What do you think?
Rate this book
Helsinki Noir
Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Featuring brand-new stories by: Leena Lehtolainen, Johanna Holmström, James Thompson, Antti Tuomainen, Jesse Itkonen, Joe L. Murr, Jukka Petäjä, Tapani Bagge, Pekka Hiltunen, Teemu Käskinen, Tuomas Lius, Riikka Ala-Harja, Karo Hämäläinen, and Jarkko Sipila.
From the introduction by James Thompson:
"Finland, the myths and truths. Internationally, it has a reputation as perhaps the best place in the world to live. A great economy. A low crime rate. Good and nearly cost-free health care. The needy are provided for by the state and live in reasonable comfort. Finns: peaceful and quiet people, living in the perfect example of a social democracy functioning as it should. A tourist, or even a person who has lived here for a length of time, might well view Finland as such. There is some truth to this, but like every country, Finland has many truths...
Finland is, like the theme so often explored in Star Trek, a parallel universe in which, on the surface, all seems normal, but under that shell lie vast differences...As this book demonstrates, Finland is a noir nation [and] this anthology is, I believe, the best representation of Finnish noir ever offered to the international community. Every word rings true. It holds Finland up in a way that not only exposes this wonderful and fascinating country to the world, but acts as a mirror that reflects its people and culture in a way every Finn will recognize, vocalizing those truths that are so seldom spoken here amongst ourselves."
Featuring brand-new stories by: Leena Lehtolainen, Johanna Holmström, James Thompson, Antti Tuomainen, Jesse Itkonen, Joe L. Murr, Jukka Petäjä, Tapani Bagge, Pekka Hiltunen, Teemu Käskinen, Tuomas Lius, Riikka Ala-Harja, Karo Hämäläinen, and Jarkko Sipila.
From the introduction by James Thompson:
"Finland, the myths and truths. Internationally, it has a reputation as perhaps the best place in the world to live. A great economy. A low crime rate. Good and nearly cost-free health care. The needy are provided for by the state and live in reasonable comfort. Finns: peaceful and quiet people, living in the perfect example of a social democracy functioning as it should. A tourist, or even a person who has lived here for a length of time, might well view Finland as such. There is some truth to this, but like every country, Finland has many truths...
Finland is, like the theme so often explored in Star Trek, a parallel universe in which, on the surface, all seems normal, but under that shell lie vast differences...As this book demonstrates, Finland is a noir nation [and] this anthology is, I believe, the best representation of Finnish noir ever offered to the international community. Every word rings true. It holds Finland up in a way that not only exposes this wonderful and fascinating country to the world, but acts as a mirror that reflects its people and culture in a way every Finn will recognize, vocalizing those truths that are so seldom spoken here amongst ourselves."
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2014
43 people are currently reading
563 people want to read
About the author
James Thompson
10 books313 followersJames Thompson was an American-Finnish crime writer based in Helsinki. He had a master's degree in English philology from The University of Helsinki, where he also studied Finnish, in which he was fluent. He studied six languages. He published four crime novels with the Finnish inspector Kari Vaara as the protagonist.
Helsinki Noir was published by Akashic Books November 2014. It is an anthology edited by Thompson and it includes one story he wrote.
Thompson died unexpectedly in his home town of Lahti, Finland in August 2014.
Helsinki Noir was published by Akashic Books November 2014. It is an anthology edited by Thompson and it includes one story he wrote.
Thompson died unexpectedly in his home town of Lahti, Finland in August 2014.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
March 28, 2022
DNF at 40%. Mostly bleak stories about unpleasant people who do horrible things including murder, torture and rape. The writing is mostly good, the subject matter isn't. If the subjects of these stories are to be believed, Helsinki has changed drastically since I was there in the mid-nineties and early 2000's.
