A police procedural set in contemporary Helsinki, where we spent a week in 2016.
The violin proves to be a dangerous instrument when three young women carrying violins are murdered one after another, the first found at the Sibelius monument. Been there.
The police investigation seems to involve only three officers, and they issue no public warning about those nasty violins.
There are many red herrings, some very satisfying.
There is also quite a lot about music, particularly Jean Sibelius’s music. While it is rather technical, it is informative.
The author tries hard to relate the music to the plot but it does not work for me.
While much of the policing is interesting and engaging, I did find the principal officer, Miranda, very immature. Her hormones are more decisive than her grey matter.
However the profile of the culprit, that part was intellectually interesting.
The victims and their murderers are described in more detail than suits me.
The denouement left me cold. The villain was obvious for a long time to the reader, if not to Miranda. The complication of the religious zealot made little sense to this reader.
The author has other musical titles.