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    Lucifer’s Tears
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    Lucifer’s Tears
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    Lucifer’s Tears
    Ebook329 pages5 hours

    Lucifer’s Tears

    By James Thompson

    3.5/5

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    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this ebook

    Inspector Kari Vaara of Helsinki returns in a case that sees a beautiful young woman murdered in an apparent sadomasochistic attack… But his investigation leads to him coming up against a wall of silence that implicates the very highest levels of power.

    His previous case left Kari Vaara with a scarred face, chronic insomnia and a full body count's worth of ghosts. A year later, in Helsinki, and Kari is working the graveyard shift in the homicide unit.

    Kari is drawn into the murder-by-torture case of Isa Filippov, the philandering wife of a Russian businessman. Her lover is clearly being framed and while Ivan Filippov's arrogance is highly suspicious, he's got friends in high places. Kari is sucked ever deeper and soon the past and present collide in ways no one could have anticipated…

    Discover the hottest new voice in Scandinavian crime-writing – if you love Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson you’ll love James Thompson.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateNov 24, 2011
    ISBN9781847563033
    Unavailable
    Lucifer’s Tears
    Author

    James Thompson

    James Thompson, eastern Kentucky born and raised, has lived in Finland for the past dozen years. Before becoming a full-time writer, Thompson studied Finnish (in which he is fluent) and Swedish and worked as a bartender, bouncer, construction worker, photographer, rare-coin dealer, and solider.

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    Reviews for Lucifer’s Tears

    3.5/5

    98 ratings18 reviews

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    • 4/5
      WOW WOW WOW!!!!!! This is book number 2 in the Inspectar Kari Vaara series and it was better than the first.

      James Thompson writes great stories. He lets you get to know all the characters of the story and keeps them real. Like the first book Inspector Vaara is trying to solve a grisley murder. While he is doing that he is having issues at home. I don't want to say too much.

      There are a lot of twists and turns and a lot of players in this story that will keep you on your toes. While I was disappointed in the ending, I will definitely be reading the next book in the series when it comes out in 2012.

