Deep as Death

By: Katja Ivar

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eBook | 2 June 2020

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Hella Mauzer was the first-ever woman Inspector in the Helsinki Homicide Unit. But she's been fired despite solving her first murder case. This is Helsinki, March 1953. An unusually long and cold winter, everywhere frozen sea, ice-covered lakes and rivers. In a port city flooded with refugees, who cares if a young woman goes missing? An up-and-coming inspector who views this as an opportunity to advance his career. A heartbroken PI with a score to settle. They have yet to discover one thing: the most dangerous lies are those we tell ourselves.

It all begins when Nellie, a prostitute working in a high-end brothel is found floating upside down in Helsinki Harbor. Not exactly a high priority case for the Helsinki police, so homicide chief Jokela passes the job to his former colleague Hella. It's beginning to look like a serial killer is at work when Elena, another lady of the night, narrowly escapes being driven into the harbor by her 19-year-old john. Problem was he had handcuffed her in the car. And to add further excitement to Hella's life, the madam is soon found dead in the garden outside the brothel.

What begins like a taut whodunit turns into something more tantalizing and psychological as Hella investigates different suspects, including Steve, the US DJ and love of her life, reluctant to leave his wife for Hella, and the fascinating Inspector Mustonen, charismatic, ambitious and trying desperately to live up to the standards of his high maintenance wife. There are dark powers at play, as well as lighter passages, particularly those involving Anita, voluptuous but savvy, freshly arrived from Lapland to join the Helsinki police force, a most unwanted roommate for Hella. Sadly she too ends up in deep trouble, in a satisfying denouement of twists and turns.

Industry Reviews

Publishers Weekly Starred Review Set in Finnish Lapland in 1952 amid the overarching threat of East vs. West conflict, Ivar's stellar first novel and series launch revolve around two crucial struggles for emancipation-that of the nation of Finland after centuries of foreign rule, and that of Finnish women. Hella Mauzer, the first female Helsinki murder squad detective is dispatched to a remote Lapland village near the Soviet border by her chauvinistic boss to investigate an old man's disappearance. Embittered by the death of her entire immediate family during WWII and her recent breakup with her married lover, the 30ish, stiletto-tongued Hella tries to behave professionally like a man, but she defies male authority by using her instinct for detecting half-truths and her compassion for the weak to try to solve what initially appears to be a minor missing person case. With the discovery of the body of a Soviet doctor, it mushrooms into something much more complex involving institutional corruption and international intrigue.The unusual setting and psychologically complex heroine will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

Wall Street Journal.-Katja Ivar's captivating first novel set in Finland in 1952-is about Hella Mauzer, the first woman to work on the homicide squad in Helsinki. "My dear girl," her patronizing boss instructs, "justice in a cold climate is not a natural phenomenon." But the stubborn and resourceful Sgt. Hella Mauzer seems just the police officer to deliver it."

Midwestern Book Review (MBR).- "Evil Things" is the debut novel in author Katja Ivar's new 'Hella Mauzer Crime Series'. An impressive example of Nordic noir, "Evil Things" is a historic thriller set during the Cold War. While very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "Evil Things" is also available in a digital book format.

Mystery Scene Magazine. - Winter issue One of the finest books to be released this season is Katja Ivar's Evil Things which takes place in 1952 Finland, in a snowbound Lapp village located within walking distance from the Soviet border."...But Hella ignores Eklund's dismissal and forges ahead to a marvellous, unforeseen ending that will leave readers clamouring for another Hella Mauzer novel.And maybe inspire a desire to visit modern Finland.

NY Journal of Books. -"Evil Thingsintroduces the readers to a small country where the winter snow hides a cataclysmic crime. It's a chilling entry in this three-part series.