Snow Angels

James Thompson's SNOW ANGELS is filled with bad language, horrific details about mutilation, brutal murders, characters who are victims of their geography, and a culture about which most of us know very little. There is repeated use of a term that most Americans shun. I started reading and didn't stop until I finished the book. I have to clarify that; I skim a lot of the most lurid details. This is the first in a series of books featuring Inspector Kari Vaara, assigned to an area in Lapland, above the Arctic Circle. Kari is married to Kate, an American, the reverse of the author's relationship, he, an American, married to a Finnish woman. Kate's difficulty in adjusting to the perpetual darkness of winter likely mirrors the author's experience with a night that doesn't end. The book begins with the discovery of the mutilated body of actress Sufi Elmi, an immigrant from Somalia. "Finland has a ... lot of violent crime....We kill the people we love... almost always in drunken rages.... We don't talk about hatred, we hate in silence. It's our way. We do everything in silence." Sufi Elmi's death is different. It screams hatred and as Vaara tries to discover motive and murderer, the circle of suspects expands, drawing in people who seemingly would never have known Sufi. The circle of victims expands as well, all, at some time, in some way, having been touched by the beautiful woman whose death started it all. There is a harshness to this book that directly reflects the harshness of the setting. The author frequently reminds us that things happen in the dark of winter that could not happen in the light of summer; some crimes are born because of the darkness. But Vaara tells us, "In winter, twenty-four hours a day, uncountable stars outline the vaulted ceiling of the great cathedral we live in. Finnish skies are the reason I believe in God." Vaara's salvation is Kate; he survives the problems of investigating a high profile murder in the town in which he grew up, where suspects can be close friends from childhood and some can be even closer than that. This is going to be a series well worth following.

As a lover of Icelandic mystery, I was excited so see this book and read positive reviews of the first Inspector Kari Vaara mystery set in a small town Finland. The story is set in the Finnish lapland during the midst of winter when the sun doesn't rise and the landscape is bathed in darkness for endless nights of 24 hours. The mystery concerns the death of Sufia Elmi, a Somali immigrant, who has been found mutilated and tortured in the snow covered field of a reindeer farm. Inspector Vaara is Finnish and his wife, Kate, is an American. This gives the author the chance to explore the culture and mystery from an inside and outside viewpoint. While solving the mystery, Vaara also allows the reader to understand the nature of alcoholism and depression as it relates to the seemingly unending winter darkness. The book contains a good solid mystery and plot with full fleshed out characters. The author uses the contrast of white (snow) and dark (24 hours) to show various aspects of Finland. Written in a classic noir style, the book though often dark does showcase Vaara's commitment to justice and family. My one criticism of the book would be the many coincidences that hovered around the main mystery with regards to Vaara's personal life. Other than that, I thought the book contained a realistic view of Finland during kaamos (darkness) and the behaviors that result from life near the arctic circle. I look forward to many more mysteries by this talented author!

James Thompson writes a seriously vicious but absolutely persuasive story. I loved the way he depicted Lapland and 'profiled' the characters according to their homeland. It was like being there. The crunch of the ice underfoot, the ache in one's lung's from the forty-below zero air, even the tingle of flesh losing circulation from the freezing temperatures made me reach for a blanket while I read this extraordinary tale. The mystery is written so well that one cannot pick the killer until the end, and even then, is totally surprised up to the last page. I would say Mr. Thompson is one of the best suspense writers around these days. His characterizations are fantastic, and give you the feeling these are real people, and this really happened. He handles the racial issues of Finland's people with great finesse, and the twists and turns of this journey will keep you turning the pages long after bed time. Recommended read! Diane Davis White Author, Moon of the Falling Leaves

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