Snow Angels (An Inspector Vaara Novel) [Hardcover]

James Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 7, 2010 | Series: An Inspector Vaara Novel

The first thriller in a new series featuring Inspector Kari Vaara: the haunted, hardened detective who must delve into Finland's dark and violent underbelly.

Kaamos: Just before Christmas, the bleakest time of the year in Lapland. The unrelenting darkness and extreme cold above the Arctic Circle drive everyone just a little insane . . . perhaps enough to kill.

A beautiful Somali immigrant is found dead in a snowfield, her body gruesomely mutilated, a racial slur carved into her chest. Heading the murder investigation is Inspector Kari Vaara, the lead detective of the small-town police force. The vicious killing may have been a hate crime, a sex crime-or one and the same. Vaara knows he must keep this potentially ex­plosive case out of the national headlines or else it will send shock waves across Finland, an insular nation afraid to face its own xenophobia.

The demands of the investigation begin to take their toll on Vaara and his marriage. His young American wife, Kate, newly pregnant with their first child, is struggling to adapt to both the unforgiving Arctic climate and the Finnish culture of silence and isolation. Meanwhile Vaara himself, haunted by his rough childhood and failed first marriage, discovers that the past keeps biting at his heels: He suspects that the rich man for whom his ex-wife left him years ago may be the killer.

Endless night can drive anyone to murder.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

American-born Thompson, who's lived in Finland for the past decade, offers a bleak look at the ravages of that country's long, dark winter as well as intriguing glimpses of Finnish culture in his solid U.S. debut, the first in a new crime series. Shortly before Christmas, Kari Vaara, the police chief of the Lapland town of Kittilä, gets a phone call informing him that the body of Sufia Elmi, a Somali refugee and minor film star, has been found in a snowfield on a reindeer farm. The victim has also been mutilated, perhaps raped, and a racial slur carved into her flesh. When Kari's ex-wife's lover becomes the prime suspect, Kari spurns the chance to recuse himself and presses on. The winter hazards of alcoholism, suicide and murder all play a part as Kari uncovers more suspects. Sufia's imperious father, Abdi Barre, who was a doctor in his native country and now runs a cleaning service, puts added pressure on Kari. Tangled smalltown relationships and lust also fuel this noirish thriller. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* American born Finnish resident Thompson’s first novel is set in northern Finland during kaamos, the country’s two weeks of complete darkness. Inspector Vaara is newly married and about to become a father, but his American wife finds northern Finland depressing and lonely, especially after a young Somali movie star is brutally murdered, and the case consumes Vaara’s days and nights. Vaara has been chief of police in his small hometown ever since being injured as a young beat cop in Helsinki, and the few murders that have come his way have been easily solved domestic disputes or drunken bar fights. That’s not the case this time, but Vaara refuses to give up, even after finding out that his ex-wife might be involved. Thompson’s portrait of Lapland in the depths of winter is starkly and realistically drawn; as an American who lives in Finland, he is able to make an insular society and a forbidding landscape comprehensible for readers who have never been in such an extreme climate. Vaara will remind readers of Hakan Nesser’s Inspector Van Veeteren (with less shouting); like Snow Angels, the Van Veeteren mysteries (Borkmann’s Point, 2006) feature the same tightly plotted and twisty story lines involving both personal and professional lives. The setting should appeal to readers of Asa Larsson’s Rebecka Martinsson series, set in the far north of Sweden. An outstanding series debut. --Jessica Moyer

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (January 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399156178
• ISBN-13: 978-0399156175
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Far more than a detective/thriller novel November 27, 2009

