‘In his own careful, nuanced language, Wagner brings the reader close not only to the psyche of his characters but also to the beauty of Finland.’Focus

Every year since the tragic death of his wife Detective Kimmo Joentaa has prepared for the isolation of Christmas with a glass of milk and a bottle of vodka to arm him against the harsh Finnish winter. However, this year events take an unexpected turn when a young prostitute turns up on his doorstep.

Not long afterwards one of Kimmo’s colleagues, a forensic pathologist, is found murdered and Finland’s most famous talk-show host is brutally attacked. When it becomes clear that the pathologist had recently been a guest on the star’s show, Kimmo is called upon to use all his powers of intuition and instinct to solve the case. Meanwhile the killer is lying in wait, ready to strike again …

In Kimmo Joentaa, prize-winning author Jan Costin Wagner has created a lonely hero in the Philip Marlowe mould, who uses his unusual gifts for psychological insight to get deep inside the minds of the criminals he pursues.

‘Literature explores human abysses … Jan Costin Wagner is remarkably good at this.’ Andrea Maria Schenkel, author of The Murder Farm