Helsinki Homicide: Against The Wall

Takamäki #8

by Jarkko Sipilä, Peter Ylitalo Leppa (Translator)

HELSINKI AGAINST THE WALL The 2009 Winner of the Best Finnish Crime An abandoned house in Northern Helsinki, a dead body in the garage. Detective Lieutenant Kari Takamäki's homicide team gets a case that looks like a professional hit but they are perplexed by the crime scene. Takamäki's trusted man Suhonen goes undercover as Suikkanen, a gangster full of action. In pursuit of the murderer, he must operate within the grey area of the law. But, will the end justify the means?

Following in the footsteps of popular Scandinavian writers, Jarkko Sipila is introducing his critically acclaimed Takamäki series in the United States. Jarkko Sipila , 45, is a Finnish author and journalist. He has been reporting Finnish crime news for MTV3 TV News and the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper for almost 20 years. He has written 11 novels and co-wrote a TV- series "Detectives Don't Sing" based on the Takamäki-books. The pilot episode drew almost a million Finnish viewers. Helsinki Against The Wall , the winner of the 2009 Finnish Crime Novel of the Year Award, is the first of Jarkko Sipila's nine Takamäki-novels to be translated into English. Through realistic characters and complex plots, the author discusses current topics surrounding Finnish society and unveils glimpses into his esoteric homeland. Minnesota-based Ice Cold Crime published the paperback in the summer of 2009.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Finnish Literature, Scandinavian Literature, Nordic Noir, Audiobook

291 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Finnish author and journalist.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much re-read this by accident, because I completely forgot I'd read it before. Felt exactly the same way about this time around as I apparently did the last time.

Review from 08 October 2013:A solid crime novel that kept me entertained but didn't really suck me in. Not having read anything else by the author, I can't say whether the somewhat sparse and bland writing style was more the author's or the translator's, but it didn't exactly impress.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not bad, but there is something missing. It's like a episode of Law and Order, but without the character of the city. I'm not sorry I read it, but I can't see myself buying the others in the series.

On a side note, did something happen in Finland or Sweden with a police dog? Both this and Irene Huss make mention of a police man going to desk duty or leaving the force after the death of his canine partner. Is it because human cops don't get shot? What am I missing?

[Timo Pietilä · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pitkästä aikaa oli luettavana (tai kuunneltavana) Kari Takamäki-sarjan kirja. Keskisarjan konna löytyy vanhasta varastosta ammuttuna teloitustyyliin. Atari-ryhmän poliisi Suhonen oli saanut vinkkimieheltään (joka itseasiassa oli enemmän tai vähemmän narutettu hävittämään ruumis) vinkin teosta, ja soluttautuu alamaailmaan lahtelaisena pikkurikollisena Suikkasena. Soluttautumisessa hän joutuu menemään jo vähän pidemmälle kuin lain harmaalle alueelle, mutta lopulta onnistuu asiassaan hyvillä tuloksilla – tosin joutuen moottoripyöräjengin tappolistalle samalla. Kovin isoja yllätyksiä kirjassa ei ole, se mikä näytti rikollisten keskinäiseltä välien selvittelyltä myös oli sellaista.
Kuten aikaisemmatkin osat kirja on aika kliinistä poliisityön kuvausta ilman, että poliisin henkilöön tai perhe-elämään otetaan oikeastaan lainkaan kantaa. Mielestäni teos jäi sarjassaan keskitason alapuolelle, mitään erityisen kummalista tai poikkeuksellista siinä ei ollut – tosin ei varmaan aina kaikessa tarvitse ollakaan.

[J-us66 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made it to about 50 pages. Many characters, introduced confusingly. One character was referred to by name and filled a paragraph, only then identified in a helpful way. Stilted descriptions of a character's thinking, many physical descriptions of buildings and people possibly intended to give background color. Some of this novel's weakness may have been due to a weak translation (his "pad", or "bachelor pad").