December 19, 2014
I won Helsinki Noir, the newest installment of Akashic Publishing's ____(city) Noir series, from LibraryThing. The collection of stories, set in Finland's capital city, Helsinki, is edited by one of my favorite authors, James Thompson whose Kari Vaara series I love. (Sadly, Thompson died suddenly several months ago, a great loss for crime fiction.)Thompson's contribution to the collection, The Hand of Ai is an excellent if somewhat gruesome work.
The collection is overall excellent, although very dark. I often read short stories in great gulps, reading five or six in one sitting but I was unable to do this with Helsinki Noir-it is very noir indeed and very bloody. But what I found most disconcerting was the unremitting grimness of the characters and their lives. I welcomed Jarkko Sipila's Silent Night for the more detached tone of a police procedural (note: more detached, not just "detached). This may be the noirest of all the noir books in this series that I have so far read.
This is definitely not a book for the faint of heart. But it is beautifully atmospheric and the stories are almost all excellent. I would advise readers to pace themselves to avoid overload. But if you are a fan of "Nordic Noir," this is definitely a book to read.
The collection is overall excellent, although very dark. I often read short stories in great gulps, reading five or six in one sitting but I was unable to do this with Helsinki Noir-it is very noir indeed and very bloody. But what I found most disconcerting was the unremitting grimness of the characters and their lives. I welcomed Jarkko Sipila's Silent Night for the more detached tone of a police procedural (note: more detached, not just "detached). This may be the noirest of all the noir books in this series that I have so far read.
This is definitely not a book for the faint of heart. But it is beautifully atmospheric and the stories are almost all excellent. I would advise readers to pace themselves to avoid overload. But if you are a fan of "Nordic Noir," this is definitely a book to read.
September 13, 2015
Helsinki Noir. November 2014. It is an anthology edited by Thompson IMO shortly before his untimely death and it includes one story by himself. Awful violent stories about terrible misfits and thugs. Sorry.....just a sad waste of time. Even the short story by James Thompson was not up to his usual standards. Good info at end of various Noir groups world wide.
July 3, 2016
This is a collection of mystery short stories set in Finland by, you guessed it, Finnish mystery writers. There are three themes; Deep Cuts, Broken Blades and Winds of Violence. This Noir series is quite extensive with books set in cities and countries around the world. I tried this book by chance and for the most part, I enjoyed the experience. I haven't read a great many 'noir' mystery books so it was interesting to finally attempt it. I didn't find any great stories, but at the same time, I didn't hate any either. It was an entertaining selection of stories, some fairly gritty and all showing the darker part of life. An entertaining, three star read.
March 1, 2015
It was a good selection of stories, I guess I'm not as much a fan of noir as I would have believed. Two of the stories stand out, the one of the stockbroker, and the last story about a brother that died young.
October 9, 2014
I had to reread the one about the stockbrokers before I understood what had happened. Otherwise, these stories are awesome and live up to the compilation's title.
October 25, 2016
One of the best Akashic noir anthologies I've read. Truly excellent. I'm of Finnish descent but I've never been to Finland so it was especially cool to get a sense of Finnish culture.
April 29, 2015
This is a really great sampling of Finnish noir. The stories are a bit uneven - and pretty dark and graphic - but overall worth checking out if you're a fan of the darker side of crime. There are some detective stories in here that are parts of a series; some police procedurals; and a lot of stories right out of the Twilight Zone.
I thought this was a pretty strong sample - there are a lot of writers here that I'd like to check out again. I think that Helsinki lends itself very well to a series like this, because of it's dark winter and unique heritage. I was also very happy to stumble upon this series - it covers most major cities - it seems like a good way to find new writers.
I thought this was a pretty strong sample - there are a lot of writers here that I'd like to check out again. I think that Helsinki lends itself very well to a series like this, because of it's dark winter and unique heritage. I was also very happy to stumble upon this series - it covers most major cities - it seems like a good way to find new writers.
