Fans of Scandi-noir will enjoy this entry from Finland. Maria is a good protagonist, the mystery is twisty, and the atmospherics terrific.

I have read most of the Maria Kallio Series and I like them less and less as time goes on. This one has been quite unsatisfying.

The central mystery is who shot an investigative reporter as she was swimming all alone in the winter water of the lake. Right here is the first problem. The Finns are sensible people and I don't understand what this woman was thinking as she deliberately put herself in danger from the cold water. She certainly did not expect to get shot either but lonely swimming is always risky.

Then the luck of a single shot hitting the head of a moving figure at a distance. Bullseye.

Then there is the growing mess that is Maria's marriage and her relationships with her colleagues.

Then there is the blatant and inexplicable unfairness when a woman who is known to be a sexual predator is believed immediately when she accuses a colleague of making unwanted sexual advances. No one questions the accusation even though Maria and others know that he had spurned the accuser's advances. This woman lies about her work too and there is no penalty.

It's a mess of a book.

I received a review copy of "Below the Surface: The Maria Kallio Series, Book 8" by Leena Lehtolainen (AmazonCrossing) through NetGalley.com.

Murder mystery set in Finland, this is the eighth in the Maria Kallio series, and where I came in. This is by Finnish author Leena Lehtolainen, so the setting is authentic and adds ambiance to the story and interest to this U.S.A. reader. The main character, Maria Kallio, is a detective on the police force, dealing with a high-profile murder case, workplace drama, harried and strained home life, and the emotional toll it is exacting from her. The struggle to balance family life and work is realistically portrayed. I'm looking forward to the next in the series and will probably go back and catch the previous books as well. Translator Owen F. Witesman has done a fine job in rendering a highly readable U.S. English version.

Book was interesting from the very start, it is realistic and although I did not fully understand the ending, I am absolutely suggesting everyone to read the book! It is a page turner, thinking all the way through the plot, who could be the guilty person and enjoying each of the characters. I felt I was cheating by jumping from #2 to #8 but now as I know a little "up-front", I am looking to read the rest of the ones I have not yet.

The book starts from the murder scene right there, and slowly revealing the investigation team work on the case, having plain data but no solution until it's start to develop - I loved the analyzing factor, the main character, Maria Kallio, Commander of the Espoo Crime Unit, being imperfect at all and thus I think I loved her more, faces sometimes so called disaster from her team and still has to handle the family life where's spouse is not happy about work overtaking their private time. As a reader I fully get the excitement of Maria's when she thinks she has solved one more step about the murder case, how small detail actually matters and how much it takes from team not to reveal any information to the press who works as detectives themselves...how difficult is to spot who is lying and who isn't, who would have had a motive to kill the Annukka Hackman, wife of a prominent publisher and author of an upcoming unauthorized tell-all book on Sasha Smeds, Finland’s celebrated racing rally driver.

Held your interest from the start. A good story with intriguing twists and turns. Didn’t want it to end but on the other hand wanted to know the culprit and why.

This is an ordinary Finish mystery with the conventional characters and storyline.

Thank you Net Galley. I enjoyed this installment of Maria Kallio's exploits very much. Ms. Lehtolainen writes well and fleshes out the backstory well too. A very enjoyable book. strongly recommended.

As a murder mystery I think that Leena Lehtolainen did just that. At first I was confused because of the person she was talking in sounded like Maria Kallio was the murderer, putting on the things (on her feet and hair) to keep her DNA in check. Also throwing the gun and i-phone away in another location. After Maria found out that Annukka Hackman was murdered I knew that I was wrong. Many other red herrings were given and we went through a whole load of other possible people who could have murdered her. The Medical examiner was supposed to marry her, she changed her mind at the last minute and married another, she was writing about the Smeds family ( father, brother,and the rally driver ).

Maria has other problems with her staff in that there are allegations of misconduct among her male members and she has problems with information becoming public. The murder mystery came to a head when Maria found a tape with information that lead to the final outcome. She's held at gun point but we finally know who the murder is. This is an interesting read that takes place around a rally driver's family. And it has many things to play on your empathy at all times. It's a good read.

4 stars

Detective Lieutenant Maria Kallio and part of her team respond to a woman in a lake who has been shot. Believing that hunters must have accidentally killed her, they soon find out that she was shot with a small caliber gun instead of a large rifle. The woman’s name is Annukka Hackman. She is a journalist and the wife of a publisher whose name is Atro Jaaskelainen. She was writing a book on Sasha Smeds who is Finland’s greatest rally driver. Apparently, the book is controversial.

As the team’s investigation gets underway, the confusion starts. Someone is leaking information to the press. It seems several men thought that they were going to marry Annukka. The pathologist is only one among others. And Smeds has his own secrets. Was the book going to be such a bombshell that some felt they needed to kill her? Is there a more personal reason? There are many, many suspects. And Annukka would do anything to get a story – or so it is said. Between new babies and a hectic home life Maria and Koivu seem to have less and less time for the job. Rough going as it is, they knuckle down and get the job dome.

Sasha Smeds is in a fiery crash. Was his car sabotaged? Or was it an accident? Someone has a copy of Annukka’s manuscript on a disk. She reveals at least one secret in it. More people die. The name of Annukka’s killer comes as a surprise, but not as surprising as the reason for committing the murder.

This is a well written and plotted novel. It starts out suspenseful and the suspense continues to build throughout the book. I liked the way that Maria’s team got along – for the most part that is. There was sufficient background information given on the major characters to flesh them out, but not so much that it intruded in the story. It only added color and a sense of human-ness.

I want to thank NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read and enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for the eARC of this great book, I loved it!
Maria Kallio, Commander of the Espoo Crime Unit, is the married mother of two young children, juggling her busy career with a demanding private life. When the well-known journalist Annukka Hackman is found shot to death while she was swimming, Maria and her team are stymied: who would have known where and when Annukka was swimming? And what was the motive?
Besides the difficulty of the case, Maria is also having problems with Ursula, the new detective she hired. She believes Ursula might be leaking information to the press and to top it all, she's accused one of male detectives of sexual harassment.
Annukka was in the processes of publishing her book about Finland's champion car racer, Sasha Smeds, but was killed before the event. As Maria and the team interview the Smeds family, they all seem to have alibis and the case seems stalled. In the meantime the media is going crazy and the pressure builds for the police to solve the case before the important Championship race Sasha is expected to win in England.
I enjoyed The Finnish setting tremendously, it's a real treat to read about a country you don't hear about a lot and some of the historical facts about the conflict between Russia and Finland were very interesting. A good mystery in an atmospheric area, a likeable heroine, and a cracking ending...what more can one want?
I love this series and can't wait for the next book. I believe there are several more than to be translated. Hopefully soon!