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Author: Ivar, Katja

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 19 January 2023 by Bitter Lemon Press in the United Kingdom as part of ‘the Hella Mauzer’ series.

Paperback | 272 pages
198 x 129 x 19 | 206g

Helsinki, June 1953, at the heart of the Cold War. Hella, now a reluctant private investigator, has been asked by her former boss at the Helsinki murder squad to do a background check on a member of the Finnish secret services. Not the type of job Hella was hoping for, but she accepts it on the condition that she is given access to the files concerning the roadside death of her father in 1942, at a time when Finland joined forces with Nazi Germany in its attack against the Soviet Union. German troops were sent to Finland, the Gestapo arrived in Helsinki and German influence on local government was strong, including demands for the deportation of local Jews.

Colonel Mauzer, his wife and other family members were killed by a truck in a hit and run incident. An accident, file closed, they said. But not for Hella, whose unwelcome investigation leads to some who would prefer to see her stopped dead in her tracks.

Praise for Katja Ivar:’A captivating first novel… ‘My dear girl,’ her patronizing boss instructs, ‘justice in a cold climate is not a natural phenomenon’. But the stubborn and resourceful Sgt. Mauzer seems just the police officer to deliver it.’ – Wall Street Journal’The misdirection and manipulation of the evidence is worthy of Agatha Christie, but the quirky humour is Katja Ivar’s own. Ultimately, though, it is her portrait of Helsinki – ‘a city of lost souls’ – that is most impressive.’ – The Times