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A review by constantreader471
The Nightingale Murder by Leena Lehtolainen
4.0
4 stars
I enjoyed reading this book, translated from Finnish. It is set in Espoo, Finland and is book 9 in the series, but worked fine for me even though I haven't read any of the other books in the series.
The book opens when a young woman is found badly cut up in her genital area. Maria Kallio, head of the VCU(Violent Crime Unit), is called to the scene and then goes to the hospital to interview the victim, who is evidently a Russian prostitute who speaks very little Finnish or English, Maria's 2 languages. Maria realizes the woman is very afraid. The woman disappears from the hospital the next day and then a celebrity call girl, Lulu Nightingale is found dead from poison. Maria believes that there is a connection between the 2 and starts to investigate, putting her family life on hold.
The plot line shows that much of police work is tedious and boring, endless hours of viewing videotapes from various video cams connected to the crime scenes and interviewing every possible witness, and canvassing the neighborhood for more information.
Maria and her team do narrow the suspect list down to 1 person after some false leads. I liked the way the plot developed and the way the various police officers are portrayed, balancing personal lives against a demanding investigation.
There is some violence, and 1 graphic scene of rape, if that disturbs you.
Some quotes: Lulu's apartment: "The light was dim, the tiles black and red, as was the toilet, the sink, and the bidet. Somewhere Lulu had even managed to find black toilet paper."
Meeting a possible suspect: "He shook my hand, but his smile didn't reach his eyes."
Maria's boss: "Kaartomo was talking like George W. Bush trying to convince the rest of the western world to support his bombing campaign in Iraq. I believed him just as little as I believed George double-idiot."
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for sending me this ARC ebook.
I enjoyed reading this book, translated from Finnish. It is set in Espoo, Finland and is book 9 in the series, but worked fine for me even though I haven't read any of the other books in the series.
The book opens when a young woman is found badly cut up in her genital area. Maria Kallio, head of the VCU(Violent Crime Unit), is called to the scene and then goes to the hospital to interview the victim, who is evidently a Russian prostitute who speaks very little Finnish or English, Maria's 2 languages. Maria realizes the woman is very afraid. The woman disappears from the hospital the next day and then a celebrity call girl, Lulu Nightingale is found dead from poison. Maria believes that there is a connection between the 2 and starts to investigate, putting her family life on hold.
The plot line shows that much of police work is tedious and boring, endless hours of viewing videotapes from various video cams connected to the crime scenes and interviewing every possible witness, and canvassing the neighborhood for more information.
Maria and her team do narrow the suspect list down to 1 person after some false leads. I liked the way the plot developed and the way the various police officers are portrayed, balancing personal lives against a demanding investigation.
There is some violence, and 1 graphic scene of rape, if that disturbs you.
Some quotes: Lulu's apartment: "The light was dim, the tiles black and red, as was the toilet, the sink, and the bidet. Somewhere Lulu had even managed to find black toilet paper."
Meeting a possible suspect: "He shook my hand, but his smile didn't reach his eyes."
Maria's boss: "Kaartomo was talking like George W. Bush trying to convince the rest of the western world to support his bombing campaign in Iraq. I believed him just as little as I believed George double-idiot."
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for sending me this ARC ebook.