      I highly recommend this author if you are into police drama.
    • 4/5
      Read this book at the perfect time. 48 hours of snow followed by -40 degree temperatures crippled the Chicago area and created the perfect conditions for indulging in a Finnish thriller. The Inspector Vaara series has become a guilty pleasure. It is decidedly in the upper reaches of the 2nd tier of Nordic mysteries. Thompson's writing voice and larger themes (xenophobia) resemble those of Mankell and the over the top conspiracies are closer to Larson. This one concerns the murder of a business man's wife in the bed of her lover. Vaara befriends a Finnish war hero with a complicated past as nazi facilitator. Vaara paints well in the greys. Best of the series so far.
    • 4/5
      Inspector Kari Vaara is back who despite his move away from the Finnish backwater which saw some horrific events in the first book 'Snow Angels' again finds himself embroiled in murder and personal torment. Whilst juggling the demands of a particularly savage murder case, the investigation of possible war-crimes, a heavily pregnant wife, his truly irritating in-laws and his gung-ho new partner, he is also grappling with a deterioration in his own health which even he can't assuage with copious amounts of kossu. I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up novel and found it much more authentic in the terms of a Scandinavian style. I think it was far more apparent in the first book that Thompson is American and 'Snow Angels' had a slight feeling of an outsider looking in whereas this seemed more immersed in Finnish culture and more real somehow. Unlike a previous reviewer I did not find the violence at all gratuitous, having read a lot worse in more established author's works, and as for the accusation of it being pornographic, I think in my long experience of crime reading, many crime storylines are fuelled by sexual jealousy and crimes of passion. So all in all a good follow on thriller and looking forward to the next...
    • 3/5
      Book #2 (LT) in the Kari Vaara series, following "Snow Angels" (SA) and preceding "Helsinki White" (HW). Vaara is a homicide officer in the Helsinki police supported by a team of five. He is not trusted by his bosses because he is honest and doesn't need anything. Homicides are somewhat rare in Finland we are told (and they are always solved), but nevertheless Vaara and Sgt. Milo catch an unusual one. An attractive young woman is found dead in bed, bound and tortured, surrounded by bloody sheets. Her lover had been asleep next to her and claims to have been knocked unconscious. They had been routinely into kinky sex, and the story does get rather graphic in places. This is not a book for people who might get turned off by the prominent role of a dildo and where it's been. There is a subplot dealing with an official request from Germany and their request to extradict Finland's oldest WWll military survivor, a 90 year old decorated hero, under suspicion of direct involvement in the deaths of Jewish and Russian prisoners during the war. A lot of information is presented in a relatively short space, it's somewhat confusing, and the answer seems to be "who knows?". But this issue has been dealt with by others in more detail, and as a key element of the main plot, eg Jo Nesbo. It just didn't work for me as a sub-plot in this story.And finally, we get to know Vaara's wife and in-laws somewhat better. Those chapters do present some interesting facets on Finnish life, but it fails miserably by adding an "Ugly American" to draw a comparison of life in the two countries. In this case, a large part of the (visiting sister-in-law) American's case and attitude is dismissed by the revelation that she was abused by her father, and there is just something wrong with her. And she's somewhat unenlightened because she is a religious conservative.I doubt I'll read the next book in the series, but I do recommend LT for those crime fiction aficionados who are looking for one crime fiction story based in Finland and want to get a little local flavor, but just this one book in this series.
    • 5/5
      Book Info: Genre: Mystery/NoirReading Level: AdultRecommended for: Fans of dark mysteries, stories set in Nordic countries, well-developed characters, well-done mysteriesTrigger Warnings: murder, torture, war crimes, Holocaust My Thoughts: About a year has passed since the events in Snow Angels, and a number of things have changed. In order to avoid spoilers I won't go into details. I will say, however, that you can actually read the book without having read the previous book and be able to keep up, because there are enough recaps and mentions of former events to avoid confusion. I would still say read it, of course; the best way to really have a good feel for a character in a series is to read the whole series, in my opinion, but in this case, the author has done well by making it so you do not necessarily have to. In my opinion, walking this sort of line is a tricky thing, where providing too much info can end up backfiring and ruining the new story, so I'm always impressed when an author is able to do this. I also need to point out that the synopses for this book, and for the next book, Helsinki White, provide spoilers for the previous books, so if you don't want to be spoiled on minor plot points, take care.I do wish to apologize. It was my misunderstanding that Finland was considered to be part of Scandinavia, and it is not. It is considered to be a Nordic country. I always thought Nordic countries were also Scandinavian, but I guess there is a difference. Unfortunately my Internet connection won't stay up more than a few minutes so I have no way to really check into this at the moment, to find the difference. I meant no disrespect in the comments on my previous review for Snow Angels.Like Snow Angels, the denouement completely blew me away. I had no idea how things would turn out. I really enjoyed some of the new characters introduced in this book, like Arvid and Ritva (about whom I am absolutely heartbroken), and Milo. I even sort of like Iisa, just because she was so incredibly self-absorbed. I couldn't help but sort of appreciate that. The ending of this book is sort of bittersweet, but I'll leave the discovery as to why up to you. I will say that if you enjoy a really well-done mystery, you won't want to miss this terrific series