Helsinki Noir

By Akashic Books

"Readers should be prepared to keep the lights on at night after finishing this unnerving collection."
--Publishers Weekly

"A gripping collection...Whether you are already a fan of the gloomy Finns or are new to the uniquely sinister aspect of Scandinavian literature, this book will provide steady entertainment."
--Reviewing the Evidence

"This is a good collection of all kinds of stories."
--Journey of a Bookseller

"Mystery and true crime readers will appreciate the styles from all over the world, and embrace the darkness that every culture shares--no matter how hard they try to hide it."
--Mom Read It

Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

Featuring brand-new stories by: Leena Lehtolainen, Johanna Holmström, James Thompson, Antti Tuomainen, Jesse Itkonen, Joe L. Murr, Jukka Petäjä, Tapani Bagge, Pekka Hiltunen, Teemu Käskinen, Tuomas Lius, Riikka Ala-Harja, Karo Hämäläinen, and Jarkko Sipila.

From the introduction by James Thompson:

"Finland, the myths and truths. Internationally, it has a reputation as perhaps the best place in the world to live. A great economy. A low crime rate. Good and nearly cost-free health care. The needy are provided for by the state and live in reasonable comfort. Finns: peaceful and quiet people, living in the perfect example of a social democracy functioning as it should. A tourist, or even a person who has lived here for a length of time, might well view Finland as such. There is some truth to this, but like every country, Finland has many truths...

Finland is, like the theme so often explored in Star Trek, a parallel universe in which, on the surface, all seems normal, but under that shell lie vast differences...As this book demonstrates, Finland is a noir nation [and] this anthology is, I believe, the best representation of Finnish noir ever offered to the international community. Every word rings true. It holds Finland up in a way that not only exposes this wonderful and fascinating country to the world, but acts as a mirror that reflects its people and culture in a way every Finn will recognize, vocalizing those truths that are so seldom spoken here amongst ourselves."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Akashic Books
• Release date: Oct 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781617753268

Reviews for Helsinki Noir

[ffortsa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another in the Akashic series of noir collections by city, this one is set in Helsinki, Finland. It reads easily and is amazingly noir. There are young hoodlums out on the town for a little joyful tormenting, serial killers, stolen children, savage wrestling matches in the halls of finance, devil's bargains, drugs and alcohol. I don't recall quite so many hate-filled, misogynistic rotters, some of whom get their comeuppance, in one book before.In spite of seasonal variations, I came away feeling that Helsinki was perpetually dark, as well as economically divided, massively prejudiced against immigrants, and poisoned by its own version of testosterone. I had some inkling of this before, from Finns who came to the U.S. It was certainly borne out. This bleak portrait of Helsinki did not beckon me to see the real thing.

[urchinoftokyo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book through the Librarything Early Reviewer program. I really enjoyed many of the stories although some of them I found a little ridiculous. The stories were however a little darker than what I expected they would be, and yes I know noir, but still some of them were a little bit creepy even for me.

[hardboiled-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

helsinki noir is not for everyone. The stories are dark and deal with the under belly of society from all aspects of depravity. From a reader's perspective I appreciate the art of story telling, i.e., setting, tone, slices of character development from the short story perspective and the consistency of craft by all of the authors. However, looking at the book as an overall collection I would have appreciated more variation and a chance to step back and take a breath. After three or four of the stories they started to bleed together; this is not always bad but when dealing with this subject matter it is hard to maintain and, for me, became somewhat tiresome. Are the stories well written - yes. Are the stories true to noir fiction - absolutely. Does the over riding arch of the stories create a well woven fabric of this side of Helsinki's culture - to be sure. Just be aware this collection is not for the faint of heart and probably best savored in bits and pieces.

[bradkautz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Helsinki Noir is a collection of fourteen short stories, all set in the city of Helsinki and written by either Finnish authors or expatriates living in Helsinki. As the collection's title suggests, these are all stories that move on the darker side of life. While they are all works of fiction the scenarios depicted in the stories told all fall within the realm of the possible. I found the collection to be very readable, i.e. well written and engaging my attention to the point of being reluctant to set the book down until finished. Be advised that several of the stories are particularly dark, which is the primary reason I have rated at four stars, instead of five.

[ivan0frade · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Noir in Helsinki means isolated people in unhappy marriages (if any contact with other humans at all) that finds escape through alcohol, drugs and heavy violence.The selection of stories is good. Plot-wise not very original, but all keep an engaging pace, the locations are well described and they fit for the content.In every story there is alcoholism involved, in most there is shocking violence (more or less bloody), and in general is difficult to root for any of the characters. But all works to expose the underbelly of this prosper nordic society and stand out some of its problems, like racism, isolation, enviousness, greedy individualism and lack of empathy.

[bayleaf_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

To my great satisfaction, having recently read and reviewed Tehran Noir, I was excited to receive a copy of Helsinki Noir as my next Early Reviewers’ read. James Thompson, its editor, is not unfamiliar to me, as I’ve read his Inspector Vaara series, and had some idea of what to expect. Unfortunately, those expectations also were that there would be some variety in the stories included in the anthology, as stated in the introduction to the book and on the back cover, “…the best representation of Finnish noir ever offered to the international community.” I enjoyed the book (and that’s why the four star rating), but I found them to be more representative of Thompson’s work than I can imagine it to be of all Finnish noir writing, especially since a few, and only a few, deviated from the extremely violent and profane represented in this collection. My favorites were “Snowy Sarcophagus” by Jukka Petaja (although I could guess the ending, it offered great visuals), and Johanna Holmstrom’s “Stolen Lives.” I thought that story, at the conclusion of the anthology, almost perfect. Helsinki Noir does offer a look at a “parallel universe,” a glimpse at the myth of a city that is touted as one of the best places in the world to live. It’s frightening and as it appears to me, a bit one-sided.

[deelinnea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dark and twisted, this collection of short stories tells tales of corruptions such as drugs, abuse, and murder in Finland. It's nothing like Nancy Drew, so if you enjoy light mysteries this is NOT the book for you. Like a true Noir it's uncomfortable, with narrations from the point of view most of the stories' villains, or corrupt heroes. With dark characters in a seedy city this book is captivating, with each story telling it’s own woeful tale of misfortune.

[mattries37315 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The fourteen story collection of “Helsinki Noir” is the latest installment of the Akashic Noir Series, focusing around the Finnish capital. Edited by expat James Thompson, also a contributor, the stories range from dark and brutal to partially sunny and almost positive in overall tone.The main characters of the stories generally are on the criminal side, including a few police officers, which slant the stories more to the dark side of the spectrum. Even when the main character is on the right side of the law, their perspective is darkened by their years fighting crime or living a psychologically scared life. If the tone of noir is meant to be dark, this collection definitely qualifies.The further one gets into the books, the overall quality of the stories improves even though two of the best 5 stories appear early on in the volume. The characters and story structures are for nearly all excellent with only an exception there and there. If anything the biggest dislike of this book was amount of graphic sexual content that stressed my personal comfort zone.Overall "Helsinki Noir" is a good collection of short stories that inclines towards being very good with only one exception. Not knowing what to expect, I was both surprised and disappointed with what I encountered in reading. Given the very dark tone of the majority of the stories, be prepared for some dark times. However if dark criminal stories are not your cup of tea then I suggest passing.