Before the Polar Night Falls

The past and the present intertwine in this arresting novel with unforgettable characters!

A woman working for a law firm approaches Saana Havas to help with the mystery of her sister’s death. Her sister was found dead in a swamp near the Angeli village in Northern Lapland in 1998, and the murderer has never been caught. The police have given up on the case, and no witnesses were ever found in an area of Lapland that covers hundreds of kilometers. Saana promises to help her and receives all the material the client has collected. Part of this is a manuscript the woman wrote while investigating the case herself years ago.

Saana travels to the North and investigates as the winter and polar night keep creeping closer. As Saana investigates the old case, she also finds time to ponder her own roots. An old photograph shows her parents in love at the top of the Saana fell. By the time Saana was born, they all lived in Helsinki, and as the years passed her father returned to the North and her mother stayed in the South. Her mother, who has since passed away, never spoke about her father’s family or roots. Saana interviews the locals and soon finds out unexpected secrets.

Things take a threatening turn when another girl is found dead in Inari. What happened in the North all those years ago? Has the murderer come back after all these years? Who is trustworthy? Who has been carrying secrets inside themselves all this time? Set in both Helsinki and Lapland, this book is both a fascinating thriller and a detective novel about love, secrets, the magic of Lapland and nature, which acts as a silent witness.

Though part of the Havas-series, it’s not necessary to have read the previous installments in the series.