WOW WOW WOW!!!!!! This is book number 2 in the Inspectar Kari Vaara series and it was better than the first.

James Thompson writes great stories. He lets you get to know all the characters of the story and keeps them real. Like the first book Inspector Vaara is trying to solve a grisley murder. While he is doing that he is having issues at home. I don't want to say too much.

There are a lot of twists and turns and a lot of players in this story that will keep you on your toes. While I was disappointed in the ending, I will definitely be reading the next book in the series when it comes out in 2012.

I highly recommend this author if you are into police drama. ( )

Read this book at the perfect time. 48 hours of snow followed by -40 degree temperatures crippled the Chicago area and created the perfect conditions for indulging in a Finnish thriller. The Inspector Vaara series has become a guilty pleasure. It is decidedly in the upper reaches of the 2nd tier of Nordic mysteries. Thompson's writing voice and larger themes (xenophobia) resemble those of Mankell and the over the top conspiracies are closer to Larson. This one concerns the murder of a business man's wife in the bed of her lover. Vaara befriends a Finnish war hero with a complicated past as nazi facilitator. Vaara paints well in the greys. Best of the series so far. ( )

Inspector Kari Vaara is back who despite his move away from the Finnish backwater which saw some horrific events in the first book 'Snow Angels' again finds himself embroiled in murder and personal torment. Whilst juggling the demands of a particularly savage murder case, the investigation of possible war-crimes, a heavily pregnant wife, his truly irritating in-laws and his gung-ho new partner, he is also grappling with a deterioration in his own health which even he can't assuage with copious amounts of kossu. I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up novel and found it much more authentic in the terms of a Scandinavian style. I think it was far more apparent in the first book that Thompson is American and 'Snow Angels' had a slight feeling of an outsider looking in whereas this seemed more immersed in Finnish culture and more real somehow. Unlike a previous reviewer I did not find the violence at all gratuitous, having read a lot worse in more established author's works, and as for the accusation of it being pornographic, I think in my long experience of crime reading, many crime storylines are fuelled by sexual jealousy and crimes of passion. So all in all a good follow on thriller and looking forward to the next... ( )

Book #2 (LT) in the Kari Vaara series, following "Snow Angels" (SA) and preceding "Helsinki White" (HW). Vaara is a homicide officer in the Helsinki police supported by a team of five. He is not trusted by his bosses because he is honest and doesn't need anything. Homicides are somewhat rare in Finland we are told (and they are always solved), but nevertheless Vaara and Sgt. Milo catch an unusual one. An attractive young woman is found dead in bed, bound and tortured, surrounded by bloody sheets. Her lover had been asleep next to her and claims to have been knocked unconscious. They had been routinely into kinky sex, and the story does get rather graphic in places. This is not a book for people who might get turned off by the prominent role of a dildo and where it's been.

There is a subplot dealing with an official request from Germany and their request to extradict Finland's oldest WWll military survivor, a 90 year old decorated hero, under suspicion of direct involvement in the deaths of Jewish and Russian prisoners during the war. A lot of information is presented in a relatively short space, it's somewhat confusing, and the answer seems to be "who knows?". But this issue has been dealt with by others in more detail, and as a key element of the main plot, eg Jo Nesbo. It just didn't work for me as a sub-plot in this story.

And finally, we get to know Vaara's wife and in-laws somewhat better. Those chapters do present some interesting facets on Finnish life, but it fails miserably by adding an "Ugly American" to draw a comparison of life in the two countries. In this case, a large part of the (visiting sister-in-law) American's case and attitude is dismissed by the revelation that she was abused by her father, and there is just something wrong with her. And she's somewhat unenlightened because she is a religious conservative.

I doubt I'll read the next book in the series, but I do recommend LT for those crime fiction aficionados who are looking for one crime fiction story based in Finland and want to get a little local flavor, but just this one book in this series. ( )

Book Info: Genre: Mystery/Noir
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of dark mysteries, stories set in Nordic countries, well-developed characters, well-done mysteries
Trigger Warnings: murder, torture, war crimes, Holocaust

My Thoughts: About a year has passed since the events in Snow Angels, and a number of things have changed. In order to avoid spoilers I won't go into details. I will say, however, that you can actually read the book without having read the previous book and be able to keep up, because there are enough recaps and mentions of former events to avoid confusion. I would still say read it, of course; the best way to really have a good feel for a character in a series is to read the whole series, in my opinion, but in this case, the author has done well by making it so you do not necessarily have to. In my opinion, walking this sort of line is a tricky thing, where providing too much info can end up backfiring and ruining the new story, so I'm always impressed when an author is able to do this. I also need to point out that the synopses for this book, and for the next book, Helsinki White, provide spoilers for the previous books, so if you don't want to be spoiled on minor plot points, take care.

I do wish to apologize. It was my misunderstanding that Finland was considered to be part of Scandinavia, and it is not. It is considered to be a Nordic country. I always thought Nordic countries were also Scandinavian, but I guess there is a difference. Unfortunately my Internet connection won't stay up more than a few minutes so I have no way to really check into this at the moment, to find the difference. I meant no disrespect in the comments on my previous review for Snow Angels.

Like Snow Angels, the denouement completely blew me away. I had no idea how things would turn out. I really enjoyed some of the new characters introduced in this book, like Arvid and Ritva (about whom I am absolutely heartbroken), and Milo. I even sort of like Iisa, just because she was so incredibly self-absorbed. I couldn't help but sort of appreciate that. The ending of this book is sort of bittersweet, but I'll leave the discovery as to why up to you. I will say that if you enjoy a really well-done mystery, you won't want to miss this terrific series by James Thompson. Highly recommended.

Series Information: Lucifer's Tears is the second book in the Inspector Vaara series.
Book 1: Snow Angels, review linked here where formatting allowed.
Book 3: Helsinki White, to be read next, provided by Amazon Vine for an honest review
Book 4: Helsinki Blood, I do not have, but it is on my wishlist

Disclosure: The publisher provided me a reviewer's copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: The Sufia Elmi case left Kari Vaara with a scarred face, chronic insomnia, a constant migraine, and a full body count's worth of ghosts. Now it's a year later, in Helsinki, and Kari is working the graveyard shift in the homicide unit, terrified that his heavily pregnant wife will miscarry again after she lost the twins just after Christmas.

Kari is pushed into investigating a ninety-year-old national hero for war crimes committed during World War II. The Interior Minister demands a conclusion of innocence, preserving Finland's heroic perception about itself and its role in the war, but Germany wants extradition.

In a seeming coincidence, Kari is drawn into the murder-by-torture case of Iisa Filippov, the philandering wife of a Russian businessman. Her lover is clearly being framed for the crime—and Ivan Filippov's arrogance and nonchalance point the finger at him. But he's being protected from above, leading Kari to the corrupt corridors of power. Soon the past and present collide in ways no one could have anticipated. ( )