[Whitney F · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a good book if it had been entertaining enough to hold my attention for more than a few days at a time. I read/ listened to so many other books during the time that I was reading this one that it lost any spark that it initially had. I also don't like books that feel the need to spell out every detail of the plot for the reader at the end. It makes me feel as if I am a child who needs to be explained to. Not sure if I'll be reading any more Helsinki books.

[Jorgon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, even though I think the translation could have been better. Essentially, a cross between a standard Nordic Noir and a standard police procedural, but with an atmosphere of its own (if you've ever been to Helsinki, you'll recognize a lot of the details) and an undercurrent of that awesome, very dark, deadpan Finnish humour. Will definitely read more.

[Satu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guaranteed Jarkko Sipilä style and quality. This had less Takamäki in it than most of the previous books, but it was refreshing to have more of the other characters. The dialog was often entertaining and Sipilä expressed the way people from Kouvola mock people from Kotka so well. They are hilariously mean and the reply was the right one.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book

Short quick read. It never built up much suspense and was hard to figure out. Also it would be really helpful if names were somehow simplified for the nonScandinavian readers. At least stop interchanging first and last names; use one or the other but consistently to give us a chance to learn the characters.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever plot, exciting!

I love the characters in this series! They really are unique. And the dialogue is enjoyable too. One really gets a sense of Helsinki. Wish I knew it better so as to appreciate the referenced streets, buildings and squares. And the hotel that used to be a prison. Can't wait to go there!!!

[Olli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hyvä perusdekkari.

[Jani Kankare · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but unremarkable police procedural in which an undercover cop and his motley crew of colleagues solve a gangland slaying.

[Jukka Aakula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ihan hyvä salapoliisiromaani

[Ann Repetto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot was okay. Writing and/or translation pretty clunky.

[Marianne Fanning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good one!

[Sheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like me some Nordic noir, but can't say this one did anything for me.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay. I'm not sure what the competition was like but . . . best Finnish Crime Novel of 2009. Really? I so wanted to like this book because doesn't a "Finnish Crime Novel" sound like it should be intriguing. I was expecting long dark nights, too much alcohol, and violence. However, I was pretty bored about halfway through. Like other reviewers, I had trouble keeping names straight but luckily there was a "cast of characters" list on the inside cover. Still, this felt like a movie script . . . very little information about the interior life of any character and no real sense of place. I was expecting something more along the lines of Peter Hoeg or Henning Mankell only Finnish but this was not it. I'm off to read Man From Beijing and get the taste of this out of my mouth. Too bad.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a fairly pedestrian police procedural with its main interest for me being that it was set in Helsinki. I'm sure the Finnish original was better, as the English version is somewhat lacking: it reads like a translation, with a few dodgy spelling mistakes and an awkward grammar that used short, simple sentences more suited to a high-school essay than an adult novel. Obviously styled for the American market, it employs street slang that sounds like it was picked up from 1940s gangster movies - for example, nobody goes to "the slammer" any more. Characterisation was a little wooden and featured well-worn stereotypes for both criminals and police. However, the story was engaging and kept me turning the pages, as the action took place on streets familiar to me. I might be convinced to read another book by this author, but I need to try one in its original Finnish.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was OK. The plot was good although the ending/resolution was kind of abrupt. What I missed was character development on the central character, Suhonen. We did not see his personal self like we do with Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole(Norwegian) and Jussi Alder-Olsen's character (Danish). Complaints from other reviewers about the number of characters being confusing were valid I think mainly because, to someone like me, not familiar with Finish names, they all look basically the same in print. Reading the book with an e-Reader helps resolve that issue. Also, the version of the book I downloaded to my e-Reader had a list of characters in the front. The book did not support X-Ray which I love on my Kindle Paperwhite. That really helps when you get confused. I will probably try another one of his books. Not may have been translated.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second Takamäki book of the series I've read (i.e. I've only got the books in English).
I don't feel like I know anything about Takamäki who is supposed to be the hero here.
I don't feel any like or any hate (or anything at all) about any of the good guys or the bad guys. Not enough action, and not enough twists and turns to really consider this to be Nordic noir. Plain, quite straight, not really any humor either... (Unless it was stripped away in translation?). Like a carob bar when you wanted to get a piece of nice, dark chocolate. I am really missing how this book got all the awards.
There were also some rather odd words here. "Beltway One" is what I can only imagine Kehä 1, which has also since it was built been known also as Ring I and Ring Road I. And the same goes for trams - when I went to high school in Helsinki, I took at tram, never a "streetcar". 1.75 *.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually a crime novel, but highly entertaining. This book was awarded the best Finnish crime novel of 2009, given to me for Christmas by my Finnish exchange student. I had always known how close Finland was to Russia, but never made the connection what an influence Russia had on Finland. Throughout this book, the criminals had ties to Russia. Either they were fencing for Russian criminals, they were acting with them, or they were influenced with them. The characters were a bit hard for me to follow, as the names seemed similiar to me and several had aliases, but that was my fault, not the book's. I'm not too familiar with Finnish names. But I did notice that almost the only guy who went by his first name had the same first name as my exchange student, Juha.