by James Thompson. Highly recommended.Series Information: Lucifer's Tears is the second book in the Inspector Vaara series.Book 1: Snow Angels, review linked here where formatting allowed.Book 3: Helsinki White, to be read next, provided by Amazon Vine for an honest reviewBook 4: Helsinki Blood, I do not have, but it is on my wishlistDisclosure: The publisher provided me a reviewer's copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: The Sufia Elmi case left Kari Vaara with a scarred face, chronic insomnia, a constant migraine, and a full body count's worth of ghosts. Now it's a year later, in Helsinki, and Kari is working the graveyard shift in the homicide unit, terrified that his heavily pregnant wife will miscarry again after she lost the twins just after Christmas.Kari is pushed into investigating a ninety-year-old national hero for war crimes committed during World War II. The Interior Minister demands a conclusion of innocence, preserving Finland's heroic perception about itself and its role in the war, but Germany wants extradition.In a seeming coincidence, Kari is drawn into the murder-by-torture case of Iisa Filippov, the philandering wife of a Russian businessman. Her lover is clearly being framed for the crime—and Ivan Filippov's arrogance and nonchalance point the finger at him. But he's being protected from above, leading Kari to the corrupt corridors of power. Soon the past and present collide in ways no one could have anticipated.
    • 1/5
      Although the story opened with the discovery of the most revolting, offensive, cruel sex murder, I thought the book had promise - after all, I had read a number of positive reviews. I was wrong. The plot became a ragbag of corruption and personal issues. There were some interesting details about Finnish history but given the quality of the story, accuracy cannot be assumed. What irritated me most was the gratuitous coarse language, like a youngster who has just learned a two or three swear words and uses them in every circumstance. Give this one a miss.
    • 4/5
      Loved this book! Thompson did a wonderful job with his characters and in creating two different threads in this novel. One is a horrific killing the other leads back to Finland's past and its role in World War II. Loved how he incorporated history, the culture, and family. The characters of Inspector Vaara and Milo are extremely unique, Milo with his Mensa abilities and computer skills, and Vaara with his unique code of honor. Looking forward to reading Helsinki White, his next novel. Highly recommend this series.
    • 4/5
      Few of the Scandinavian authors are in Finland, making this author doubly odd, since he is actually an American. He captures the country, the climate and the Finns in a way only an newcomer could.
    • 4/5
      The second in a series starring a Finnish detective and written by an American who has lived in Finland for twelve years now. Here Inspector Kari Vaara and his very pregnant American wife Kate have moved to Helsinki, and throughout the book they are both tortured by doubt and guilt over events in their pasts. Kari investigates two interesting but seemingly unrelated cases which begin to coalesce: war crimes accusations against a 90-year old Finnish hero (and parenthetically against Kari's own beloved grandfather) and the torture-murder of the wife of a wealthy Russian businessman. Kate hosts her siblings from the U.S. on their first visit, and here is where the book's main problems lie: the visit of the Ugly Americans. The sister is a bitter, fundamentalist Christian who disapproves of just about everything about Finland and her sister's life. The brother is an alcoholic drug abuser who gets in constant trouble from which Kari has to quietly rescue him with the hope of saving Kate stress (and a miscarriage). It's altogether too much "troubled relative" drama, and while I'm not a fan of moralistic preaching or evangelism, even I found the portrayal irritating and unnecessary. Still, Kari is a complex character and Finland is not a very familiar venue for American readers, and I hope the series will continue for a good long time.
    • 5/5
      I must say I was VERY pleasantly surprised. James Thompson I thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading me to new and unexplored territory! I have been reading mostly romance and paranormal lately because I like to read to escape. I usually have a few books going at a time because I keep them in different places just in case I find myself with a few minutes to spare. I carried this one with me and totally ignored the others on my list! I just wanted to keep turning the pages to find out where it was leading me. I found myself wishing for a cold so I could just lie in bed and finish it. I did not read the first one and was concerned I would not connect with the main character, I was wrong. But now I need to get the first one! I also want to go on vacation and visit Finland. I will definitely be recommending this to personal friends of mine who I think will enjoy it as much as I have. I have definitely become a James Thompson fan!
    • 5/5
      LUCIFER’S TEARSJames ThompsonThis is the follow-up to SNOW ANGELS featuring Inspector Kari Vaara. It is set in Finland and seeing that it is 100 degrees here in Chicago now, it was refreshing to read about 20 degree below zero weather. A woman is tortured and murdered and the main suspect is the man covered in blood lying next to her. But Kari isn’t so sure since both the victim and her lover, Rein Saar, had a taser used on them. Kari turns his attention to the victim’s husband who is having an affair with his secretary, but Ivan Filippov is well-connected with the city’s movers and shakers and Kari’s boss is eager for Rein Saar to be the sacrificial lamb. When Kari discovers Iisa Filippov engaged in a lot of S&M with numerous men and filmed it, he begins to wonder which of the movers and shakers might be on film. As if having a wife (Kate) due any week and her relatives visiting, including a brother John who is a little reckless isn’t enough, Kari is asked to investigate one of Finland’s national heroes to clear up any perception that Finland had anything to do with the murder of Communists and Jews during WWII. In his investigation Kari learns his own grandfather might have been part of it. Toss in a young partner who is trigger happy and Kari has his hands