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constantreader471's review against another edition
5.0
The author, formerly a crime reporter, has crafted an interesting police officer. Ariel Kafka is 1 of 2 Jewish policeman in Finland. He considers himself a Finnish policeman first and a Jew second. He only goes to the synagogue occasionally. He has a sense of humor and deals gently with his rabbi trying to persuade him to come to synagogue more often. His conflicting loyalties come into play when as an inspector in the Helsinki Violent crime unit he is called to the scene of the murder of 2 Arab men. As more murders take place, he realizes that Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, is involved. He follows the case to the end, despite misinformation from SUPO(Finnish Security Police) and the Israeli embassy.
I give it 5 stars out of 5.
It was an easy read--3 days for me and hard to put down. A friend lent me this book.
I give it 5 stars out of 5.
It was an easy read--3 days for me and hard to put down. A friend lent me this book.
spike_b's review against another edition
4.0
Siinä missä valtaosa Raid-romaaneista vaatii vahvahkoa Raid-fanitusta ollakseen hyviä (tai edes nautittavia), Ariel Kafka -sarjan avausosa toimii itsessään paremmin kuin mikään muu tähän mennessä lukemani Nykäsen romaani.
poskisuudelma's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
lini002's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
bookdancing's review
4.0
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Nights_of_Awe_(Ariel_Kafka_Mystery)_by_Harri_Nykanen_and_Kristian_London_(translator)
rosseroo's review
3.0
This Finnish police procedural has a lot in common with the glut of crime fiction that's been coming out of Scandinavia for the last decade or so. It features a somewhat frazzled middle-aged male protagonist, in this case, Detective Inspector Kafka with the Violent Crimes unit of the Helsinki police. He's supported by a team of cops who each have one distinguishing trait or interest (the most memorable one in this case is a detective who spends a lot of on-duty time coordinating his hobby of rally-driving), and there's a crusty and/or cranky and insightful pathologist to provide a key clue or two. There's some local color, but not enough to distinguish the setting from any number of other northern European cities. And the plot revolves around immigrants, in this case, Arabs.
The story starts off well enough, with the discovery of two bodies near a railroad track, and the police attempt to reconstruct what happened, how, and whom else might have been involved. And indeed, the procedural aspects of the story continue to be solidly engrossing within the boundaries of the genre, even as it starts to veer into international thriller territory, with the threat of terrorists and international conspiracies. However, where the plot really went awry for me was in the relationship between D.I. Kafka and some of the people involved in the murder investigation -- one of whom is his childhood best friend whom he hasn't seen for many years. Kafka is Jewish, and the story leads into Helsinki's small Jewish community, and thus his relationships with (and relations to) people become integral to the plot. I never like it when in a crime story the detective past history with someone plays a key role in the plot, so the book let me down in that sense. But I'd definitely be interested in reading more in the series and hopefully getting a little more flavor of Finland along with the strong procedural elements.
The story starts off well enough, with the discovery of two bodies near a railroad track, and the police attempt to reconstruct what happened, how, and whom else might have been involved. And indeed, the procedural aspects of the story continue to be solidly engrossing within the boundaries of the genre, even as it starts to veer into international thriller territory, with the threat of terrorists and international conspiracies. However, where the plot really went awry for me was in the relationship between D.I. Kafka and some of the people involved in the murder investigation -- one of whom is his childhood best friend whom he hasn't seen for many years. Kafka is Jewish, and the story leads into Helsinki's small Jewish community, and thus his relationships with (and relations to) people become integral to the plot. I never like it when in a crime story the detective past history with someone plays a key role in the plot, so the book let me down in that sense. But I'd definitely be interested in reading more in the series and hopefully getting a little more flavor of Finland along with the strong procedural elements.
borisfeldman's review
2.0
How could I resist? Nordic noir plus a Jewish cop?
Disappointing.
Thin plot. Twists not that engaging. Language prosaic.
Stick with the Nordic goyim.
Disappointing.
Thin plot. Twists not that engaging. Language prosaic.
Stick with the Nordic goyim.
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