Review: SNOW WOMAN by Leena Lehtonainen

SNOW WOMAN is #4 in the Maria Kallio series, about a female lawyer-trained police officer in Espoo, Finland. I love Scandicrime and was quite thrilled to discover this series, which to my perception, manages to combine Scandinavian police procedural with elements of cozy mystery and of women's fiction. It's definitely a modern approach, and reflects overtones of political frameworks as well as cultural changes.

Maria Kallio is a detective in Espoo, married recently and newly expecting (unexpectedly). She is a strong and aloof woman, who nevertheless fosters deep friendships. Much of her time is devoted to discovering the backstory of those she encounters, their "autobiography" if you will, and consequently the novel is highly, and winningly, character-driven. It also contains tautly-plotted and multilayered mystery, and fascinating backdrop of a very conservative fundamentalist sect, the Laestadians

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

When the well-known director of a women’s retreat center goes missing, Espoo Police Detective Maria Kallio is called to investigate. As the missing woman’s friends and family quickly become the pool of suspects, Maria must soften her tough interrogation style to uncover the information she needs to solve the crime. Meanwhile, a killer Maria put in prison escapes and sets out to take revenge. As the missing persons case—and Maria’s personal life—become increasingly complicated, the Espoo Police work to track down the escaped killer before it’s too late.

*3.5 stars*

This is the fourth book in the internationally best-selling Maria Kallio detective series. However, it is the only one I have read to date.

This was a pretty good mystery/thriller novel. I wish I had read the previous stories as I think I missed quite a bit of backstory to Maria and cases she was involved in. But that is obviously not the authors fault...

What I liked: great atmosphere. The one thing I love about Nordic crime stories are their sense of atmosphere. Dark, brooding, tense stories that always feel like something is about to jump out at you...doesn't always happen but feels good when you are reading. Maria is a great lead character - she is strong and smart but there is no sense of her being an "obligatory female character" - in fact, I found her to be far more compelling as a character than a lot of other detective stories I have read lately.

What I didn't like: The mix of plots going on in this story. I think that a bigger focus on only one or two of these threads would have made for an even tighter story. I just felt like every time the plot changed, it lost any suspense or mystery it had built up, losing me, at times, in the process.

Overall, worthwhile going back to the earlier novels and see how the characters have developed or, indeed, how the writing has developed.


Paul
ARH