Fatal Headwind

Maria Kallio #6

by Leena Lehtolainen, Owen F. Witesman (Translator)

After months of maternity leave, tough-talking Espoo police detective Maria Kallio is ready to return to work. But before assuming her new post as head of the Violent Crime Unit, she vacations with her husband and daughter on the island of Rödskär. There Kallio learns that, one year earlier, her ex-boyfriend Harri had mysteriously fallen to his death from the isle’s steep and treacherous cliffs.

On the anniversary of that event, Harri’s boss, the CEO of an allegedly nontoxic paint company, loses his life on those very same rocks. In light of such a coincidence, Kallio searches for the link between these two tragedies and is soon convinced that they weren’t accidents—they were murders. As the Finnish nights grow longer, so too does the list of suspects. Was the CEO’s disillusioned wife involved? His environmental-activist son? Or perhaps his rebellious daughter? Or might the culprit be his half brother, an adventurous sailor whom Kallio finds altogether a little too intriguing?

From internationally bestselling Finnish author Leena Lehtolainen comes the sixth book of the gripping Maria Kallio Mystery series.

Genres: Crime, Finnish Literature, Mystery, Nordic Noir, Fiction, Audiobook, Scandinavian Literature

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Leena Katriina Lehtolainen is a Finnish crime novelist, best known for her series of novels about the policewoman Maria Kallio.

Lehtolainen was born in Vesanto, Northern Savonia. Her first novel was released when she was only 12 years old. She studied literature in Helsinki until 1995 and wrote crime novels from 1993 on. Since about 2007 she has written other genres of books. Her works have been translated into various languages: Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Lithuanian, Polish, French, Swedish, German, Estonian, Czech.

Reviews

[Pia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 6 in the Maria Kallio series, but it works great as a stand alone. What's more, I'm looking forward to reading all the books in the series and ale¡ready have book 1 stored on my kindle.

Maria Kallio is head of the violent crime unit in Espoo, Finland. She is about to return to work after maternity leave, but just before she takes a small family trip to an island, when she finds out an ex-boyfriend died there the year before.
A year after his death, the owner of the island, an industrial tycoon, dies there too.

Were these deaths accidents? Murder?

A long list of suspects has Maria and her unit working overtime. The situation, as usually happens in thrillers, changes swiftly and the end is unexpected.

This is a classic mystery-thriller book, in the best tradition of Nordic-Noir, which happens to be one of my favorite genres

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book for following Maria Kallio in her job as Commander Espoo Violent Crime Unit. It weaved in and out of a crime of her old boyfriend Harri Immonen's death and a year later Juha Merivaara's death. It also followed her life as a wife and mother of Lida and Antti Sarkese. It was a in depth story of a family with brothers, sisters, daughters, sons and wifes.

It all starts with a trip to an Island called Rödskär where we find Maria and Antti on a trip in his family's sailboat. Here they meet all the people that will be interrogated at a later date about Juda Merivaara's death. It weaves a story around each of the suspects and how they saw the death of Juda. The book has a very climatic ending. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good crime book.

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatal Headwind, Leena Lehtolainen's 6th Maria Kallio book, was the first I read, but it won't be the last. Maria, after her maternity leave, goes on a last trip to the island of Rodskar with her husband and baby. Her ex-boyfriend Harri died from a fall off the rocks a year ago. When another man falls to his death on the anniversary of Harri's death there are highly suspicious signs this was murder. Are the two deaths linked? Are animal liberation fighters involved, or is it closer to home, could it be one of the family? Fighting her guilt about being a working mother, Maria still manages, in her new role as Head of the Violent Crime Unit, to do an intense search into these deaths, along with her team. I really like Maria as a character, and the Finland setting is lovely. The character and place names are a little difficult at first, but not trying to pronounce them solved that, making it easy to enjoy the heck out if this book. Thank you Netgalley, AmazonCrossing and Leena Lehtolainen for introducing me to this new series.

