About the Book
A hitman. A journalist. A family torn apart. Can he uncover the truth before it’s too late? In the dead of winter, investigative reporter Janne Vuori sets out to uncover the truth about a mining company, whose illegal activities have created an environmental disaster in a small town in Northern Finland. When the company’s executives begin to die in a string of mysterious accidents, and Janne’s personal life starts to unravel, past meets present in a catastrophic series of events that could cost him his life. A traumatic story of family, a study in corruption, and a shocking reminder that secrets from the past can return to haunt us, with deadly results … The Mine is a gripping, beautifully written, terrifying and explosive thriller by the King of Helsinki Noir.
My Review
I have read a few Nordic novels this year and this one is slightly different to the rest. It’s not a detective novel but tells the story of a journalist who is trying to uncover the truth about a mine in the Northern Finland. His account is portrayed alongside that of an assassin who is on a killing spree. Both stories are connected but it is not clear at first how and why.
The me, the investigation into the mine wasn’t as captivating as Janne’s personal life. It was like he pressed the self -destruct button. How his own childhood, not having his father present was influencing his own role as a father. He knows that he was risking his own family life by following the story but he couldn’t stop himself, getting the story of his life and the fame that went with it, or doing a job that he will hate but having the family life he craved.
The assassin’s story was chilling, the level of violence was sharp when inserted into a story that was mainly quiet. It’s a novel where all the characters are believable even if some were not particularly likeable. The isolation and loneliness that the characters experienced were all very convincing. Remote villages, completely cut off from the cities. Some scenes were quite cold, not just because of the weather with its eye watering amounts of snow but also attitudes with the need to keep the truth about the mine quiet. The ending was a little unexpected, but after digesting it for a few days I think it worked very well.
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.
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