Getting back to you . . .

I promised to report back about my luck in tracking down some Danish and Finnish mysteries. Well, it has been a mixed bag. Although the Danish mystery field is very active, none have been translated into English. I had a bit more luck with an author from Finland - not only is it virtually the only one translated into English, it was actually available in the system. The book, Stone Murders, by Matti Joensuu, is definitely on the dark side of the traditionally dark Scandinavian mysteries. Years ago during a Winter Olympics, there was one of those get to know the people clips about a pairs couple from Finland. The theme was how depressed and glum the Finns are (in spite of having tons of tango halls where lots of people hang out and glumly dance the tango). Apparently melancholy is beautiful to the Finnish soul.

This book is nothing if not melancholy. It was a bit choppy - I would guess it all depends on the translator - but I would read others in the series. What was unique about this mystery as compared to other in the genre is that the police in the story were frightened. Although they carry guns, these police were characterized as being scared of the rough crowd, or too frightened to enter a dark tunnel. Maybe it is just more honest than most other police fiction.

There was also a sense that they could never get ahead of crime - as in protecting the public - rather they were there to clean up the dreary mess. Missed opportunities came back to punish them with the unhappy results they would have to live thinking about. Life is filled with alcholism, spousal abuse and physical abuse of children. Everyone is tired and feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. And yet it's always the US being held up as being such a violent place.

But it is a beautiful country and I browsed through the Wikipedia links about Finland marveling at the differentness of their architecture. Take a moment to browse - it is fascinating.


Book: Leney, Terttu - Finland
Movie: Scent of a Woman