October 8

Palm Beach Finland – Antti Toumainen

Sex, lies and ill-fitting swimwear … Sun Protection Factor 100

Jan Nyman, the ace detective of the covert operations unit of the National Central Police, is sent to a sleepy seaside town to investigate a mysterious death. Nyman arrives in the town dominated by a bizarre holiday village – the ‘hottest beach in Finland’. The suspect: Olivia Koski, who has only recently returned to her old hometown. The mission: find out what happened, by any means necessary.

With a nod to Fargo, and dark noir, Palm Beach, Finland is both a page-turning thriller and a black comedy about lust for money, fleeing dreams and people struggling at turning points in their lives – chasing their fantasies regardless of reason.

My thanks to Orenda Books for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I have made this observation in the past…books set in small towns make for cracking stories. The character interactions which need to take place between a smaller cast in relatively few locations make for slick and engaging narrative.

Antti Tuomainen nails it in Palm Beach Finland. The cycle of characters, all trying to better their position in life, is terrifically presented. Dialogue is sharp and acerbic when it needs to be, dreamy and dozy when the inept enforcers are the focus and frustration is evident when nefarious plans come unstuck.

Loaded with dry humour I can see why the movie Fargo gets a namecheck in so many reviews. The comparison to the Academy Award winning film is apt but Toumainen makes Palm Beach Finland very much his own – it is just tricky finding a way to describe the clever and quirky tone of the story.

The blurb above outlines the story far better than I ever could. I just know that I really enjoyed reading about the characters who crossed paths at Palm Beach Finland.

There are murders, burglaries, arson and drug dealers but I can’t think of another crime novel quite like this one. Great fun!

 

Palm Beach Finland is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital and paperback format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palm-Beach-Finland-Antti-Tuomainen-ebook/dp/B07DFQ2DVK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538939700&sr=1-1&keywords=palm+beach+finland

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December 7

The Mine – Antti Toumainen

the-mineA hitman. A journalist. A family torn apart. Can he uncover the truth before it’s too late?

In the dead of winter, investigative reporter Janne Vuori sets out to uncover the truth about a mining company, whose illegal activities have created an environmental disaster in a small town in Northern Finland. When the company’s executives begin to die in a string of mysterious accidents, and Janne’s personal life starts to unravel, past meets present in a catastrophic series of events that could cost him his life.

A traumatic story of family, a study in corruption, and a shocking reminder that secrets from the past can return to haunt us, with deadly result.

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

An investigative reporter, Janne Vuori, is digging into the background behind the 2 Euro sale of a large mine in Northern Finland. The story becomes his sole focus and the distraction is having a detrimental impact on an already strained home life. As Janne uncovers more detail on the mine and the personnel behind the scenes the bigger the story becomes.

I really enjoyed how Toumainen depicted Janne’s dogged pursuit of his story, we could see how Janne was chasing down leads, quizzing involved parties whilst hoping for a nugget of information which would open a new line of questioning. You can’t help but get caught up in his quest for the truth – something decidedly wrong has happened at Finn Mining Ltd and you want to know what.

As if the whiff of corruption and scandal was not enough to keep me reading I was (disturbingly) delighted when the directors of the mining company started to die…a hitman had entered the mix. The killer will cross paths with Janne and with a totally unexpected outcome.

I read The Mine over a couple of days (it was my commute book) and I found myself wholly absorbed by the story. Big shout to David Hackston who has done a phenomenal job with the translation of the original work as I was completely sucked in by the telling of the tale. The locations felt real and I could easily visualise the bleak Northern landscapes. The tension between Janne and his partner Pauliina made me feel uncomfortable and the awkwardness when Janne meets an unexpected face from his past was handled superbly. There are so many layers of story and characterisation to The Mine which give the story that extra edge.

I was disappointed when The Mine ended as I wanted more – that can only be a good sign! One to watch out for.

 

The Mine is published by Orenda Books in paperback and digital format and you can get a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mine-Antti-Tuomainen-ebook/dp/B01BOGQDS6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1481147967&sr=8-1

 

And YES there is a bad pun in the first sentence of my review but I’m not going to apologise for it.

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