March 19, 2015
XXX I received this book on October 14, 2014 from Akashic Books as a give-away with goodreads. I enjoy short stories and am also fond of Noir, so this was a real treat, for me. There were a couple of stories that were a bit too graphically sexual to me, but for the most part all of these authors were exceptional. I was additionally impressed with those stories translated into English. The complexity and mystery of these tales are all especially rich, the details bring Helsinki alive. Thank you, Akashic, for sharing these tales with me. I will watch for these authors again.
September 3, 2014
An interesting collection of stories, set in the city of Helsinki, a place I've never been. Some of the stories are very dark (the "noir" part of the title truly describes them). A few have a bit of humor injected. I wanted to read this book in order to discover some new authors whose longer fiction I might like to read. To be honest, I'm not sure that any were discovered using this tactic.
October 12, 2019
Epätasainen kokoelma. Osa jutuista ala-arvoista mässäilyä väkivallalla.
January 25, 2025
I'm on a bit of a Noir binge, books and movies. I read this anthology as I was leaving on a trip to Helsinki, visiting a Finnish friend there. I had just finished binge watching the Finnish TV show called Deadwind, which was a great warm-up. Possibly my five-star rating is more a function of the particular circumstances under which I read the book, but it checked all the boxes for me, especially the one about giving a feel for different neighborhoods of Helsinki. Now that I'm back in the States I'm slowly working my way through others of the Noir series. Interesting books, interesting concept behind them. I just finished Pittsburgh Noir and am starting in on Manhattan Noir. I'm reading the ones where I have some familiarity with the actual city, first.
August 9, 2021
A handful of good ones and quite a few with mindless fantasies of violence which were unconvincing. The setting is truly Finland, and you get the idea that many of these writers are trying hard to make it seem insincere and a dark-edged falsely happy place. If you like deliberate malice then this book's for you.
January 21, 2025
i randomly saw this in the library and had to pick it up since i am finnish and live in helsinki (and also think it's the best city in the world <3). just like pretty much all short story collections, there were good ones and not so good ones. it was cool to have stories set in familiar places, although a bit weird to read in english about very finnish things. overall an entertaining enough read.
January 26, 2025
Almost my first DNF in my life. The first half of the book was really hard to read, but I still gave a chance to the rest of the book and I am not disappointed (TBH I gave the chance to this book just because I love Finland, and I am obssesed with everything Finland related). It was really good written, at some points I was physically unwell. Glad I made it through the book but can't recommend.
March 26, 2018
I have read many books in this series, and I just expected more from Nordic writers. There was only one story in the collection that I liked at all, and that was Leena Lentolainen's story. Some of the stories were just down right rapey creepy stuff. Not the best collection for women readers.
April 7, 2020
Very dark noir!
Very good read, although quite bit darker than other noirs in the Akashic collection.
It would appeal to regular readers of noir shorts. Also people like me, recent visitors of Helsinki, might enjoy being reminded of the city.
Very good read, although quite bit darker than other noirs in the Akashic collection.
It would appeal to regular readers of noir shorts. Also people like me, recent visitors of Helsinki, might enjoy being reminded of the city.
June 9, 2021
I enjoyed this book in a really twisted way. The stories were well written and introduced me to authors I will definitely read in the future. Some of the stories were incredibly dark, and it took me a day or two to pick the book up again. Overall it was an enjoyable read.
March 4, 2019
perhaps the most alcohol-drenched volume of the Noir series I've yet read. Not a bad story in the bunch.
June 25, 2019
Dark and full of a lot of violence against women.
November 23, 2025
Abandoned after 40%, too dark!!
February 6, 2014
Helsinki Noir is raadselachtig genoeg de vertaalde titel van Helsinki White, het derde deel in de Kari Vaara-reeks van de in Finland woonachtige Amerikaan James Thompson. Thompson heeft zich met de delen 1 en 2, Engelen van sneeuw en Tranen van Lucifer, al genoegzaam bewezen, toch is het altijd spannend om te zien of een auteur zijn niveau kan handhaven. Hoofdpersoon Kari Vaara heeft al het een en ander meegemaakt, in navolging van het eerste boek eindigde ook het tweede niet met een ‘en ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig’. Wat brengt deel 3?
