Cruel is the Night

Starred review from February 6, 2017
Hämäläinen makes his English-language debut with a darkly humorous, carefully crafted Finnish take on the classic British locked-room mystery. Telegraphing the ending first—no one is alive in millionaire banker Robert’s London apartment—Hämäläinen rewinds to the events of a dinner party, to which Robert has invited his old school friend Mikko, whose sense of righteousness as an investigative journalist fighting financial corruption leads him to take the occasion as an opportunity to poison Robert for the good of the world. Mikko’s wife, Veera, who is fiercely attached to him despite a long secret affair with Robert, and Robert’s beautiful wife, Elise, whose simplicity hides a complex background, round out the group. Hämäläinen is at ease with using the four distinct character voices to shift the apparent power balance constantly over the course of the evening, providing both thrilling surprises and the dread of inevitability, all in the context of some truly delightful dinner dialogue.

Five performers narrate alternating points of view in this thinly veiled murder mystery. Robert and Mikko are lifelong friends meeting up for the weekend, along with their wives, Elise and Veera. Despite their friendship, Mikko is intent on killing Robert. Liz Pearce as Mikko's wife, Veera, oozes shallowness, acting every inch the villainess. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Jasicki as Elise has a hint of na�vet�, but listeners will question how innocent she really is. All four characters are unsympathetic, so listeners will most likely be disappointed by who survives this night of debauchery rather than who doesn't. For those who can tolerate the plot's slow pace and disdainful characters, the narrators' performances are all spot-on. J.F. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine