Lucifer's Tears (Inspector Kari Vaara, #2) in Nordic Noir

Mar 21, 2011 Naomi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Thompson strikes again...I don't know what occurs in this man's mind when he is writing but he can write some of the goriest and breath-taking(not in a good way) murder scenes that I have seen in any author...he has a knack though for wrapping those murders up in a constantly twisting storyline...God, I love this author!!! ...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Nidia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: scandinavian-nordic-noir, read-in-2011

Once more a murder investigation which kept me turning the pages!
Just as in Snow Angels, a solid plot and a backdrop which adds to the compelling story.
I like how pieces of history and daily customs of the country are worked into the narrative but it's the well-defined characters that make this story excel!
A great addition to the series and I can't wait for #3! ...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Susan rated it liked it

Shelves: mysteries, scandinavia

Earlier: Can't decide if the crude language is necessary. The Finnish-born detective sounds quite American.

Later: Several days in the life of Finnish detective Vaara who investigates four crimes of various social and historical strata in and about Helsinki just as his American wife Kate is about to give birth. Kate's brother and sister arrive from the US, with resulting culture clash and other difficulties with the natives. Thompson humorously brings all the strands together in a burlesque endin ...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Steven rated it really liked it

Finland remains a place where almost everyone drinks at anytime and too much(lots of depressed people). The sex is frequent and kinky and in this book is an intrinsic part of the plot and the resolution of the crime. Why am reading the second book in the series after Snow Angels? First of all Inspector Vaara is a wonderfully flawed character with a psycho assistant named Milo. Lets not forget the likeable war criminal.Secondly James Thompson is one hell of a writer. I started this waiting on ano ...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

terrific!!!!!! I want to live in a yellow house.

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Oct 11, 2011 Art rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-fiction

I really liked Snow Angels and was looking forward to this book. Funny enough it took me a few chapters to get into it- but again this may be due to the fact Snow Angels sucked me in from the first page and I may have been expected a repeat, which really isn't fair on my part. That aside, once it got going it was a interesting ride. I had the same feeling reading this book as I did when I read James Elroy's The Big Nowhere and the title's that went with it back in the early 90s, a whole new worl ...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it really liked it

Shelves: permanent-library, read-around-world, thriller-suspense, thriller-mystery, fall-2013

From the Book Blurb:
The Sufia Elmi case left Kari Vaara with a scarred face, chronic insomnia, a constant migraine, and a full body count's worth of ghosts. Now it's a year later, in Helsinki, and Kari is working the graveyard shift in the homicide unit, terrified that his heavily pregnant wife will miscarry again after she lost the twins just after Christmas. And this is why I didn't quite give Lucifer's Tears 5 Stars.

Hasn't Kari suffered enough? The loss of the twins really upset me, but I From the Book Blurb:
The Sufia Elmi case left Kari Vaara with a scarred face, chronic insomnia, a constant migraine, and a full body count's worth of ghosts. Now it's a year later, in Helsinki, and Kari is working the graveyard shift in the homicide unit, terrified that his heavily pregnant wife will miscarry again after she lost the twins just after Christmas. And this is why I didn't quite give Lucifer's Tears 5 Stars.

Hasn't Kari suffered enough? The loss of the twins really upset me, but I did love that we learn about Kate and Kari's families. I like Kari's brother and sister in law and truly disliked John and Mary - Kate's younger siblings. I'm still not sure if I like Helsinki as the setting for Mr. Thompson's Inspector Kari Vaara Series though, but I'm sure I'll get used to Helsinki, especially with Vaara's n new job. His new partner Milo is very amusing - Mensa and an unusual weapon fetish. He grew on me as he did with Vaara. Both are outsiders at the homicide unit in Helsinki. They are working the grave yard shift after all.

The case they catch is intriguing as it is splashy. The wife of a well connected and wealthy businessman is found tortured to death in the bed of her lover. Kari's boss wants the case closed fast - the lover did it, so close it already. But Vaara is like a dog with bone. Certain things at the crime scene don't add up. The woman's lover may be innocent. If that is the case, why is his boss pressuring him to send a probable innocent man to prison? What else is going on here? And who wants to frame the man if he is innocent?

On another front, Vaara is asked by the Interior Minister to investigate a ninety year old Finnish War Hero. Germany wants to extradite the old man as a war criminal. He is said to have collaborated with the Nazis and executed POWs during the War. Vaara finds out that the old man was close with his grandpa. And the truths that the old man reveal can change Vaara's memory of his beloved Ulki as well as Finnish history.

The second story line was my favorite. Though I miss the town of Kittilä, Lapland, in the Arctic Circle, James Thompson has created a wonderful character and writes well. His narrative is both simple and beautiful. He knows how to tell a good story. His characters are well developed. He knows how to keep readers interested and turning the pages. I guessed correctly about the headaches and hopefully Vaara will have his scar fixed - it could scare his new baby daughter. We'll see. I can't wait to read the third book, but I will since there are only 4 books in the series written so far. ...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Patricia Sanders rated it it was amazing

If you like Scandinavian mysteries, pick this one up. It takes place in Helsinki and is a great read.

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Mar 16, 2011 Dee rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, nordic-noir, read-2012

James Thompson did it again with Lucifer's Tears - after his debut novel, Snow Angels, I wasn't sure whether LT would live up to the hype and admittedly that might have been why I held off reading it until book 3 came out (that and the fact that some other reviews hinting and an ending that while not cliff-hangerish, needed resolution)...but wow. Fast paced, dark like Snow Angels and wow...I think that's about all I can say...more to follow... ...more

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