Inspecteur Kari Vaara wordt gerekruteerd voor een ‘black ops-missie’, een geheime eenheid die rechtstreeks aan het hoofd van de nationale politie rapporteert. Vaara is pas geopereerd vanwege een hersentumor. Zijn herstel verloopt voorspoedig, maar als gevolg van de operatie kent hij geen emoties meer. Dat levert problemen op in de privésfeer en ook Vaara’s werkhouding verandert: was hij voorheen een ‘mensenman’, nu is hij kil en berekenend. Deze eigenschappen komen hem in de eenheid weliswaar van pas, maar staan haaks op een knus familieleven.
Vaara moet de moordenaar van een immigrantenrechtadvocate op zien te sporen en zich bezighouden met een onopgeloste ontvoering. De geheime eenheid blijkt anders dan hij zich had voorgesteld: alles is geoorloofd om tot resultaat te komen, kwaad wordt met kwaad bestreden. Het loopt uit de hand en Vaara komt voor een schier onmogelijke keuze te staan: gerechtigheid of zijn gezin.
Ter afsluiting heeft James Thompson een nawoord geschreven: ‘Achtergrond van het verhaal’. Het is wellicht handig om eerst deze achtergrond en de drijfveren van de auteur te lezen voor je aan het toch wel afgrijselijke verhaal begint. Dit is niet zomaar een misdaadverhaal, het gaat over immigrantenproblematiek, maatschappelijke en politieke onrust, rassenhaat, de Ware Finnen. De auteur geeft een waarschuwing af, wil dat men zich realiseert waartoe haat en haatzaaierij kunnen leiden. Vlak nadat Helsinki Noir voltooid was leerde de wereld Anders Breivik kennen … 22 juli 2011 staat in ieders geheugen gegrift. Het nawoord voegt daadwerkelijk iets toe, getuigt van de passie en overtuiging waarmee Thompson dit boek geschreven heeft.
Het is weer een en al triestigheid rond Vaara, op de geboorte van zijn dochter na is er weinig reden voor een vreugdedansje. Thompson weet een beklemmende sfeer te creëren en dicht op de huid van de hoofdpersonages te kruipen. Zijn schrijfstijl is uit de kunst, doelmatig, raak. Vaara is in Helsinki Noir de kapstok voor wat hij kwijt wil, zijn onvrede over de politieke en maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen niet alleen in Finland, maar ook elders in Europa.
De geheime eenheid in Helsinki Noir doet denken aan de Franse televisieserie Braquo, waarin ook een speciale eenheid van de politie opereert en het kwaad geenszins schuwt. Dat Kari Vaara in zo’n eenheid kan functioneren is ondenkbaar als je de eerste twee boeken gelezen hebt. Wat een hersenoperatie al niet kan veroorzaken … Vaara hoopt mettertijd weer de oude, zichzelf, te worden, maar garanties op volledig herstel ... ?
Inspecteur Kari Vaara wordt gerekruteerd voor een ‘black ops-missie’, een geheime eenheid die rechtstreeks aan het hoofd van de nationale politie rapporteert. Vaara is pas geopereerd vanwege een hersentumor. Zijn herstel verloopt voorspoedig, maar als gevolg van de operatie kent hij geen emoties meer. Dat levert problemen op in de privésfeer en ook Vaara’s werkhouding verandert: was hij voorheen een ‘mensenman’, nu is hij kil en berekenend. Deze eigenschappen komen hem in de eenheid weliswaar van pas, maar staan haaks op een knus familieleven.
Vaara moet de moordenaar van een immigrantenrechtadvocate op zien te sporen en zich bezighouden met een onopgeloste ontvoering. De geheime eenheid blijkt anders dan hij zich had voorgesteld: alles is geoorloofd om tot resultaat te komen, kwaad wordt met kwaad bestreden. Het loopt uit de hand en Vaara komt voor een schier onmogelijke keuze te staan: gerechtigheid of zijn gezin.
