‘The Healer’ by Antti Tuomainen

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

In the days leading up to Christmas, a climate catastrophe looms over Helsinki – but flooded subway tunnels and abandoned vehicles aren’t the only issue. With ruthless private security firms taking the law into their own hands, poet Tapani Lehtinen and his wife Johanna are some of the few residents still living in the city. However, when journalist Johanna goes missing, Tapani is faced with the possibility that her quest to track down the killer known as The Healer, may have put her in harm’s way.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author (the first being The Man Who Died). This one takes us into a dark, dystopian world where society is falling apart, and the streets are no longer safe. The author’s writing style is sharp and clever, with an intelligent and thoughtful slant that gives us plenty to think about. The hero struggles to piece together the little information he has as he follows a trail of texts and emails, talking to journalists and police officers in a seemingly pointless round of questions that only lead to yet more questions. As Tapani begins to realise that not everyone is telling the truth, he comes face to face with a killer.

Though the ending is a little up in the air, this is an exciting and entertaining read from the master of Finnish noir.

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