Thursday, December 4, 2014

Review: Helsinki Noir Part II



Hard Rain by Tapani Bagge
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The central character, plus narrator, is a racist soon out of work security guard that aims to sweep the foreign and weak elements of Finnish live out into the sea. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, the "hard rain" of the title only lasts 5 minutes and ends with a cruel twist.

The Silent Woman by Joe L. Murr
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A wannabe musician deals with his girlfriend who is upset with her rich father, who want let her go to L.A. to pursue modeling. From the beginning, the course to the narrative is obvious and it is no surprise that the rich dad dies. The end of the relationship is also obvious, however the twist ending embodies the story's title as does the musicians' thoughts has he leaves her.

Little Black by Teemu Kaskinen
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A racist police officer uses his position to exploit foreign women for sexual favors. Although the officer's power trip and sudden demise leaves the reader happy for the women who brought it about, the sexual details are a little over the top for my tastes and I almost skipped the rest of the story twice.

Silent Night by Jarkko Sipila
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The grisly death of a recently released gang member spoils Christmas Eve for several police detectives. The investigation and the detective's use of it to keep from thinking about their lonely personal lives is a fantastic narrative as is use of details in the beginning before the call to the murder leads to the culprit.

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