Holy Ceremony

Ariel Kafka is one of two Jewish police officers in Helsinki, Finland, and since he is lieutenant of the Violent Crimes Unit, he finds himself at the scene of a death in a Helsinki apartment. The body of a woman has been discovered covered with religious text, but according to the medical examiner, the woman wasn’t murdered. She was a suicide case, and the body had been stolen from the morgue. Her boyfriend, Reijo Lauren, is known to have psychological problems, and that makes him the number one suspect in the theft of the body. Plus, he’s left a letter with the body addressed to Kafka, hinting at more trouble to come.

To get to the bottom of the biblical messages, Kafka and his team will have to find Lauren. As a former student at a religious school and member of a secret society whose members keep disappearing, Kafka will have to dig deep into the past to find Lauren and understand what is behind his messages.
This Scandinavian noir is a multi-layered story with exciting drama and an unexpected ending. Nykanen creates cinematic scenes that pull the reader into his world. This case left me ready and willing to read more investigations by Kafka. Luckily, Bitter Lemon Press has two more books by Mr. Nykanen available in English.