Jumalan selän takana

Ariel Kafka #3

by Harri Nykänen

6 CD-äänilevyä / 7h.
Lukijana Lars Svedberg

Murhatapaus Suomessa ulottaa lonkeronsa kolmeen maahan ja aiheuttaa tapahtumien vyöryn, joka vaatii sekä uhreja että uhrauksia – niin syyllisiltä kuin viattomiltakin.

Komisario Ariel Kafka on juuri palannut kesälomalta takaisin töihin, kun hän saa tutkittavakseen varakkaan yrittäjän murhan. Mies on Arielin entisen tyttöystävän isä, juutalaisseurakunnan arvostettu jäsen.

Tutkimukset ovat hyvässä vauhdissa, kun Arielille tarjotaan erikoiskomennusta Supoon. Ariel suostuu, koska murhan jäljet viittaavat Helsingin juutalaispiireihin, Israeliin sekä Tel Avivissa asuneeseen suomalaisrikolliseen, joka on Supon seurannassa. Tämä entinen palkkasoturi on palannut keväällä Helsinkiin ja perustanut auto- ja venekemikaalien maahantuontiliikkeen. Supo uskoo, että kyse on jostakin suuresta.

Israelissa jäljet johtavat suoraan yhteiskunnan huipulle ja tutkinnan edetessä Ariel joutuu tilanteeseen, jossa vastakkain ovat kansainvälisten asioiden lisäksi hänen oma moraalinsa ja läheistensä tulevaisuus.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, International, Mystery Thriller, Finnish Literature, Scandinavian Literature

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Harri Nykänen was a long-time crime journalist for the largest Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, and then a full time author. He won the Finnish crime fiction award "The Clue" both in 1990 and in 2001.

Reviews

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW BEHIND GOD'S BACK

An exciting and intriguing mystery from a land fairly new to crime and noir fiction, Finland. Additionally, this book and its precursor, NIGHTS OF AWE, both "starring" police detective Ariel Kafka (what a special name!), carry ethnic overtones: Kafka is a Helsinki Jew, non-observant, and BEHIND GOD'S BACK focuses on crimes against Jews, which may be ethnically related. Kafka is a bit of a bumbler in his personal and social life, but endeavors himself to the reader through his humility.

[Linda Branham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 2nd novel in the series of Ariel Kafka - a Jewish Finnish detective. Mr. Nykanen has a great series going - I hope it continues, I'm looking forward to more
The story is about Finland - and the police force there. It is also about the Jewish community in Finland.
In this story a man is killed - a Jewish businessman. He is found murdered in his doorway. Ariel Kafka is sent to solve the murder. It turns out the Detective Kafka knows the family - and even dated the murdered man's daughter when he was in his teens
As I said previously, a great story

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet an interesting story, very believable. Won't give away the story. Could happen in a small group.

[Pat Obermeier · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a translated book…but the behind the scenes action in the investigation is most interesting. easy read…small book. try it!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

New author for me, with a Finnish Jewish detective - a new twist in Scandinavian mysteries! Shady loans, shady businessmen, trouble in the Synagogue, good cop (no bad cop.) Good book.

[Sean Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nordic Noir at its best.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the series. The lead detective, Kafka, has another case which involves the Jewish community in Helsinki. This case builds upon information contained in "Nights of Awe" and, as usual, things are not as they seem. Mossad, the Israeli security force, is investigating corruption that concerns an investment company with a branch in Finland. Two prominent Helsinki Jews are murdered and the local police and the National Security Agency are working at cross purposes to solve the crimes.

I like Ariel Kafka who is thoughtful, honest and self-aware, and thankfully lacks many of the character flaws that plague other Nordic detectives. The secondary characters are only marginally developed but the case is so convoluted that all the reader's attention is focused on that rather than personalities.

Other than the Jewish congregation we don't learn much about Finnish society or culture. Unlike Arnaldur Indridason who infuses his Icelandic mysteries with a sense of place, Nykanen concentrates on the story and the story is very interesting.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery with a Finnish cop who is also a Jew...I didn't learn much about Judaism except as it helped unroll the plot. But the book read less like a philosophical policeman than more like a good old fashioned American cop. I liked the plot because it kept moving along but I missed the studied philosophy of other Scandinavian policemen in other novels (except Harry Hole!).

[Ann Tonks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt overblown and underdone at the same time. How is that possible? There were too many layers which instead of making the story interesting just made in more opaque. It felt rather like a half-hearted boys own adventure with none of the adventure. In other words, not interesting enough for me.

[Oula Kuuva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henkisesti lähempänä ensimmäistä kuin toista romaania. Perinteisessä dekkarissa ei ole mitään vikaa mutta itselle nämä uppoavat paremmin. Jos pidit ekasta niin todennäköisesti pidät myös tästä eikä Hämähäkkinaisen tuntemus ole lainkaan tarpeen, joskin pikkulinnut lauloivat että sarjan jonkin myöhemmän teoksen suhteen sekin olisi hyvä lukaista.

