Synopses & Reviews
Inspector Kari Vaara, recovering from brain surgery, is back to doing police work—under circumstances most cops only dream of. Reporting directly to the national chief of police, Kari and his partners Milo and Sulo have been granted secrecy and autonomy for their new black-ops unit, and plenty of cash to work with, including whatever they can steal from Helsinki’s mobsters. But Kari's team is too good, and their actions have unintended consequences...The president of Finland wants the team on a new case: the vicious assassination of a prominent immigrants' rights activist. Against a backdrop of simmering hatred spreading across the country, Kari must solve a case that involves the kidnapping of a billionaire’s children, a Faustian bargain with a former French Legionnaire—and his own wife.
Review
“The narrative is exquisitely quick…hard to put down.”—
Houston Chronicle “In his dozen years of living in Finland…Thompson has absorbed enough cold, dark atmosphere for a spot on the roster of top Nordic crime writers—Mankell, Nesbø, Indrioason and the like.”—The New York Post
“A must-read for fans of Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell.”—Booklist “The laconic voice of Inspector Kari Vaara is at the same time dangerous and human, his world cold, barren, yet intriguingly exotic.”—Peter Høeg, New York Times bestselling author of Smilla’s Sense of Snow
Review
“Thompson's style is on the dark end of the ‘Nordic Noir spectrum. The genre — with its stark and often violent police procedurals — has proved wildly successful…The marquee names have come from Sweden — think Stieg Larsson's
Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, or Henning Mankell's Wallander series — but Norway's Jo Nesbo and Iceland's Arnaldur Indridason and Yrsa Sigurdardottir have also made their mark with international readers. Thompson stands out from that crowd by writing in English and telling Vaara's gritty narrative in the first person. ”--
The New York Times “In his dozen years of living in Finland…Thompson has absorbed enough cold, dark atmosphere for a spot on the roster of top Nordic crime writers—Mankell, Nesbø, Indrioason and the like.”—The New York Post
“The laconic voice of Inspector Kari Vaara is at the same time dangerous and human, his world cold, barren, yet intriguingly exotic.”—Peter Høeg, New York Times bestselling author of Smillas Sense of Snow
Praise for the Inspector Vaara Novels
Snow Angels
“The tone evokes Michael Chabons The Yiddish Policemens Union, but the plot takes off fast, the themes are universal and James Thompson tells a nighttime tale as only a bartender can.”—Michael Simon, author of The Last Jew Standing
“The stark Nordic setting will appeal to fans of Scandinavian crime fiction…Will remind readers of Martin Cruz Smiths Gorky Park.”—Library Journal
“Thompsons portrait of Lapland in the depths of winter is starkly and realistically drawn…An outstanding series debut.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Intriguing glimpses of Finnish culture…Tangled small-town relationships and lust also fuel this noir-ish thriller.”—Publishers Weekly
Lucifers Tears
“Stellar…Thompson elegantly threads Finlands compelling national history with Vaaras own demons in this taut, emotionally wrought novel.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Like the books of the late Stieg Larsson, Thompsons reflect the gray cold of Nordic winters…But Thompsons books move more quickly (and violently) than Larssons.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Impossible to put down…Essential reading for all fans of...Stieg Larsson.”—Booklist (starred review)
Helsinki White
“A must-read for fans of Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell.”—Booklist
Review
“The narrative is exquisitely quick…hard to put down.”—
Houston Chronicle “Thompson's style is on the dark end of the ‘Nordic Noir spectrum. The genre — with its stark and often violent police procedurals — has proved wildly successful…The marquee names have come from Sweden — think Stieg Larsson's Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, or Henning Mankell's Wallander series — but Norway's Jo Nesbo and Iceland's Arnaldur Indridason and Yrsa Sigurdardottir have also made their mark with international readers. Thompson stands out from that crowd by writing in English and telling Vaara's gritty narrative in the first person. ”--The New York Times
“In his dozen years of living in Finland…Thompson has absorbed enough cold, dark atmosphere for a spot on the roster of top Nordic crime writers—Mankell, Nesbø, Indrioason and the like.”—The New York Post
“A must-read for fans of Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell.”—Booklist
“The laconic voice of Inspector Kari Vaara is at the same time dangerous and human, his world cold, barren, yet intriguingly exotic.”—Peter Høeg, New York Times bestselling author of Smillas Sense of Snow
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of Snow Angels comes a new novel featuring Inspector Vaara.
Inspector Kari Vaara has left the Arctic Circle and returned- reluctantly-to Helsinki, where headaches and sleeplessness plague him. But he must work through the pain. He has two cases on his plate: the brutal murder of a Russian businessman's wife, and-more secretively-an investigation into an elderly Finnish national hero who may have played a darker role in World War II than the public knows. Vaara's past has turned him into a haunted man. The questions he's asking now may turn him into a hunted man as well...
About the Author
James Thompson, eastern Kentucky-born and raised, has lived in Finland for more than a dozen years; he now resides in Helsinki with his wife. His debut novel, Snow Angels, was selected as a Booklist Best Crime Novel Debut of the Year and was nominated for Edgar®, Anthony, and Strand Magazine critics awards. Before becoming a full-time writer, Thompson studied Finnishin which he is fluentand Swedish, and worked as a bartender, bouncer, construction worker and soldier. He is also the author of Lucifer's Tears, also in the Inspector Vaara series.