Ter afsluiting heeft James Thompson een nawoord geschreven: ‘Achtergrond van het verhaal’. Het is wellicht handig om eerst deze achtergrond en de drijfveren van de auteur te lezen voor je aan het toch wel afgrijselijke verhaal begint. Dit is niet zomaar een misdaadverhaal, het gaat over immigrantenproblematiek, maatschappelijke en politieke onrust, rassenhaat, de Ware Finnen. De auteur geeft een waarschuwing af, wil dat men zich realiseert waartoe haat en haatzaaierij kunnen leiden. Vlak nadat Helsinki Noir voltooid was leerde de wereld Anders Breivik kennen … 22 juli 2011 staat in ieders geheugen gegrift. Het nawoord voegt daadwerkelijk iets toe, getuigt van de passie en overtuiging waarmee Thompson dit boek geschreven heeft.
Het is weer een en al triestigheid rond Vaara, op de geboorte van zijn dochter na is er weinig reden voor een vreugdedansje. Thompson weet een beklemmende sfeer te creëren en dicht op de huid van de hoofdpersonages te kruipen. Zijn schrijfstijl is uit de kunst, doelmatig, raak. Vaara is in Helsinki Noir de kapstok voor wat hij kwijt wil, zijn onvrede over de politieke en maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen niet alleen in Finland, maar ook elders in Europa.
De geheime eenheid in Helsinki Noir doet denken aan de Franse televisieserie Braquo, waarin ook een speciale eenheid van de politie opereert en het kwaad geenszins schuwt. Dat Kari Vaara in zo’n eenheid kan functioneren is ondenkbaar als je de eerste twee boeken gelezen hebt. Wat een hersenoperatie al niet kan veroorzaken … Vaara hoopt mettertijd weer de oude, zichzelf, te worden, maar garanties op volledig herstel ... ?
February 3, 2014
Twee dagen na de geboorte van zijn dochter Anu verteld Kari Vaara zijn vrouw Kate dat hij een hersentumor heeft en geopereerd moet worden. Kari is dan al inmiddels van een doodgoede agent uitgegroeid naar een brute en corrupte smeris en neemt deel aan een geheime eenheid die op onorthodoxe wijze de strijd aangaat met de criminaliteit.
Ondertussen neemt in Finland de onrust toe als de meest extreemrechtse partij aan populariteit blijft winnen en als de meest vooraanstaande Finse immigranten recht advocate Lisbet Söderlund wordt vermoord en haar hoofd per post wordt opgestuurd, wijst de president Kari de zaak toe. Als dan ook nog eens een militair wordt vermoord schreeuwt de media moord en brand. Een lastige zaak voor Kari die alles op alles zet om de waarheid te achterhalen.
Een goede opvolger voor Engelen van sneeuw en De tranen van lucifer. Wel is James Thompson een iets andere weg ingeslagen met Kari, hij is door zijn operatie een deel van zijn gevoelens kwijt en stelt zich een stuk harder op dan in de vorige delen, van zachtaardig en gevoelig naar meedogenloos en bruut. Ook Kate doet al is ze het er niet mee eens een aardige duit in het zakje, maar het blijven heerlijke personages om over te lezen. Thompson heeft een heerlijke schrijfstijl die maakt dat het lekker vlot weg leest. De plot zit goed in elkaar en de diverse wendingen in het verhaal houden de gemoederen van de lezer bezig, naarmate de ontknoping nadert neemt de spanning en het geweld toe. Thompson geeft met zijn Kari Vaara serie de lezer een goede kijk op de Finse samenleving en hun gebruiken. Kortom, een geweldige serie om te lezen. Kijk alweer uit naar een volgend boek. Ik geef deze dan ook 4 sterren.
