The Seven Symphonies: A Finnish Murder Mystery

by Simon Boswell

A bitterly cold March morning in Helsinki, and a young woman is found dead in Sibelius Park. A serial killer has made his first move.

Miranda, a Detective Inspector in the Helsinki Homicide Unit struggles with a conundrum: Why are musicians being especially targeted? What is the significance of the gruesome trophy the murderer removes from every crime scene? And why does the killer appear to associate each of his attacks with one of the symphonies of the great Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius.

Set against a backdrop of the Finnish music world, the story unfolds as a disturbing exploration of sexual obsession and the more sinister aspects of human sexuality.

Almost as a parallel plot (in a series of lectures held at the Sibelius Academy) the reader is presented with a fascinating biographical sketch of Finland's greatest artist and an analysis of his orchestral masterpieces. These two plot threads will, in subtle ways, become entangled.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

460 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2005

Reviews

[James Mietus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel automatically receives three stars for making the twentieth century's greatest composer a major plot point. Unfortunately, I can't justify any additional stars. It suffers from that all-too-common Achilles' heel of the amateur novelist: superfluous verbosity. I imagine a quarter of the book's content could have been excised without eliminating anything important.

That said, this was a fun diversion and an impressive achievement for an amateur writer, and could achieve four stars with some additional editing.

One consideration for you non-Finnish readers: the names can be a bit difficult to keep straight. Of course, this is not a mark against the book.

[Sally Sugarman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Finnish murder mystery written by and Englishman who lives in Helsinki where he teaches English. This is one of the most exciting police procedurals I have read. Partly, it is because the detective upon whom we focus, Miranda Lewis, is an interesting and complex woman who has chosen criminal investigation as her career. A Detective Inspector, she is the daughter of a deceased Finnish woman and a Welsh musician and scholar. Throughout the book we, and she, are treated to her father’s lectures on Sibelius, Finland’s premier composer. His symphonies and the murders are connected. Miranda works with two men, one her superior and one her sergeant assistant. Once they realize they have a serial killer whose crimes seem connected to each of the symphonies, they work hard not only to capture the criminal, but hopefully to anticipate him before another murder. Various perspectives tell the story. The stream of consciousness of each victim right before her murder is unnerving. We also are privy to a dialogue between men whose identity we don’t know until the end of the book. We are aware that the murderer has to be someone we have met if the author is playing fair, but at times we share the team’s bewilderment as various suspects are eliminated. The astute reader will figure out part of the mystery before the detectives do, but we are still surprised by the ending. The reader gets a sense of Helsinki in terms of its geography and its people. Miranda’s involvement with one of the suspects troubles her and the reader at times. This is a long book, but well worth reading.

[Gretel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I liked most about this book is that it's a Brit's look at Helsinki and the characters were not just all Finnish. I feel as if this was not a very good crime novel for a few reasons. The first reason being that it is a very long book. A lot could've been cut out without detracting from the storyline. Another thing I wasn't so keen on in the book was the musical element. In my opinion the concept of murders taking place that are to do with music is something I still find ridiculous. The whole leaving instruments near the bodies made me roll my eyes back. Also, Boswell could've cut out the lectures. I feel as if I know far too much about old Jean 'Janne' Sibelius.

If you want to read this book, then I suggest not reading it on Kindle, as it is formatted atrociously.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book, very accomplished in some ways and spectacularly flawed in other. If rewritten with a strong editorial hand, might be really something. Quite good on Sibelius -- but that's a bit like Moby Dick being quite good on whaling: a strength or a inexplicable tangent, depending on what you're hoping for in the book.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining, but the spartan writing style takes some getting used to. I would have liked it more had I not seen through the twist and figured it out pretty early.