Helsinki Homicide: Vengeance by Jarkko Sipila (2009: Ice Cold Crime. ISBN 978-0-9824449-1-7)
This is the second book I’ve read by Finnish journalist-turned-crime fiction writer, Jarkko Sipila. For anyone with an interest in how the Finnish police and investigative system works (as compared to the U.S. equivalent) these books, featuring Suhonen, a lone-wolf undercover detective of the Helsinki police force, hold great interest. The plots are rather simple: The writing, as is typical in most genre fiction, concise. These are plot driven, rather than character driven tales, perfect for a quick read on the airplane from Detroit to Helsinki or on the beach.
Sipila writes like the journalist he is: Anyone looking for deep, complex character development won’t find it here. That’s my major criticism of the two Suhonen books I’ve read thus far: I want to know more about the man, about his personal life, his love interests, his past. Suhonen could easily be a great literary detective; a Finnish Sam Spade or Sherlock Holmes. But he doesn’t rise to such comparisons because he’s incomplete on the page.
For readers who like fast paced action and clearly defined demarcations of good and evil, this series, including Vengeance, is a great choice.
3 and 1/2 stars out of 5.