full.Like its predecessor, LUCIFER’S TEARS is not for the faint at heart. It is brutal, graphic, a lot of sexual content, but it is riveting and thought provoking. Just learning about Finland is a treat. For one thing, Kari’s brother is a neurologist and wants Kari to have an MRI to find out why he is having so many migraines. In Finland it takes nine months before you can get an MRI. As Kari’s brother says, “you could die while you wait.” When John confesses he lost his teaching job back home for sleeping with a student, Kari says he should have worked at a Finnish university because you can sleep with your students. Pregnant women in Finland also receive a “maternity package” from the government or 400 euros to buy baby things. The maternity package includes clothes, snowsuit, hats, mittens, socks, diapers, etc. And you can keep the box it came in as a crib until you can buy a proper one. When John learns every maternity package contains the same items he is surprised every kid would be dressed the same for their first year. He says “That sounds like something Chairman Mao would have thought of.” The government will also pay women to stay home with their baby for the first nine months. Society doesn’t consider a woman a good mother if she doesn’t spend at least three months at home with her baby. Out of curiosity I looked up the tax rate in Finland. It is 46% plus a value added tax of 23%. You will notice when reading both books that the citizens, at least the men, do a LOT of drinking.
    • 5/5
      Dark and dismal and cold. Kari Vaara doesn't like being in Helsinki, isn't liked by his fellow detectives or superiors, is worried about his pregnant wife, and uneasy about his visiting problematic American in-laws. Two cases he has to work simultaneously don't seem connected, but become so and could bring down high level politicians and open disturbing historical wounds, both personally and for the nation. Riveting.
    • 4/5
      This book is not for the faint of heart, but was impossible to put down. Inspector Vaara is an interesting and complex character who gives humanity to the novel. It's a great follow-up to Thompson's first novel, Snow Angels, and opens a window into Finland's culture and political history.
    • 4/5
      “James Thompson’s… is filled with bad language, horrific details about mutilation, brutal murders, characters who are victims of their geography, and a culture about which most of us know very little…. I started reading and didn’t stop until I finished the book. I have to clarify that; I did skim the most lurid details but once the book is started, it is impossible to put it down”That paragraph is the opening of the review of SNOW ANGELS that I posted on this blog, first on July 5, 2010 and again on January 12, 2011. It can be applied word for word to the second book in the Kari Vaara series, LUCIFER’S TEARS. Finland is a harsh country, cold beyond what most people can imagine and dark as land close to the Arctic Circle will be. Kari and his American wife, Kate, are living in Helsinki, having moved south from their former home near the top of the world. Kari misses the long nights of darkness but Kate found it difficult to adjust. She is in the last month of pregnancy and he is suffering from debilitating headaches that may play a role in his ability to make decisions.Kari is new to the homicide squad in Helsinki and he is assigned to partner with Milo, who is simply new to policing. Milo makes it clear to Kari that they are both equally disliked by the other members of the squad. Milo is unwelcome because he is a genius and solved two very complex cases by using the intelligence with which he was blessed and pirating some software. Getting promoted so young over the heads of detectives who had worked hard and successfully over the years, creates the inevitable resentment. Kari is thought of as a cop who makes serious mistakes but has the political connections to get away with it. Kari has killed a man and he has been shot twice. “That speaks of carelessness,” and no cop wants to be paired with a careless man.Kari and Milo find themselves investigating the brutal murder of a woman. Her body is found next to the man with whom she has been having an affair. Rein Saar calls the police himself but that doesn’t mean he isn’t considered the primary suspect. He claims that he was hit from behind and knocked unconscious. Whoever attacked him placed him in the bed next to Iisa Filippov, the wife of Ivan, the very successful owner of a construction business who has reputed ties to the Russian gangs and the leaders of the Finnish government. Kari is left in no doubt that the people who wield the influence and power in Finland do not want the case pursued, especially because, as Kari believes, the more likely suspect behind the murder is the victim’s husband. Iisa Filappov and her husband’s secretary/mistress Linda share an unusually close physical resemblance to each other and to 1950′s pin-up, Bettie Page. Both women enjoyed playing off their appearances and playing games.Kari’s home life becomes complicated when Kate’s brother and sister, John and Mary, come to be with Kate when her baby is born. Kate raised her siblings when there was no one else to do it. Kate accepted the job at a ski resort in Finland when she was convinced that her brother and sister could manage their lives without her. Mary is married to a doctor; John is a professor of history at Princeton. Then Kari discovers that Mary’s marriage is just about over and John is not a professor but an alcoholic who enjoys dabbling in drugs. Kari needs to do whatever is necessary to keep Kate from finding out how far off the tracks John, in particular, has gone.But the worst of the pressures on Kari come from his supervisors in the police department. Kari has been given a secret assignment. Germany is asking Finland to investigate accusations against ninety year-old Arvid Lahtinin that he participated in the executions of Jews and other POWs during World War II. For Kari, the job is so much more difficult when he learns that his grandfather and Arvid were assigned to the same unit. Kari is reluctant to believe that the gracious man whom he is coming to see as a surrogate grandfather could have committed the crimes of which he has been accused but there seems to be evidence that substantiates the allegation. The years when Germany dominated Europe still have a cloud the lives of those whose parents were born after Hitler was defeated. The antisemitism that fueled Hitler’s power across the continent is a shame handed from generation to generation. The ascendancy of the neo-Nazi movement in countries conquered by the Hitler’s army almost seventy years after it emerged in Germany is a fearsome prospect for those required to ensure the safety of all the citizens in their various countries. Germany is determined not to be the scourge of Europe again.