Ondertussen neemt in Finland de onrust toe als de meest extreemrechtse partij aan populariteit blijft winnen en als de meest vooraanstaande Finse immigranten recht advocate Lisbet Söderlund wordt vermoord en haar hoofd per post wordt opgestuurd, wijst de president Kari de zaak toe. Als dan ook nog eens een militair wordt vermoord schreeuwt de media moord en brand. Een lastige zaak voor Kari die alles op alles zet om de waarheid te achterhalen.
Een goede opvolger voor Engelen van sneeuw en De tranen van lucifer. Wel is James Thompson een iets andere weg ingeslagen met Kari, hij is door zijn operatie een deel van zijn gevoelens kwijt en stelt zich een stuk harder op dan in de vorige delen, van zachtaardig en gevoelig naar meedogenloos en bruut. Ook Kate doet al is ze het er niet mee eens een aardige duit in het zakje, maar het blijven heerlijke personages om over te lezen. Thompson heeft een heerlijke schrijfstijl die maakt dat het lekker vlot weg leest. De plot zit goed in elkaar en de diverse wendingen in het verhaal houden de gemoederen van de lezer bezig, naarmate de ontknoping nadert neemt de spanning en het geweld toe. Thompson geeft met zijn Kari Vaara serie de lezer een goede kijk op de Finse samenleving en hun gebruiken. Kortom, een geweldige serie om te lezen. Kijk alweer uit naar een volgend boek. Ik geef deze dan ook 4 sterren.
April 13, 2016
The fourteen story collection of “Helsinki Noir” is the latest installment of the Akashic Noir Series, focusing around the Finnish capital. Edited by expat James Thompson, also a contributor, the stories range from dark and brutal to partially sunny and almost positive in overall tone.
The main characters of the stories generally are on the criminal side, including a few police officers, which slant the stories more to the dark side of the spectrum. Even when the main character is on the right side of the law, their perspective is darkened by their years fighting crime or living a psychologically scared life. If the tone of noir is meant to be dark, this collection definitely qualifies.
The further one gets into the books, the overall quality of the stories improves even though two of the best 5 stories appear early on in the volume. The characters and story structures are for nearly all excellent with only an exception there and there. If anything the biggest dislike of this book was amount of graphic sexual content that stressed my personal comfort zone.
Overall "Helsinki Noir" is a good collection of short stories that inclines towards being very good with only one exception. Not knowing what to expect, I was both surprised and disappointed with what I encountered in reading. Given the very dark tone of the majority of the stories, be prepared for some dark times. However if dark criminal stories are not your cup of tea then I suggest passing.
I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
The main characters of the stories generally are on the criminal side, including a few police officers, which slant the stories more to the dark side of the spectrum. Even when the main character is on the right side of the law, their perspective is darkened by their years fighting crime or living a psychologically scared life. If the tone of noir is meant to be dark, this collection definitely qualifies.
The further one gets into the books, the overall quality of the stories improves even though two of the best 5 stories appear early on in the volume. The characters and story structures are for nearly all excellent with only an exception there and there. If anything the biggest dislike of this book was amount of graphic sexual content that stressed my personal comfort zone.
Overall "Helsinki Noir" is a good collection of short stories that inclines towards being very good with only one exception. Not knowing what to expect, I was both surprised and disappointed with what I encountered in reading. Given the very dark tone of the majority of the stories, be prepared for some dark times. However if dark criminal stories are not your cup of tea then I suggest passing.
I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
June 1, 2015
I haven't spent much time in the past reading short stories, so I have been trying to read more of them. I found some of them to be very suspenseful and to end in a satisfying way. Some of these were downright creepy and a little disturbing, which is just what they should have been. In spite of the darkness of the stories, I did enjoy the pervasive triumph of underdog over villain in many of them. I believe the reason I haven't read too many short stories is that I am not a fan of "Lady and the Tiger" type endings, and that is frequently what happens with a short story. After my initial reading of such a classic in grade school, whose ending was novel and unique to me at the time, I find using the sudden, unexplained ending a bit antagonizing because I just spent an hour or more reading a story that, to my irritated mind, it seems the author walked away from because he/she couldn't decide how to end it themselves. That most certainly is not the case in most of them, but that's how it makes me feel. I was happy that only a couple of the stories in this collection ended this way. Another couple ended with what I suspected was supposed to be a revelation that I should have understood, but I was lacking in enough knowledge of the meaning to understand the cryptic conclusion. I would like to read some more the Noir collections; maybe I'll get the hang of the puzzle endings.