[Niko-Janne Vantala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toinen lukemani Sipilän dekkari on edeltävän tyyliin helppolukuista ja realistista kuvausta. Tällä kertaa tosin keskitytään enemmän alamaailman kuvailemiseen kuin poliisitoiminnan. Henkilöhahmoja on myös enemmän ja vyyhdistä tulee hieman kimurantimpi kuin edeltävässä kirjassa (Kylmä jälki). Loppuratkaisu tulee hiukan äkkiä ja on suhteellisen yllätyksetön. Silti ihan hyvää lomaluettavaa, jolloin ei välttämättä kaipaa suurempia haasteita tai syvällisyyttä kirjalta.

[Kailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why the Helsinki Homicide series is popular. It combines a lot of elements that I like about detective novels. The english translation that I read does a lot of explaining of landmarks and other finnish things that I am sure were added for the benefit of an english speaking audience. Sometimes I found that more annoying than helpful, but I can understand why it was put there.
All around a recommended read.

[Noora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toinen Sipilän kirja heti edellisen perään ja tämä oli ehkä hiukan parempi. Olen alusta asti pitänyt Sipilän henkilöistä eniten Suhosesta ja naispoliiseista ja tässä Suhonen olikin pääosassa. Takakannen perusteella odotin ehkä vielä vähän monimutkaisempaa kuviota juonellisesti, mutta oli tämäkin ihan ok. Ei tosin ehkä aivan sitä, mitä takakansi antoi odottaa. Ihan jees kirja kuitenkin iltalukemisena, vaikka aiheuttikin levottomia ja kummallisia unia.

[Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting crime novel. Even very safe and quiet cities as Helsinki, have a dark side, interestingly pictured by Sipila. It is also outstanding how policemen described in the novel perceives their own work. For example, the violent crime inspector declared that his work is very easy, as almost always the murders go by themselves to the nearest police station and declare its guilty.

[Marika Oksa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kuuntelin (taas yhden) komisario Takamäki -äänikirjan. Tai nämä ovat pikemminkin ataripoliisi-Suhonen alias Suikkanen -kirjoja, kun Suhonen on esillä Takamäkeä enemmän. Työmatkojen taattua viihdykettä. Ei liikaa raakuuksia, poliisit ahertaa työssään ja samat pikkurikolliset tuntuvat putkahtavan esiin joka kirjassa.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best Finnish crime novel 2009 - I am not sure if my experience is explained by me or that the finns write in a strange way. OK plot, but I struggled keeping the names apart and was it really exciting?

[Cateline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to star rate this book, I stopped about 60-odd pages in, just unable to settle into it. The book seems to be a bit disconnected.
Not saying I won't go back, but can say it won't be for a while.
In fairness, I'll rate it average.

[Mysterytribune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action-packed with very little fluff...very much like CSI movie in terms of scenes...(not from forensic perspective). Read our review here: http://www.mysterytribune.com/2012/04...

[Ken Fredette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was hard to understand as an American because of the names starting with S's. Confusing to get through. Until near the end when it makes sense. If we could recognize names that were similar it wouldn't be Finnish though.