Ariel 1: Night of Awe

The first entry in the Inspector Kafka series.

During the period known as the Days of Awe that lead up to Yom Kippur, Ariel Kafka, inspector in the Violent Crime Unit of the Helsinki police and one of two Jewish policemen in Finland, is confronted with the most difficult case of his career. Two Arabs are killed near the capital city and, shortly after, Kafka discovers two more bodies at an Iraqi-owned garage. Are these deaths evidence of gang warfare or international terrorism?

When it transpires that an Israeli Minister will make an unofficial visit to Helsinki, matters become truly complicated. The Finnish Security Police and Mossad all have a role to play and Kafka is on a trail that leads him back to his youth.

Rights sold:
ISRAEL, Steimatsky
ITALY, Atmosphere di Libri
RUSSIA, Text Publishers
UK, Bitter Lemon Press


Ariel 2: The Spider Woman

The second entry in the Inspector Kafka series.

The police receives an anonymous telephone call about the discovery of two bodies who have been stabbed to death. Much to his surprise, Kafka recognises one of the victims as Maija Erkkilä, known in criminal circles as “Spider Woman.” The identity of the other victim surprises him even more: It is Aimo Ikonen, Helsinki Violent Crime Unit’s deputy commissioner.

The deeper Ariel and his subordinates dig, the more tangled the affair becomes, complicated by evidence of Ikonen’s troubled past. In the course of his investigation Ariel meets Ikonen’s artist daughter Saara, a woman more ill-fated than Maija Erkkilä, and one who leaves an everlasting mark on him.


Ariel 4: Holy Ceremony

The fourth entry in the Ariel Kafka series.

In the neighbourhood of Töölö in Helsinki, a dead female is discovered with religious texts written onto her body. This is not a murder victim, however, but a body stolen from the morgue. Soon after its discovery, the body is stolen once more and ceremoniously burned in Helsinki’s Central Park.

Ariel Kafka’s investigation leads him to the enigmatic Brotherhood of the Holy Vault and one of its members Reijo Laurén, who is also suspected of stealing the body. Before Kafka begins to put together the mystery piece by piece, many people have to pay for their past sins with their lives


Ariel 3: Behind God’s Back

The third Inspector Kafka novel.

Ariel Kafka is assigned to investigate the death of a wealthy entrepreneur, a respected member of the Helsinki Jewish community and the father of his ex-girlfriend. Clues point towards the local Jewish circles, Israel, and a Finnish suspect who returns from Tel Aviv to set up an importing company.

Ariel finds himself embroiled in international intrigue that claims victims both innocent and guilty, and pits his own morals against the future of his nearest and dearest.

 


Ariel 5: The Lion King

The fifth Ariel Kafka mystery.

Two-time winner of Finland’s Strongest Man contest, Jukka Aro, aka “Jimmy Boy” or “The Lion King,” is found dead in his home. Did he shoot himself or was he murdered?

While investigating the cause of Aro’s death, Lieutenant Ariel Kafka digs deep into the outlandish jet-set life of Jimmy Boy and his wife Dodo, a former erotic model. While attempting to solve the case, Ariel is thrown off his game by the return of a former girlfriend. The detective finds himself caught between two women during the most intense moments of this criminal investigation.