August 25, 2023
A pleasant surprise.
The idea of the Noir collection ( Published by Akashic, it is a sancrist world meaning 'that which holds all'. This 'database' of information transcends all realms and dimensions and can be thought of as a massive library of information) of gathering stories in different cities around the world collecting different local authors.
This is the first one I've read of the collection. Different crime stories occurred in the city of Helsinki and were described by different Finnish authors.
The book is divided in three parts:
Part I : Deep Cuts
Part II: Broken Blades
Part II: Winds of Violence
The proposal is always to have a crime plot with a NOIR approach (Noir stories typically feature gritty urban settings, morally compromised protagonists, dark mysteries, and a bleak outlook on human nature).
Without discrediting the other authors for the quality of the work, the highlight was for the newcomer Teemu Kaskinen (Little Black) who presented a captivating and provocative narrative.
As a whole, it is a chance to get to know the society of a country through thriller crime cases against the backdrop of problems in Finnish society such as: immigration, family ties, diversity, drugs, etc..
As a style (authors of the most diverse shades and formation), subject (despite a main line, all approach, in their own style, different problems of society) make the proposal of the collection a high point of my readings of 2022
The idea of the Noir collection ( Published by Akashic, it is a sancrist world meaning 'that which holds all'. This 'database' of information transcends all realms and dimensions and can be thought of as a massive library of information) of gathering stories in different cities around the world collecting different local authors.
This is the first one I've read of the collection. Different crime stories occurred in the city of Helsinki and were described by different Finnish authors.
The book is divided in three parts:
Part I : Deep Cuts
Part II: Broken Blades
Part II: Winds of Violence
The proposal is always to have a crime plot with a NOIR approach (Noir stories typically feature gritty urban settings, morally compromised protagonists, dark mysteries, and a bleak outlook on human nature).
Without discrediting the other authors for the quality of the work, the highlight was for the newcomer Teemu Kaskinen (Little Black) who presented a captivating and provocative narrative.
As a whole, it is a chance to get to know the society of a country through thriller crime cases against the backdrop of problems in Finnish society such as: immigration, family ties, diversity, drugs, etc..
As a style (authors of the most diverse shades and formation), subject (despite a main line, all approach, in their own style, different problems of society) make the proposal of the collection a high point of my readings of 2022
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2015
*Spoilers*
I originally gave this book a good review because I was under the impression that I got the book late, and so I posted here after reading only two or three stories in this book. I had read the first few stories and found them grim, but not unreadable. Then gradually I found the stories getting darker, and although I persisted I have to take a break upon starting Little Black, the seventh of the fourteen stories in this collection (a story about an immigration officer who rapes a Middle Eastern woman, just because he feels like it). I tried to be non bias when reading these stories, but at this point I couldn't bring myself to read it any longer. I agree with a previous reviewer when they noted this book was "best savored in bits and pieces", and maybe my reluctance to finish it was because I've tried to read it quickly. Whatever the case may be, I may or may not ever finish this collection, this decision dose not rely on the authors, for this book was very well written and translated, but on the subject matter. If I had more detail when I saw it on early reviews I probably would never have requested it, and it's definitely not something I would ever recommend. Although I am curious about the other books in this series( Brooklyn Noir, and Copenhagen Noir), I am reluctant to seek them out based on this addition to the series.
