Holy Ceremony

(Paperback)

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Description

A woman's body scrawled with religious texts is found in a Helsinki apartment. Jewish homicide inspector Ariel Kafka investigates. What begins as an investigation of Christian religious lunatics shifts into a hunt for a perpetrator who is more damaged than dangerous, the victim of institutionally countenanced pedophilia at a boarding school. Ariel Kafka finds himself investigating a series of crimes leading to the enigmatic Brotherhood of the Holy Vault, founded at the school. The brotherhood's former members have gone on to become Oxford professors and important CEOs, all reluctant to recall their school days. But before Kafka can solve the puzzle, more than one person must pay for past sins with his life.

Reviews

The solution to the subsequent murders that Kafka eventually learns of is particularly clever, and Nyknen is careful to plant the clues to whodunit and why fairly. Readers will look forward to Kafka's next outing. Publishers Weekly

...intricate in its layers upon layers of corruption, murder, suspect cops and public officials, and seriously dirty secrets. Kirkus

Nights of Awe:

'Nyknen's twist on Nordic crime fiction may be the most inventive of the year. Not just for readers of Nordic fiction, but for those who relate to New York Jewish detectives, including Lenny Briscoe (from Law & Order) and John Munch (from Homicide and Law & Order), as well as readers who enjoy the black humor of Stuart MacBride.' Booklist

'Ariel Kafka wins the award for most intriguing name for a fictional detective, and it suits this impressively labyrinthine mystery. A cool debut for Kafka, with the promise of more to come.' Time Out

Behind God's Back:

'Nykanen's tidy style is reminiscent of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels...One charm of the novel is the sense of Finnish innocence and orderliness...another is the reserve of Nykanen's Helsinki cops, who are able yet unmarked by the dirty business that foreigners bring to their patch.' Booklist

Kafka is a rather uncomplicated character - a mild-mannered middle-aged bachelor with no particular axe to grind when it comes to women. Kafka emerges as endearing to readers simply because he happens to be good at his job. A very welcome addition to the genre of Nordic noir.' Booktrust

Author Bio

Harri Nykanen, born in Helsinki in 1953, is a prize-winning mystery writer. This is the third in the Ariel Kafka series. It exposes the local underworld through the eyes of an eccentric Helsinki police inspector.