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.