[Airi Forssell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tämä oli tosi puuduttava kirja, minua ei kyllä yhtään temmannut mukaansa. Ainoa syy, mikä sai minut jaksamaan loppuun asti, oli lukijan, Lars Svedbergin, ääni ja tyyli. Tässä tapauksessa lukija nosti kirjan tasoa huomattavasti. Kerran niinkin päin!

[Marguerite Czajka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less dark than other Nordic crime novels.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever book that really holds your interest. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual premise, you would need to strain credulity to be completely happy about this. This is not something easily accepted.

[Gilda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Having finished the book I’m still confused as to why the murders happened.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does not disappoint. Wonderfully drawn characters, the good and bad alike, philosophy, and a great Finnish background

[Stephen Gallup · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this short mystery in short bursts at bedtime, I was also listening to a detective-noir spoof by Thomas Pynchon during my daily commute. The two could hardly be different. This one is less amusing but also easier to process.

Its setting, Finland, had me wondering if the mood would be as dark as that of other Scandinavian fiction I've read (the Stieg Larsson series, one by Karin Fossum, etc.). However, this is a fairly straightforward effort on the part of an uncomplicated police detective (Ariel Kafka) to investigate a pair of murders. The victims are respected members of a Jewish congregation, and the easy assumption is that anti-Semitism was involved. Kafka doubts that. His own brother seems to be involved in some way, or maybe the Russian mafia, or maybe even an up-and-coming Israeli politician who is building a reputation for stamping out corruption. It's definitely a puzzle.

On the other hand, I never felt particularly close to anyone in the story. It wouldn't have been hard to engage me more, but apparently this author didn't want truly complex characters. I did like the relationship between the brothers, for example, and wouldn't have minded seeing it developed further. Likewise, the Israeli warranted more attention. Phony crusading politicians, and the admiring followers who empower them, always provide fertile ground. The story needed something else, and these were just two possible areas the author might have chosen to work up.

So it was okay, but not memorable.

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a shame Harri Nykänen quit on this series back in 2011, and doubly a shame that he passed away a few months ago. I really enjoyed (3.5 stars rounded up) the first novel in the series, Nights of Awe, and this one was just as enjoyable.

Ariel Kafka, the only Jewish detective in Finland, is the first choice to work crimes in the Jewish community, and again he gets a doozy: a murdered businessman whose daughter Kafka happened to date in his youth.

Overall, this was a fine tale, and a definite page-turner, but it wrapped up a little too quickly with some handy exposition rather than through some hard boiled shoe leather. There were also some translation artifacts that stood out.

Highly recommended for fans of Jewish-themed detective fiction. Looking forward to the third and final volume.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is translated from the Finnish, and I assume it reads better in the original language. It was an interesting situation: a Jewish Finnish policeman investigating the deaths of some Jewish Finns, deaths which might be antisemitic hate crimes or Russian mafia hits. Or maybe something else having to do with the Israeli secret service. It was extremely complicated and quite short: the denseness left me a little cold. Not a lot of description or local color--it's as though the author was writing for Finns who knew the area and didn't need these touches. The book seemed like a second draft that now needed filling out.

[Jim Coughenour · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's not much going on behind God's back. I admit I was dubious from the outset about this book – a Finnish cop named Ariel Kafka investigates murder and corruption within Helsinki's Jewish community. Despite the fine writing and some droll humor, Nykänen's plot takes a long time to go a short distance.

[pdxmaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was SO excited to find a new murder mystery book at the library, set in Finland and featuring a Jewish police inspector. But it was just ok. Will certainly read the others in the series but the characters (aside from Kafka, the police inspector) were (for me, at least) hard to keep apart in my mind as were all the aspects of the international intrigues and Israeli politics.

[Mary Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual characters and setting, so I enjoyed it. But the plot wrap up was a little confusing. I appreciated the shifting positions of the visiting dignitary and the innocent hitman, as the book dipped into international intrigue, but I had to pay attention to track the movements. You cannot read this book on autopilot.

[Tuuli - Korpimaan lukija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dekkari,josta jopa pidin. Tämä oli oikein mainiota lenkkikuunneltavaa, mielenkiinto pysyi yllä ja jaksoi keskittyä. Loppu meni jotenkin turhan nopeasti ohi, mutta muuten tarinalla oli hyvä kokonaisuus.

[Gretel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Other than the Jewish elements, this short Nordic crime novel doesn't have much about it to really set it apart. An index of characters' names and occupations would've helped greatly, as I found myself losing the story's thread a few times.

[gary h dicker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but the conclusion is obvious

If you like mysteries because you want to be surprised at the conclusion then this book is not for you. If you just like interesting plotting and good writing then get this book.

[Eurocrime · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't read this, gave up after first two pages!!

[elsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book and loved the translation from Swedish to English. Looking forward to reading more by Harri Nykänen.