Evil Things – Katja Ivar
Hella Mauzer was the first ever woman Inspector in the Helsinki Homicide Unit. But her superiors deemed her too ‘emotional’ for the job and had her reassigned. Now, two years later, she is working in Lapland for the Ivalo police department under Chief Inspector Järvi, a man more interested in criminal statistics and his social life than police work.
They receive a letter from Irja Waltari, a priest’s wife from the village of Käärmela on the Soviet border, informing them of the disappearance of Erno Jokinen, a local. Hella jumps at the chance to investigate. Järvi does not think that a crime is involved. After all, people disappear all the time in the snows of Finland.
When she arrives, Hella stays the village priest and his wife, who have taken in Erno’s grandson who refuses to tell anyone his grandfather’s secret. A body is then discovered in the forest and she realizes that she was right; a crime has been committed. A murder. But what Hella doesn’t know, is that the small village of Käärmela is harbouring another crime, a crime so evil, it is beyond anything any of them could have ever imagined.
My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things for the chance to join the Evil Things blog tour
First blog tour of the year for me and it is great to start with a book I enjoyed.
Evil Things took me into new territory as I cannot think of any other books set in 1950’s Finland. We are quickly introduced to Hella Mauzer and given an insight into her challenging life. Hella is a female police officer at a time where women were not expected to join the force. She appears driven and determined but as the story unfolds the reader also gets to see how Hella has left a role in a busy Helsinki station to a role at a more remote outpost.
Working under a boss who believes effective policing is keeping careful files and not taking on difficult unsolvable work (which would ruin his efficiency statistics) Hella wants to head into the deep woods to follow up a report of a missing man. Her boss is extremely reluctant to let Hella leave. The prospect of a change to the weather could mean Hella is stranded in the wilderness for weeks.
Fortunately Hella prevails and he heads to the village of Käärmela where she will stay with the local priest and his wife. They are also looking after the grandson of the missing man. The boy is too young to fend for himself and his missing grandfather was his only carer. Hella tries to question the boy and realises he has a secret but something is scaring him and he will not reveal anything useful.
By the time she arrives in Käärmela Erno Jokinen has been missing for several days. There are searches of the woods being conducted and before long human remains are found. Hella realises that there are secrets in Käärmela but she really could not have been prepared for what was to follow.
Evil Things played out very well. Hella is a complex character, she is no fan of herself and seems to be quick to focus on her own shortcomings. Her initial interactions with colleagues and strangers make her seem unapproachable or even hostile. Yet it is easy to like Hella too. I cringed at some of her behaviour but still empathised with her situation and became angry on her behalf over how her colleagues had treated her.
Location is another very important aspect of the story. The setting is the remote Finnish woods and the isolation is conveyed really well – couple this with the lack of technology (1950’s remember?) and the reader feels Hella is all alone and extremely vulnerable. Hella will feel that too.
Atmospheric reading which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Evil Things is published by Bitter Lemon Press and is available in audiobook, digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evil-Things-Katja-Ivar-ebook/dp/B07GT7QDHD/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1547668803&sr=8-1
