One of the finest books to be released this season is Katja Ivar’s Evil Things, which takes place in 1952 Finland, in a snowbound Lapp village located within walking distance from the Soviet border. Erno Jokinen, an elderly villager, has gone missing, and Sergeant Hella Mauzer—one of Finland’s rare polissysters (female police officers)—is sent to investigate. Hella, whose temperament has given her a bad reputation within the highly sexist police ranks, finds that the villagers don’t like her much, either. Most of them have already accepted the fact that Erno has either been killed and eaten by a bear, or has accidentally staggered drunkenly across the Soviet border and been imprisoned. Or maybe Erno was a Soviet spy, and had finally gone home to his Cold War masters. Hella dismisses the third explanation out of hand, because she doesn’t believe Erno would have left his young grandson alone in his isolated cabin to starve to death. Fortunately, the boy is found, and taken to the local Orthodox priest’s house, where the priest’s wife, the childless Irja, is thrilled to have a child to care for. The push and pull between Hella and Irja—each passionate about their respective vocations—is heart-wrenching, but beautifully handled. Neither can agree about the future of Erno’s probably-orphaned grandchild, since the chances of finding Erno alive are slim. But just as Hella is getting ready to leave the village and return to police headquarters—possibly with the child in tow—she finds the dismembered body of a Soviet army officer. While the murder (actually there are at least two murders in this fascinating book) is in itself interesting enough to move the plot along, the true joy in Evil Things is author Ivar’s ability to blend Cold War politics, sexual politics, geopolitics, and personal tragedy in Hella’s pursuit for justice. And then there is the horrific weather. Hella’s boss, the maddeningly condescending Chief Inspector Eklund, is not sympathetic to her desire for justice. “My dear girl, justice in a cold climate is not a natural phenomenon,” he laughs. “Snow is. That’s something that influences our work more than any idea of justice does.” But Hella ignores Eklund’s dismissal and forges ahead to a marvelous, unforseen ending that will leave readers clamoring for another Hella Mauzer novel. And maybe inspire a desire to visit modern Finland.
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