[CL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Maria Kallio is ready to return to after her maternity leave only to learn while on vacation on the island of Rodskar with her family only to learn an old boyfriend, Harri, had fallen to his death the previous year. When Harri’s boss falls to his death one year later the coincidences are too much and Maria begins to wonder of the two deaths are linked. As a new mother returning to work Maria has to fight her guilty conscience all the while trying to do her new job as head of the Violent Crime Unit justice. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been zooming through this series but I think it’s time to take a break - Maria’s kind of exhausting at this point. She’s an interesting character but she’s not always likable, and the books are told in the first person so as her life gets more “adult” and her problems more complex, it gets a little claustrophobic. Maria is married with a daughter; her co-workers are having a variety of problems of their own; in the meantime she’s attracted to a murder suspect (not a new experience for her) and she mentions repeatedly that she’d sometimes wondered about having an affair with her commanding officer. None of this is new - she met Antti, or renewed her familiarity with Antti, when his best friend was murdered in the first book - but while her worries were sympathetic when she was trying to figure out whether she could handle settling down enough to get married or worrying over an unexpected pregnancy, now it just feels… selfish and willfully dumb, particularly when she does things like go on a boat ride alone with (1) a murder suspect (2) she not-so-secretly wants to sleep with. She remains a sensible compassionate figure but the journey was a little frustrating this time.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable instalment in the Maria Kallio series. This one deals with the murder of a corporate bigwig and takes on the issue of radical environmentalism. There are also developments in Maria’s character arc and a healthy dose of police politics. I will continue this series at some point.

[tilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positiivinen yllätys, nousi yhdeksi lempparikseni tässä sarjassa! Mysteeri oli kiinnostava, merellinen tunnelma ihana ja sivujuonetkin jännittäviä. Tässä kirjassa tuli myös Maria Kallion inhimillisempää puolta esille, joissain aikaisemmissa kirjoissa hän on vaikuttanut ärsyttävältä superihmiseltä :D

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action moves apace. Little personal physical danger for Maria in this story of murder. Her past catches up and she has to deal with her emotions. Stunning descriptions of the shoreline.

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ja taas meni väärässä järjestyksessä. Mutta ei haittaa kun on hyvää.

[Mike Cuthbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maria Kallio is one of my favorite detectives. Now in leadership after a maternity leave for her daughter, Iina, she runs into a complicated case involving more than her detective skills: she falls for one of the accused! Maria’s lusts have always been on the surface, even though she is happily married to Antti. She is not above lustful thoughts about fellow runners on the trail even though they are strangers. He is on sabbatical from teaching and is a house-husband. Maria gets stuck on an island where an old boyfriend died a year ago, and finds herself investigating what appears to be a suicide or an accident at the same place her boyfriend died. In addition to the case, Maria has to deal with her lingering affection for Koivu, one of her officers, and another officer who, after sitting in for her during her maternity leave, doesn’t like the fact that she has returned. Ström is not only truculent, but whiffs of booze on his breath indicate deeper problems. Lehtolainen’s plots do not always proceed with linearity as she takes time off for a lunch here and a football match in the rain there as well as an occasional scotch after work with the boys, but she gets there eventually and the solutions are always logical and complete. In this edition of Maria’s adventures, we meet up with all sorts of Finnish culinary treats such as pickled herring and a highly descriptive trip to 40-degree ocean water followed by a hasty race to the sauna. The Finnish flavor is everywhere, as it should be. There is a May-December romance with a wounded opera singer for comic relief and wonderfully entertaining side-trips along the way to the solution and Maria is not always indomitable but always rich in experience for the reader. I always wonder what Antti really thinks of her antics…

[Janne Paananen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lehtolaisen Maria Kallio -sarja ei yritä olla enempää kuin sujuvasti kirjoitettu murhadekkasarja, jossa päähenkilön yksityiselämä tuodaan myös osaksi tarinaa. Ja sellaisenaan sarja onnistuu oivallisesti.

Tällä kertaa Merivaara oy:n perustaja ja pääomistaja Juhani Merivaara löydetään Rödskärin saaren rannasta kuolleena. Päivälleen vuosi sen jälkeen kun samasta paikasta oli löydetty kellumassa Marian nuoruuden seurustelukumppani, Harri. Silloinen kuolema katsottiin tapaturmaksi. Mutta voivatko päivämäärät olla sattumaa? Liittyvätkö kuolemat jotenkin toisiinsa?

Olen kehunut muutamassa aiemmassa Kallio-dekkarissa hyviä sivuhenkilöitä. Tällä kertää ei aivan yhtä vereviä tai mieleenpainuvia hahmoja tule vastaan. Marian esimiehestä alaiseksi valahtanut Pertti Ström esittää tämän kirjan mielenkiintoisinta sivuroolia, mutta sitä hän on tehnyt toki jo aikaisemmissakin osissa.

Juoni kulkee sen verran yllätyksettömiä latuja, ettei tämä mielestäni aivan yllä edellisten tasolle. Purjehdus- ja saarielämä olisi mielestäni ansainnut enemmän roolia sisällössä. Nyt Rödskär jäi vain miljööksi muiden joukossa.

Viihdyttävä dekkari kaikesta huolimatta. Nämä toimivat erinomaisesti äänikirjoina.

[alicja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5🌼
Mieszane uczucia w ciul. Bohaterka „umężczyźniana” na siłę. Musi być podkreślone ile to ona alkoholu nie pije, jaka wysportowana po urodzeniu dziecka, że jeden rożek czekoladowy ma tyle kalorii, ile dobry obiad, więc ona jako fit kobieta to już nic nie zje, i jak to ciastko czekoladowe, które pochłonęła jednym kęsem, zastępuje jej obiad, bo ponownie - kalorie. Już wiem na kim Jadowska się wzorowała podczas kreowania Dory. A! I nie zapomnijmy o tym, że pani nadkomisarz musi mieć zbereźne myśli o praktycznie połowie mężczyzn, którzy się nawiną, a w międzyczasie ma małe dziecko i kochającego męża. Mocny zawód i ponownie się utwierdzam w przekonaniu, że nie dla mnie, nie dla mnie kryminały.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure this is worth a five, but I wanted to register somehow how much I've been enjoying this series as a whole so far. In particular I've found Maria Kallio extremely relatable as a protagonist. You make a character relatable by giving them weaknesses and flaws, but it's easy to go overboard sometimes, and you end up with a character that's irritating, or whom you can't help but blame for their troubles. Lehtolainen strikes a subtle balance, I think. Maria's flaws are consistent, and yet they don't feel predictable or overdone. The tensions in her relationships with other characters feel real and heartfelt. I can't wait to read the rest of these. So far the books have only gotten better.

[Bud Mallar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yup, more of the same character driven, partially police procedural, whodunit where coffee is always prepared and shoes are left at the door.

A few too many characters, as usual for this old man, even worse none are named Tom Smith or Richard Jones.

Lots and lots of personal interactions about the 'protagonists' before the 'real' crime was revealed which then pointed in the direction of the whodunit, which I guess correctly about 10 pages from the end, about the same time the author did the big reveal...

I've enjoyed these. Our heroine doesn't always think straight and do the 'right' thing, but she's very real in her police life and her home life.

Good stuff - start at #1 silly

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series about Finnish Police Lieutenant (as of this book) Maria Kallio continues to impress me. She is an interesting character, both a strong female role model and a woman who can admit her failings. In this book she has completed her maternity leave and taken up her new role as commander of the Violent Crimes unit. The first case after she returns brings back up the death of an old boy friend of hers, which occurred on the same island where the current corpse was found. She's also having to deal with the transition to her new job, with some of her group not so thrilled to have her in charge. Another well crafted mystery with lots of interesting Finnish culture.

[Bronwyn Carlisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series, apart from one thing. The translator has translated it into American instead of English. Whenever they talk about the temperature, it’s in degrees Fahrenheit, but it doesn’t specify that. I’m pretty sure it’d have been written in Celsius, so if you’re going to convert the units you have to SAY SO. 15° to most of the world is quite mild, 15°F, however, is bloody cold.
Same goes with a lot of other things, they need to be translated into generics, not US-specifics.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria Kallio returns from maternity leave to new challenges as the new head of the Espoo police's Violent Crimes Unit. As usual, the mystery is mostly a lens for Maria's evolving feelings on her life and relationships, and she has a lot to process about her new responsibilities as a parent and a leader. She also has to deal with a flickering urge to sail away from it all, which adds some grace notes to an otherwise stolid plot. The rising concern for the environment in Finnish society also keeps this twenty-year-old book feeling fresh and all too relevant.

[Selja Sarvimaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived away from Finland for 20 years, I enjoy reading the Maria Kallio series, as I can recognise many places in the greater Helsinki area and the archipelago (although some place names have been changed). What I do not understand, or appreciate, is the use of imperial system with measurements in the English translation. Not only Finland but most of the world has moved to metrics and the use of feet and inches, Fahrenheit degrees (without even specifying the temperature scale), etc. doesn’t make any sense in the Finnish context.

[Outi Mäkinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favourite of Maria Kallio -series which I love. Leena Lehtolainen gives a very credible picture of Finnish police work, description of Finnish society and a life of a working woman with a family. She is also very good at foreseeing topics to come, fiction but so much true also. The book takes place in the archipelago and handles the topic of toxic boat paints etc. And there is also this very handsome sailor...

[charles crowshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of plot twists

Another excellent installment in this series. The characters are well drawn and engaging, and Maria struggles to balance motherhood and police responsibilities, and you can feel her anguish over the decisions she has to make. The plot twists will keep the reader guessing till the end. Well worth your time.

[Tuatara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tykkään kyllä siitä, miten tässä sarjassa on yhdistetty perhe- ynnä muuta arkielämää rikosten ratkaisemiseen. Siitä huolimatta tässä osassa kaikenlainen oman lapsen ihmeellisyyteen keskittyvä söpöstely tuli yhden kerran jälkeen rankasti korvista ulos, se oli sekä äitelää että itseään toistavaa. Purjehdus aihepiirinä puolestaan miellytti.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirja oli aika helppo lukea ja mielenkiintoinen. Sanasto toisti riittävästi että ei tarvinnut käyttää sanakirjaa liaan usein ja pystyin oppimaan sanoja.

Pretty easy to read and interesting. The vocabulary repeated enough that I didn't have to use a dictionary a lot and I was able to learn the words.

[Kaija Karlsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirja on kuudes Maria Kallio dekkari. Tapahtumapaikkana on Espoon saariston Rödskär. Siellä on huvila. Juha Merivaara kuolee liukkaalla kalliolla. Vuosi sitten on kuollut Harri Immonen. Maria alkaa tutkia tapausta. Komea purjehtija Mickey Sjöberg on kuvioissa. Kotikuvioissa on aviomies Antti, joka hoitaa Iidaa vanhempainvapaalla.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never really went anywhere

So disappointed in this book. Strong female character, but a weak plot. It was as if the author got to a certain point, then decided that they needed to wrap it up.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

better than the books before in the series.
the pronunciations of the names (read as an NLS audiobook) was a bit inconsistent. Åland got pronounced as “alland”, and... well, maybe the flat character ecoterrorist teen really was called Jiiri

[Susan Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book as always

I have not been disappointed yet by the Maria Kallio series. Book was great, but did notice several spelling and grammar errors, nothing too bad though. First time that happened.

[Frankie Winchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, the sixth volume in the Maria Kallio series, is not as dark as many Nordic Noir mysteries. Typically there were 7 potential suspects for the crime. I found this to be one of the fastest moving of Lena Lehtolainen's books.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

maria solves the murder of the owner of boat paint company

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series gets better and better. This one is more realistic and believable in both plot and characterization, and I really enjoyed it.

[Thomas Brazeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good series

A few years back I started reading foreign books. With that said I would have to say that this is one of the better series.