Behind God's Back

There are two Jewish cops in all of Helsinki. One of them, Ariel Kafka, a lieutenant in the Violent Crime Unit, identifies himself as a policeman first, then a Finn, and lastly a Jew. He's willing to risk his career to get an answer. Murky circumstances surround his investigation of a Jewish businessman's murder.

Neo-Nazi violence, intergenerational intrigue, shady loans—predictable lines of investigation lead to unpredictable culprits. But a second killing strikes closer to home, and the Finnish Security Police come knocking. The tentacles of Israeli politics and Mossad reach surprisingly far, once again wrapping Kafka in their sticky embrace.

“A Helsinki businessman apparently murdered by the most awkward suspect possible launches Detective Ariel Kafka, of the Violent Crimes Unit, on his second case (Nights of Awe, 2012). Perhaps the oddest Scandinavian mystery to have crossed the ocean yet, a mixture of Jo Nesbø's portraits of Nordic political corruption with Jerome Charyn's waggish Borscht Belt tales of Isaac Sidel, the Pink Commish of New York.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Nykanen's tidy style is reminiscent of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels...One charm of the novel is the sense of Finnish innocence and orderliness...another is the reserve of Nykanen's Helsinki cops, who are able yet unmarked by the dirty business that foreigners bring to their patch.” —Booklist

“In Nykänen's intricately plotted second Ariel Kafka novel to be published in English (after 2012's Nights of Awe), the Helsinki Violent Crimes Unit cop looks into the shooting murder of Jewish businessman Samuel Jacobson, whose daughter he once dated... Family ties and the tight-knit dealings within Finland's small Jewish community complicate the investigation, but the sympathetic Kafka manages to perform a delicate balancing act on his way to an unexpected resolution of the crime.” —Publishers Weekly

“Crime-reporter-turned-author Harri Nykanen brings his very human detective out for a second airing after the debut Nights of Awe and once again I'm smitten. When a detective noir is told in the first person it's important to be able to engage with the narrator and Ari is a very engaging chap.” —Book Bag