By Kokopelli VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I chose this book from the Vine selections because I thought a Finnish variation on a thriller would be interesting and different. Boy, was it ever, and so much more. Inspector Kari Vaara is a complex man embarking on an equally complex murder case, which grows in layered complexity and horror by the minute. He brings to his job a lifetime of baggage, some of it involving the primary characters associated with the murder, which makes his job even more difficult. He is also a man of professional integrity who finds the rules falling to pieces around him as he starts to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. Adding to his burden is an American wife who is growing very weary of the hardships of life within the Artic Circle, with its winters of darkness and endless ice and snow. She has come to Finland to manage a glamorous ski resort, but the isolation of the small community, the strangeness of the Laplanders, and the hostile climate grate on her. Then, discovering that she is pregnant with twins, she begins to long even more to return to America. Vaara deeply loves her but he is also bound by blood and tradition to his native Finland, and to leave it is almost unimaginable to him. The pressures on his marriage add to the difficulty he experiences as he delves deeper into solving the gruesome murder of a gorgeous Somali film star who was vacationing in the resort town Vaara grew up in. Racism and xenophobia are rampant in Finland, and this desecration of a black Muslim woman represents something that Finland would not like exposed to the world, so the investigation into her death must be handled with discretion and political correctness.... Vaara is also troubled by a childhood tragedy and the resulting guilt and fear that still plague not only himself but also his parents, and that come to complicate the resolution of the mystery. Initially Vaara believes the solution to the murder is obvious, but to his dismay, unanswered questions begin to pile up around him like the snowflakes that never seem to stop. Only after many shattering twists and turns is the ultimate truth revealed in the devastating climax of this amazing story.

The author's style of writing perfectly suits the mood and tempo of the story. His sentences are clear, straightforward, and seem to come directly from the heart of the story's narrator, Kari Vaara. Even though he is a typically stoic and silent Finn, his emotions, thought processes, and reactions are revealed to the reader through his introspection, and he comes across as a uniquely sympathetic and admirable man, despite his falling prey to the usual human foibles of stubbornness, confusion, and misplaced focus. In the end, as Vaara comes close to losing everything on a gamble to find the truth, he realizes that the risks he has taken may not be worth the costs.

This glimpse into a culture I knew absolutely nothing of, and into the heart of a wonderful new character whom I hope we will see more of soon, will keep you turning the pages and make you sorry when you reach the last one. Jim Thompson has written two other novels, Across the Green Line and The True Name of God, which were published in Europe but do not seem to be available in the U.S. I look forward to reading them in the future and especially to the next installment of the Inspector Vaara mysteries. For me, this book, with its excellent characterization of both the people and the country, along with its complex and ultimately satisfying resolution, represents a new standard of writing in the thriller genre. Highest recommendations! Read more ›

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars When the Land of the Midnight Sun is in darkness December 14, 2009

By NewDiane VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I love the atmosphere of this book. I am a little uncomfortable with the frequent use of the present tense, especially mixed with the past tense, but the writing is crisp and suitably depressive to match the plot. The idea of a troubled detective is not new, but I'm looking forward to the next book in the series to see how the protagonist develops. The best part of the novel is the exotic atmosphere. Other than reindeer and Lapps, I knew very little about Finland, but it's delightful to pick up the nuggets of culture, history, and climate that are revealed in the book. It's a pleasure to read something set in a totally different locale. A refreshing change of pace!

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Characters and setting trump plot December 7, 2009

By switterbug TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

If you are primarily a crime fiction buff who thrives on putting pieces of the puzzle together in a case, then you will not be overly impressed with the outcome of this series debut. If (as I imagine) you have read countless novels on murder cases, you may wince at the immodest and implausible coincidences (even for a small town!) that occur. You will embrace the noir, Arctic atmosphere of Finland during its most glacial and darkest time of year, known as Kaamos, or polar night (as cold as -40 degrees). The lean, sinewy prose will hook you in immediately. But will that be enough to sustain a veteran private-eye reader? Probably not. The climax is a bit overwrought and will cast a long, thin shadow over the landscape of this book. However, you will appreciate the solid, rich forensics as well as the ever-engaging Inspector Kari Vaara and his American wife, Kate. Their relationship draws you in, and the residents of this provincial Finnish town are vivid and stark and chillingly felt. But the payoff for a crime-novel enthusiast may inspire a few dreaded eye-rolls.

