Nights of Awe

March 12, 2012
Professional responsibility and ethnic affiliation clash in Nykänen’s intriguing first novel starring Finnish police detective Ariel Kafka. With Helsinki’s Jewish community dwindling, the local synagogue often lacks the required quorum for prayers, but Kafka believes he serves his community best by dedicating himself to his duties with the city’s Violent Crimes Unit rather than being a regular synagogue attendee. Ironically, Kafka is relieved to be called to a homicide scene to get out of an uncomfortable conversation with his rabbi. Near a railway bridge, someone shot a young male foreigner four times and stabbed him twice, then sliced off his nose and ears. A second dead man, possibly the killer, appears to be an Arab, who broke his neck after jumping onto a moving train. When two more bodies surface shortly afterward, Kafka becomes concerned that the bloodshed is linked to the impending visit of the Israeli foreign minister. The resolution will satisfy noir fans.

Starred review from May 15, 2012
Nykanen's twist on Nordic crime fiction may be the most inventive of the year. Ariel Kafka, a middle-aged bachelor, is a detective in Helsinki (think early Harry Hole) and, as far as he knows, the only Jew on the entire Helsinki police force, which is why he's picked to head up the investigation of a series of murders that began with two Arabic-looking men who may have been shouting Jewish obscenities as they died. Set during the days leading up to Yom Kippur, this complex tale moves quickly, as Ari attempts to figure it all out. With pressure from his colleagues, police administration, his brother, and the local Jewish community, can he uncover everything before the holiest day in the Jewish calender? The clever combination of classic Jewish themes with the traditions of Nordic crime makes for a refreshing tale with wide appeal. And the subtle humor, combined with a hero who is not completely depressed and alcoholic, makes it even better. Not just for readers of Nordic fiction, this should also be suggested to those who relate to New York Jewish detectives, including Lenny Briscoe (from Law & Order) and John Munch (from Homicide and Law & Order: SVU), as well as readers who enjoy the black humor of Stuart MacBride.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)