell it is translated. That’s to say I don’t think twice that the words I am reading are the ones the author intended to be read. For the most part that’s what happened with this book. But every now and then I came across a word or turn of phrase that seemed to jar, it was almost as if the translator had picked the words specifically for a British target audience and I had a little difficulty in thinking that such phrases were in common Finnish usage. They would appear every now and then to remind me I was reading a translated piece of fiction and stay a little while until I was drawn into the story again.

I loved the setting of the novel. Finland is a place I know little about but on reading this it is added to the list of places I want to visit. The insights into Finnish lifestyle was interesting, their attitude to drink for example, or how the shifts in weather and season affect the residents.

Overall I enjoyed the first outing of Anna and Esko. Luckily I have the next book in the series, The Defenceless, waiting on my reading pile so I will turn to that one soon.

A Finnish thriller, this deals with a police officer going to the Serbian-Hungarian border to see her family and have a holiday. There her handbag is stolen and this leads to a murder case which she cannot resist investigating

This is a story of characters as well as hard-boiled detective work and it works well. It's an easy read and drags the reader in to the plot quickly and efficiently

The book is engaging and well worth a read, only bleak regarding the weather and the cold.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

„Rzeczywistość jest pewnie gorsza niż to, co można sobie wyobrazić.”

O pisarce Kati Hiekkopelto nigdy nie słyszałam, więc z miłą chęcią i bez wahania zgodziłam się na propozycję zapoznania się z jej twórczością. Dodatkowo przekonało mnie,że jest to kryminał w skandynawskich klimatach oraz porównanie z Millenium. Jest to mój kolejny kryminał o mroźnej północy, tyle że nie o Szwecji, Arktyce, ale akcja dzieję się w Finlandii.

Powiem szczerze, że odkładałam czytanie tej powieści na potem...ale jak już zaczęłam to skończyłam w ciągu jednego dnia.

Główna bohaterka Anne Fekete to policjantka, która wyemigrowała jako dziecko do Finlandii z ogarniętej wojną byłej Jugosławii. Tęskni za swoją rodziną i Ojczyzną, nie jest przekonana czy akurat tutaj jest jej miejsce. Pewnego dnia dostaje zadanie przesłuchania młodej dziewczyny Gabrielli - swojej rodaczki, którą zatrzymaną pod zarzutem potrącenia ze skutkiem śmiertelnym staruszka. I zostaję zadane pytanie skąd mężczyzna w piżamie wziął się na środku jezdni?

Zagadka na początku wydaję nam się prosta i już znamy zakończenie, ale wcale tak nie jest. Akcja obfituję w liczne zwroty i niespodzianki. W powieści obok wątku kryminalnego poruszany jest ważny problem jakim jest emigracja i rasizm. Mamy tu narkotykowych dilerów, dwa walczące między sobą gangi Anioły Piekieł i Czarne Kobry o terytorium, porachunki, pranie brudnych pieniędzy, zaginięcia i morderstwa, a przy tym bardzo dużo podejrzanych osób. Atmosfera się zagęszcza i do końca nie wiadomo jak to wszystko się skończy.

Tytuł jest adekwatny do sytuacji w powieści. Pokazuję czytelnikowi bezradność społeczeństwa w walce z przemocą, bezsilność wobec instytucji państwowych i urzędników oraz wobec walki z nałogiem.

Nie jest to łatwa i przyjemna lektura.Zmusza do myślenia i zastanowienia nad problemami emigracji, z którym stykamy się teraz. Wątek społeczny jest nie mniej ważny niż kryminalny. Bohaterowie są bardzo wyraziści i mają mocne charaktery.

Czyta się szybko i przyjemnie, aż od powieści ciężko się oderwać. Ogólnie jestem zadowolona z lektury. Z czystym sercem ją polecam miłośnikom skandynawskich klimatów. Czekam z niecierpliwością na dalsze losy Anne i jej współpracowników, rodziny i przyjaciół.

Dziękuję bardzo pani Joasi za udostępnienie mi egzemplarza recenzenckiego i możliwość zapoznania się z twórczością fińskiej pisarki. Spotkanie uważam za udane i oby takich pozycji więcej. :)

When Scandinavian fiction was the thing that 'everybody should be reading' a few years ago I did so. Some I liked , some I wasn't keen on. The Hummingbird by Kati Hiekkapelto is the first book in a series that I know I'm going to love.
Anna is a new police officer in Finland. Almost immediately the team have two investigations. One concerns a young immigrant girl who makes an emergency call for help. The family insist is was a misunderstanding but Anna especially, feels that she could be in danger.
The other case involves the murder of a lone female runner at night. When other murders follow the team are under pressure to find the killer in a case where there appears to be no link.

Anna struggles to feel accepted by certain members of the team at first. Not Finnish by birth, she moved to Finland from Hungary as a child. Esko especially is quite nasty, openly racist and sexist but thankfully this lessens as they get to know each other.
She is also going through a downward spiral into an unhealthy lifestyle. Going from a healthy eating athlete into a junk food eating, smoking and drinking insomniac.
I did find some of the racism hard to read but I suspect that it was quite accurate. I liked the relationship development between the team members and that the reader would get to know about all the members of the team. Anna, like many leading characters in other novels has a troubled life. A family uprooted by a war, one brother killed in the war, another brother who is wasting his life and a mother who thinks she is failing because she hasn't married and had children.
I will be reading the second book very soon.