James Thompson (5) (1964–2014)

It seems like I've been waiting for this book for a long time. After Helsinki White, I was left numb. The darkness in White chilled my soul. But I wanted more.

Helsinki Blood is the fourth book in the Inspector Vaara series. In the previous book, Kari's world has been frozen apart. His brain is broken, emotionless and damaged, after surgery to remove a brain tumor. This obviously had a huge impact on his life, work, marriage, and role as a new papa. But how it all played out was shattering. I show more was curious to see how the author picked up the pieces.

It may have been the break between the books, but the tone in this one was very different to me. The ice in Vaara's brain was thawing, and humanity returning. Though since his world (and face and knee) had been blown to hell and back, normality is a long way away. Yet from the start, it's evident that he is healing, as his love for his wife and daughter (and Katt), and concern for their safety become the paramount drive in his life.

The usual cast of characters are assembled, and schemes to curtail the bad guys, save the girl (for there is, indeed, a girl in peril) and keep Kari's family safe and intact unfurl. The only reason I still have all my fingernails is that I read it in less than a day. show less

First Lines: July eleventh. A hot summer Sunday. All I want is some goddamned peace and quiet.

Inspector Kari Vaara's career in law enforcement has been the polar opposite of easy. He's still recuperating from the severe injuries he sustained in Helsinki White as well as recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor. He may still be a wreck physically, but one of the side effects of the tumor and its removal-- feeling no emotions whatsoever-- is slowly fading, and Vaari feels himself show more becoming a bit more comfortable in his own skin.

He'd feel even better if his American wife weren't suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Kate, after ignoring him for weeks, has dropped off their infant daughter Anu and then disappears. But no matter how bad things get, Vaara feels that he deserves it-- and he wants to redeem himself. Possible redemption arrives in the form of an Estonian woman who begs Vaara to find her daughter, Loviise. Loviise, a young girl who suffers from Down Syndrome, has been enticed to Helsinki with promises of a better job, and her mother fears that she's fallen prey to human traffickers. For an understaffed police department, Loviise is just one more missing girl. For Varra, she's a chance to prove that he's capable of being the man he once was. He soon finds himself playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with enemies old and new.

I have been a fan of James Thompson's books from the very first, Snow Angels, and this is one series that I do recommend people read in order. His main character, Inspector Kari Vaara, is made to walk through fire, and if you pick up a book at random to read it, you're probably going to miss too much for you to fully appreciate what he's going through. Furthermore, this is not a comfortable series to read. The picture Thompson paints of both Helsinki and of Finland is often depressing and violent, but through all four books, he's never let me forget that beauty has always been there and is worth fighting for.

The inspector is a good man capable of doing terrible things-- and he does do them. Vaara reminds me of how many of the best "good guys" have a touch of the criminal about them. There's almost something mythic about this character-- the insurmountable odds he faces, how he is scarred as he fights monsters both real and imagined, how he always strives to do right and feels remorse and the need to atone when he doesn't measure up to his own standards (and those of his beloved wife).

The success of these books will definitely depend upon each reader's comfort zone. If you don't like violence, don't read these books. If reading about a good man doing bad things makes you uncomfortable, stay away. And if you don't like the idea that there are men in high government positions all around the world who are corrupt and capable of the most heinous crimes, James Thompson is not for you. However, if you savor complex, dark, gritty, beautifully written stories about a flawed man determined to be and to do good, I highly recommend James Thompson. show less

“Instead of justice I got truth which was a poor substitute.”

Audiobook. Definitely not a tourist brochure for Finland. Right up front we are told of the Finnish racism, hatred for foreigners, especially Germans, the cold, the lack of light in the winter, and their penchant for alcohol and killing loved ones.

A Somali black movie star has been brutally murdered with a racial slur carved into her body.. The local inspector, Vaasa, married to an American ski resort manager, now pregnant with show more twins, knows he has political dynamite in this investigation. Suspects arrive in droves, and most of them are in the inspector’s circle. Admittedly, the town is small, but I was beginning to feel claustrophobic at the narrowness of his investigation. Mix in religious and cultural conflict and you have quite a melange. The Laestadian religion, a very conservative offshoot of Lutheranism, plays an important role in the book, as does the Koran. Both provide the motivations for many of the characters’ actions.

The Wikipaedia entry on Thompson notes that Vaara is portrayed as a “good” cop who goes bad in later novels and I can certainly see the seeds of future corruption. Given events, I wondered how he could ever follow up this novel with a second in the series. But I will certainly want to read the rest of the series. . Definitely not a book for those who like their cozies: it’s graphic and often profane.

Thompson, who had studied Finnish (as well as several other languages), was fluent in it, and lived in Finland, died in 2014 after writing four in the Vaasa series. show less

I devoured the first two books in James Thompson's Inspector Vaara series. and was eager to pick up the latest - Helsinki White.

Vaara has never been a follow the rules kind of cop - instead he bends them, but only to see that justice was served.

But, in Helsinki White, Vaara has become the leader of a 'black-ops' unit, comprised of himself, Milo and Sweetness, his two odd, but lethal associates. All this is done at the request of his immediate superior. The idea is to fight crime with show more crime, with an eye to the good. But that isn't the way it's turned out...

"I run a heist gang. I'm a police inspector, shakedown artist, strong-arm specialist and enforcer. Three months ago, I was an honest cop. I'm not sure I care how or why, but I reflect on how I could have undergone such a drastic change in such a short time."

And I'm not sure either. Vaara has undergone surgery for a brain tumour. One of the side effects is that he no longer feels emotion. Perhaps this is a contributing factor? But from the second book to this one, Vaara is a radically different character. And I'm not too sure what I think of him now....

In Snow Angels, Vaara pursues a case that is racially charged - the murder of a Somali woman. In Helsinki White, the issue of racial intolerance, prejudice and hate is a tangible, ugly truth. The racist rhetoric made me feel sick. Thompson has borrowed from headlines in Finland to create a multi layered plot involving extreme xenophobia, political corruption at the highest levels and more. Vaara pursues justice, but it is obtained by vicious and selective means.

The tone of Helsinki White is very dark and noir. The violence and situations are extreme. The characters are of course, Thompson's to manipulate, but I have to be honest, I didn't like where he took them. Vaara's American wife Kate has agreed to Vaara heading the black ops group. But, she is aware of the escalating violence, is present for some of it, all while toting along her three month old baby.

Vaara's tumour has left him without emotion and operating on a base level....

"I don't seem to care about what I do, either. My existence is binary. Want/don't want. Like/don't like. Will/won't. I have no shades of gray."

...and the writing seems to echo that - the prose are short and terse. Except for the long descriptions of the guns and equipment obtained by Milo, that I found myself skimming.

I applaud Thompson's tackling of a very real issue, but Vaara's solutions makes him no better than those he is pursuing. Will I read the next in the series? Yes, I want to where Thompson takes Vaara, but it won't be at the top of the pile. show less