Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Ariel Kafka is the only Jew in the Helsinki police force
Nights of Awe (Ariel Kafka 1)
What you need to know before your trail
Ariel Kafka, a middle-aged bachelor, is a detective in Helsinki (think early Harry Hole) and, as far as he knows, the only Jew on the entire Helsinki police force, which is why he’s picked to head up the investigation of a series of murders that began with two Arabic-looking men who may have been shouting Jewish obscenities as they died. Set during the days leading up to Yom Kippur, this complex tale moves quickly, as Ari attempts to figure it all out. With pressure from his colleagues, police administration, his brother, and the local Jewish community, can he uncover everything before the holiest day in the Jewish calender?
Locations
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Helsinki horrors during Nights of Awe
The city of Helsinki is a dark background to this novel with plenty of street names and bridges, bodies of water to guide you around the city of horrors (well in this book at least)
Ariel Kafka of the Helsinki Violent Crimes Unit works in Helsinki but it’s his Jewish background and the Jewish people of Helsinki that are featured here. The Jewish population and Jewish areas of town feature to build a picture of a cosmopolitan city.
The sections of the novel dealing with the detective’s struggles to balance faith and work are interesting, This novel looks at terrorists, drug dealers, Arabs and Israeli agents.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Nights of Awe
Destination/location: Helsinki Author/guide: Harri Nykanen Departure Time: 2000s
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