A man with dark thoughts on his mind is racing along the remote snowy roads of Hurmevaara in Finland when there is a flash in the sky and something crashes into the car. That something turns about to be a highly valuable meteorite. With euro signs lighting up the eyes of the locals, the unexpected treasure is temporarily placed in a neighbourhood museum, under the watchful eye of a priest named Joel.
But Joel has a lot more on his mind than simply protecting the riches that have apparently rained down from heaven. His wife has just revealed that she is pregnant. Unfortunately, Joel has strong reason to think the baby isn’t his.
As Joel tries to fend off repeated and bungled attempts to steal the meteorite, he must also come to terms with his own situation and discover who the father of the baby really is.
I received a copy of this book from Orenda Books in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
If you’re searching for something original and quirky to read, this is it. Apart from the unique plot, this is a wonderfully descriptive story, with vividly portrayed characters.
The story starts with an unlikely and unusual event, that snowballs into a fast-paced thriller, with curious insight into human nature, and what happens when there is a chance to make easy money. There are many satirical observations, which will appeal to many.
The story is many things and so will have a wide appeal. The characters are mainly, not easy to like, the chance to be rich, brings out the dark side of many of the villagers. It also draws in other criminals interested in profiting from the strange event. There are some astute observations on humanity, and how it differs living in such a claustrophobic, dark setting.
A short, but action-packed read, with humorous and poignant character observations. A refreshingly different Scandi Crime novel.
Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. Two years later, in 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died (2017) became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’.
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