So why the four-stars? Because, although I do love an intrepid, byzantine murder mystery (and would have given it five stars if this were more the case here), I am even more devoted to a scintillating, character-driven story where the prose sparkles like stars in an inky sky and falls like accumulating snowflakes. In short, James Thomson delivers a haunting, icy tale of a fascinating, bleak population largely unfamiliar to most North Americans. He writes with empathy and wit, and with a fresh, clear, effortlessly engaging style.... He penned a moving profile of the inhabitants north of the Arctic Circle and a story of their inner lives, as well as the reverberation of a shameful tragedy on their customary isolation and repression.

The Finnish culture and environment is lucidly characterized--the language, topography, relationships, and sociological underpinnings. The reader becomes educated into the silent, bottled-up nature of the townspeople and the heavy toll--religious, political, and personal--that the murder and mutilation of a beautiful Somalian actress bequeaths. Much of the population is alcoholic, due to the seasonal darkness, the bitter temperatures, and the attendant isolation. This is certainly true of the hinterlands of Vaara's jurisdiction. The confined community is under the influence of either the strict, almost medieval manifestation of the Laestadian church or the allure of its many bars. The suppressed racial and sexual tensions drive the story further forward while class and ethnic distinctions hover. Thomson does this organically, without ever pontificating. The writing stays lustrous with an economy of words that create sharp, striking images. Additionally, the private history and agonies of Inspector Vaara are sensitively and smartly portrayed by Thomson.

I am equally fascinated by the biography of this American-born author. Raised in Kentucky, he studied and is fluent in both Finnish and Swedish, and he has actually lived in Finland for the past decade. He has forged a colorful life with many professions, including (but not limited to) photographer, bartender, bouncer, and soldier. It is evident from his narrative that he has an intimate grasp of the convoluted and insular complexion of this region. I was also piqued by the attendant struggles of Kate and her difficulty acclimating to this culture and climate. This added a frothy antagonism to the story.

This is the first in a series of crime novels featuring Inspector Vaara, and I am confident that the seemingly preposterous coincidences are confined to this debut. I suspect that the agenda here was to introduce Kari and Kate, to add subtext to the terrain, and to heighten the admixture of the Inspector's personal biography with the behavior and mores of the people he routinely investigates. Like Peter Hoeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow and Karin Fossum's The Water's Edge and The Indian Bride (Inspector Sejer Mysteries), this murder mystery is a thrilling vehicle but not an end in itself. The deeper exploration is of individuals and societies--how a harrowing murder affects a socially parochial, Arctic town, and how its citizens operate in these frigid, insular conditions. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Atmosphere, Yes; Plot, Not So Much December 5, 2009

By Mark Stevens VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"Snow Angels" starts well. Scandinavian settings seem tailor-made for a dark mystery and Thompson wastes no time establishing the mood. "This is an ugly place," says the American wife of Inspector Kari Vaara. "The silence, the misery, the months of darkness. It's too extreme, like living in a desert made of snow instead of sand." You will soak up the atmosphere of a small town in Finland.

The murder victim is a female Somali immigrant and minor movie star. The destruction to her body is more than just murder, it includes a bizarre mutilation. I first though "uh-oh" when Inspector Vaara's initial investigation leads straight to his ex-wife's husband. It just seemed too convenient, too easy and the arrest set up too much drama--and melodrama.

From there, the coincidences spiraled out of control. There are duplicate vehicle types, duplicate cigarette brands and matching shoe sizes.

This is a grisly and graphic novel. The investigation depends on a fair amount of figuring out in which order the victim had sex with potential suspects---and what services she may have performed.

The resolution involves a spot on a frozen lake where something tragic happened in Vaara's youth. The tragedy is something Vaara, for some unknown and unclear reason, has decided to keep as a secret from his wife.

At one point, Inspector Vaara reveals that working on a criminal investigation is "like playing a card game. When I get more to work with as the game progresses, my imagination rearranges the cards."

To me, that about said it all with Inspector Vaara. The work on the case wasn't organized and detailed, it was random and loose. He was a hard guy to root for. Tension never ramped up.... Loved the setting and enjoyed the possibilities of "Snow Angels" but in the end the story never got much scarier or worrisome than the two words in its title. Read more ›