A review by tessisreading2
The Bodyguard by Leena Lehtolainen

4.0

A thriller! Narrated by a female bodyguard! In Finland! (I have a deep and abiding love for Finland which bewilders and concerns every Finnish person I meet. Sorry, Finland. I was living through a Russian winter when I met you and imprinted like an Anne McCaffrey baby dragon. Nothing you can do about it.) There are a lot of sociopolitical details thrown at you relatively early which may be hard to track if you’re not familiar with them - Putin’s rise, the Russian invasion of Georgia, Finland’s role during WWII, etc. - and it only gets more complicated. Hilja, our narrator, is very Finnish, by which I mean she is very weird but endearing if you like that sort of weirdness; there are lots of details of her odd childhood revealed over time. Despite the fact that this is a book narrated by a hardbitten bodyguard and involving lots of murders and political intrigue, there's a warmth to it - so many people are genuinely good, or kind, or well-intentioned - and you're left with a sense of optimism. Great book for winter.