I originally gave this book a good review because I was under the impression that I got the book late, and so I posted here after reading only two or three stories in this book. I had read the first few stories and found them grim, but not unreadable. Then gradually I found the stories getting darker, and although I persisted I have to take a break upon starting Little Black, the seventh of the fourteen stories in this collection (a story about an immigration officer who rapes a Middle Eastern woman, just because he feels like it). I tried to be non bias when reading these stories, but at this point I couldn't bring myself to read it any longer. I agree with a previous reviewer when they noted this book was "best savored in bits and pieces", and maybe my reluctance to finish it was because I've tried to read it quickly. Whatever the case may be, I may or may not ever finish this collection, this decision dose not rely on the authors, for this book was very well written and translated, but on the subject matter. If I had more detail when I saw it on early reviews I probably would never have requested it, and it's definitely not something I would ever recommend. Although I am curious about the other books in this series( Brooklyn Noir, and Copenhagen Noir), I am reluctant to seek them out based on this addition to the series.
December 2, 2014
To my great satisfaction, having recently read and reviewed Tehran Noir, I was excited to receive a copy of Helsinki Noir as my next Early Reviewers’ read. James Thompson, its editor, is not unfamiliar to me, as I’ve read his Inspector Vaara series, and had some idea of what to expect. Unfortunately, those expectations also were that there would be some variety in the stories included in the anthology, as stated in the introduction to the book and on the back cover, “…the best representation of Finnish noir ever offered to the international community.” I enjoyed the book (and that’s why the four star rating), but I found them to be more representative of Thompson’s work than I can imagine it to be of all Finnish noir writing, especially since a few, and only a few, deviated from the extremely violent and profane represented in this collection. My favorites were “Snowy Sarcophagus” by Jukka Petaja (although I could guess the ending, it offered great visuals), and Johanna Holmstrom’s “Stolen Lives.” I thought that story, at the conclusion of the anthology, almost perfect. Helsinki Noir does offer a look at a “parallel universe,” a glimpse at the myth of a city that is touted as one of the best places in the world to live. It’s frightening and as it appears to me, a bit one-sided.
April 24, 2015
Helsinki Noir is het derde boek van de Amerikaanse schrijver James Thompson, woonachtig in Finland. Ik heb genoten van de eerste twee delen en keek vol verwachting uit naar het volgende boek in de Kari Vaara serie. Hij is samen met zijn Amerikaanse vrouw Kate verhuist naar Helsinki en heeft een baan gekregen in een geheime eenheid, welke wordt belast met onderzoek naar de zware criminaliteit. Tegelijk is Finland is in de ban van de extreemrechts. Het team heeft een onconventionele werkwijze en niets lijkt te gek. Ze beroven de zware criminelen van hun geld, wapens en drugs.
Dit niets lijkt te gek, is tegelijk ook het feit wat me "too much" is in dit boek, Het geweld wat er wordt gebruikt en tegelijk ook het gemak waarin Kari Vaara en zijn wonderlijke team. dingen geregeld krijgen en zich ontdoen van allerhande zaken is ongeloofwaardig. Gedurende het boek ging dit feit me eigenlijk steeds meer irriteren en had ik er geen plezier meer in om het boek te lezen. De Kari Vaara van deel 1, Engelen in de sneeuw, is onherkenbaar en ik vind dat James Thompson te ver is doorgeschoten in zijn personage Kari Vaara. Ik zal niet snel een volgende deel van de serie gaan lezen..
Dit niets lijkt te gek, is tegelijk ook het feit wat me "too much" is in dit boek, Het geweld wat er wordt gebruikt en tegelijk ook het gemak waarin Kari Vaara en zijn wonderlijke team. dingen geregeld krijgen en zich ontdoen van allerhande zaken is ongeloofwaardig. Gedurende het boek ging dit feit me eigenlijk steeds meer irriteren en had ik er geen plezier meer in om het boek te lezen. De Kari Vaara van deel 1, Engelen in de sneeuw, is onherkenbaar en ik vind dat James Thompson te ver is doorgeschoten in zijn personage Kari Vaara. Ik zal niet snel een volgende deel van de serie gaan lezen..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews