Praise for the Ariel Kafka series:
Ariel Kafka wins the award for most intriguing name for a fictional
detective, and it suits this impressively labyrinthine mystery series.
--Time Out
The clever combination of classic Jewish themes with the traditions of
Nordic crime makes for a refreshing tale with wide appeal. And the
subtle humor makes it even better. --Booklist
Professional responsibility and ethnic affiliation clash in Nykänen's
intriguing first novel. The resolution will satisfy noir fans.
--Publishers Weekly
The third in the Ariel Kafka series.
There are two Jewish cops in all of Helsinki. One of them, Ariel Kafka,
a lieutenant in the Violent Crime Unit, identifies himself as a
policeman first, then a Finn, and lastly a Jew. Kafka is a stubborn,
dedicated policeman with wry sense of humor, always willing to risk his
career to get an answer. A woman's body scrawled with religious texts is
found in a Helsinki apartment. It turns out she wasn't murdered: the
body was stolen from the morgue. The body is stolen again, and this time
is immolated in a funeral pyre in Helsinki's Central Park. Kafka finds
himself investigating a series of crimes leading to the enigmatic
Christian Brotherhood of the Holy Vault. But before he can solve the
puzzle, more than one Brother must pay for past sins with his life.
Harri Nykänen, born in Helsinki in 1953, is a prize-winning mystery
writer. This is the third in the Ariel Kafka series. It exposes the
local underworld through the eyes of an eccentric Helsinki police
inspector.
