Antti Tuomainen's The Man Who Died is the story of Jaako, a businessman who has just found out that he has mere days, maybe a week to live. His doctor tells him that he is in complete organ failure, and has been poisoned. Jaako decides to spend the rest of his days trying to find out who has been poisoning him. So far, the plot makes sense.

As the book moved along, I had questions. How is a man who is practically dead have the energy and the health to do the things that Jaako does? Why isn't he in hospital? I'm used to genres like magical realism and fantasy where the limits of reality are bent for the sake of the plot, but this is a crime novel intended to be logical, and it's not. It's annoying.

Suffice it to say that I was not a fan of the book. I got through it, but it was one of those novels that you really don't have much interest in picking up, and instead read the quarterly magazine from the automobile association, or your Reddit feed - anything but read more of the book.

A big nope from me. ( )

In THE MAN WHO DIED, by Antti Tuomainen, Jaakko Kaunismaa's life has turned completely upside down. His doctor telling him he is dying, his wife is cheating on him, and there is a new competitor to his thriving mushroom company. All of which happens in the first few pages of the book. Jaakko has to balance all of this along with other challenges that keep cropping up and figure out what he can do with his limited time left on this earth.
I would label this book a dark comedy mystery. As Jaakko navigates through the problems in front of him (probably because of his terminal illness) he has a dry wit that leaves the reader laughing. Tuomainen crafts the book with a wonderful balance of exposition, plot progression, comedic relief, and some truly shocking and highly entertaining surprises. As the story reaches the pinnacle and Jaakko has figured out all of his problems, the final big scene is a comedic masterpiece and satisfying to the reader who has grown to pull for Jaakko to come through the winner.
An entertaining ride, THE MAN WHO DIED will leave the reader with a smile on their face from taking this unforgettable with a uniquely delightful character named Jaakko and the tale about his last few days of life. ( )

Scandinavian (Finnish) noir. In the opening scene, we find our protagonist Jaakko Kaunismaa in a doctor's office being told he has been poisoned over a sustained period and will soon die. Jaakko is a Finnish mushroom entrepreneur, based in a small town, who has built a successful business selling to the Japanese. In short order, he finds out that he has substantial problems in his personal life and his professional life: in both cases, an invasive competitor. Jaakko is determined to expose the murderer before he dies, breaking into his business competitor's office, where there are security cameras, causing suspicion by a detective, who is puzzled as the owner-brothers start disappearing in ways very reminiscent of the movie Fargo. Irreverent and enjoyable. ( )

The Man Who Died is Jaakko, a happily married entrepreneur in his late 30s who visits the doctor because he's got flu-like symptoms that he can't shake, but who instead finds out that he's being poisoned to death by an irreversible natural toxin which has built up in his system over time. Before he dies, Jaakko is determined to find out who killed him and to ensure the survival of his mushroom-export company.

This is a quick, entertaining read—like one of the better class of airplane reads but with a bit of quirk to it. The book sags in the middle, though, and the ending (both in itself and in how it explains (or doesn't) things that have happened before) doesn't quite work. A diverting read, albeit not I think a memorable one. ( )

A light, entertaining read by a Finnish author - in the style of Carl Hiassen ( )