Behind God's Back - (Ariel Kafka Mystery) by Harri Nykanen (Paperback)

About the Book

The murder of a fellow Jew throws Helsinki detective Ariel Kafka into a maelstrom of international intrigue and high-level corruption.

Book Synopsis

Praise for Harri Nykänen's Nights of Awe:

"The clever combination of classic Jewish themes with the traditions of Nordic crime makes for a refreshing tale with wide appeal. And the subtle humor makes it even better."--Booklist

"Professional responsibility and ethnic affiliation clash in Nykänen's intriguing first novel. The resolution will satisfy noir fans."--Publishers Weekly

"Ariel Kafka wins the award for most intriguing name for a fictional detective, and it suits this impressively labyrinthine mystery series."--Time Out

The second in the Ariel Kafka series.

There are two Jewish cops in all of Helsinki. One of them, Ariel Kafka, a lieutenant in the Violent Crime Unit, identifies himself as a policeman first, then a Finn, and lastly a Jew. Kafka is a religiously non-observant forty-something bachelor who is such a stubborn, dedicated policeman that he's willing to risk his career to get an answer. Murky circumstances surround his investigation of a Jewish businessman's murder. Neo-Nazi violence, intergenerational intrigue, shady loans--predictable lines of investigation lead to unpredictable culprits. But a second killing strikes closer to home, and the Finnish Security Police come knocking. The tentacles of Israeli politics and Mossad reach surprisingly far, once again wrapping Kafka in their sticky embrace.

Harri Nykänen, born in Helsinki in 1953, was a well-known crime journalist and is now dedicated to writing fiction. The first in the Ariel Kafka series was Nights of Awe. Nykänen's work exposes the local underworld through the eyes of the criminal, the terrorist, and now from the point of view of an eccentric Helsinki police inspector.

Review Quotes

'A Helsinki businessman apparently murdered by the most awkward suspect possible launches Detective Ariel Kafka, of the Violent Crimes Unit, on his second case (Nights of Awe, 2012).Perhaps the oddest Scandinavian mystery to have crossed the ocean yet, a mixture of Jo Nesbø's portraits of Nordic political corruption with Jerome Charyn's waggish Borscht Belt tales of Isaac Sidel, the Pink Commish of New York.' Kirkus

'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

'In Nykänen's intricately plotted second Ariel Kafka novel to be published in English (after 2012's Nights of Awe), the Helsinki Violent Crimes Unit cop looks into the shooting murder of Jewish businessman Samuel Jacobson, whose daughter he once dated... Family ties and the tight-knit dealings within Finland's small Jewish community complicate the investigation, but the sympathetic Kafka manages to perform a delicate balancing act on his way to an unexpected resolution of the crime.' Publishers Weekly

'Crime-reporter-turned-author Harri Nykanen brings his very human detective out for a second airing after the debut Nights of Awe and once again I'm smitten. When a detective noir is told in the first person it's important to be able to engage with the narrator and Ari is a very engaging chap.'Book Bag

About the Author

Harri Nykanen: Harri Nykanen (born in Helsinki in 1953 ) is a detective novel writer and was a long-time crime journalist for the largest Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. He won the Finnish crime fiction award "The Clue" both in 1990 and in 2001. His stories expose the underworld through the eyes of the criminal, the terrorist and, more recently, from the point of view of an eccentric Helsinki police inspector. He writes four different crime series and has written over 30 novels.

Kristian London: he lives in Helsinki. Translator of prose, including Nights of Awe by Harri Nykänen and The Trap by Marko Leino, and poetry.