“The snow, already almost waist-high, pours down in a torrent. Lucifer doesn’t relent. Dante states that the devil resides in the ninth circle of hell, trapped in the ice like the rest of us, and I feel that he’s here, watching over us with approval. Except for the fact that the extreme cold makes my bad knee useless, I couldn’t care less. Let the snow fly.” We have met Kari when it is dark and cold and his view of his world is equally dark. It would be nice to meet Kari and Kate when the sun is shining; perhaps his world will be less oppressive and more joy-filled.James Thompson’s hero/protagonist is a wounded soul making him very interesting. Kate is the counter-point. I am ready now for book three.
    • 4/5
      Snow, grime, ice, cold, violence, and pain mark the return of Inspector Kari Vaara.Lucifer's Tears, the follow up to Thompson's debut novel Snow Angels, finds Inspector Vaara in Helsinki on the graveyard shift of the city's homicide unit. Life hasn't improved much since he and Kate moved to Helsinki. Kari still suffers from the gunshot wound to his face, the fall out from his last case, and he's terrified that Kate is going to miscarry again. Kate's sister and brother are visiting from America, staying in their small apartment, and aren't helping the situation - definitely causing more stress than their worth.Work isn't going well either as Vaara's been assigned to a homicide team that doesn't like or trust him, and a rookie partner that's trigger happy and well on the road to being certifiably insane. Combine this with Vaara's constant migraine and the inability to sleep and something or someone is going to suffer.The pressure builds when Vaara's new case involves a horrific death-by-torture where the higher ups have decided who the guilty party should be and are insisting on an immediate arrest. And Vaara' s also been ordered to investigate a Finnish hero of World War II who's been accused of war crimes, a man linked to Vaara's past. Armed with vodka, pain killers, and a gun Vaara is sure to land himself in hot water at every turn. Lucifer's Tears is not for the squeamish or the faint-of-heart.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed “Snow Angels” – James Thompson’s first Inspector Vaara novel – so much that I set up a Google alert so that I wouldn’t miss the release of the next book in the series. There was just something about the character of Kari Vaara…and the character that the winter world of Finland that wouldn’t allow me to put the story down.“Lucifer’s Tears”, while still engrossing, didn’t quite meet my expectations. Like the first book, there were aspects to the cases that Vaara works on that were ultra violent and crude…but those were more than balanced out in “Snow Angels” by the details of a Finnish winter and Finnish culture – and by the gradual way the reader learns about Kari Vaara. In this book, Vaara is still as compelling, if not more so, but the move of the story to a less dramatic setting, one more familiar to readers, lessens the dramatic tension.I found myself skimming a bit over the details of the cases as some of the details were just too vulgar for me, and kept hoping for more about Vaara – his current life and how he is dealing with his past. Those details were riveting and guaranteed that I will keep my Google alert in place so that I don’t miss the next books from Thompson. Especially with some of the major events that take place in Kari’s life in this book – I have to know what happens next.
    • 3/5
      Since Stieg Larsson's success, publishers have been handing out Scandinavian crime fiction like candy. As with all things some of it as good and lots of it sucks. Lucifer's Tears falls into the good category.It's a police procedural that is set in Finland. Its main character, Kari Vaara, is scarred both inside and out. He's your basic hard-drinking, smoking, brooding detective character - we've seen this character a zillion times before, it's a staple of the genre. I remember when I started reading the book thinking, "Oh, here we go. Why can't some fictional cops be cheery and optimistic? Like fly fishing? Something!" I was rolling out in my head how this would go. And then it didn't go that way.Detective Vaara might be a standard sort of genre character on the surface, but as you read he's a lot more complicated than that. Plus he's Finnish. I truly enjoyed his voice and his perspectives on the world around him. It was particularly effective to bring his American wife's family onto the stage in Finland, allowing for a lot of great dialogue about the differences between Finland and America.The basic plot centers around the murder of a trophy wife at her riding instructor boyfriend's apartment. The boyfriend wakes up covered in blood to find her tortured and dead. Classic, right? And it is! Dashiell Hammet would've been proud. There are a number of side plots factoring into the story - the question of whether someone close to Vaara was involved in war crimes, the effect of multiple traumas on his life, the worry and anticipation leading to the birth of a baby, and dealing with a new (and sort of ooky) partner.Wrapped up into a package that is fresh and a quick read, this is great thriller with just the right amount of brutality. Don't read this if you're squeamish.
    • 4/5
      I read James Thompson's first Inspector Vaara novel - Snow Angels- last year. I loved it and was thrilled to see the next book - Lucifer's Tears - in the series. Inspector Kari Vaara has moved from the far north of Finland to Helsinki. His American born wife Kate is expecting their child any day. Their first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage and Vaara is terrified that the same will happen again. He is trying to stay close to home and keep reasonable hours, but he is the new guy on the Homicide squad and he hasn't exactly been welcomed with open arms. He's on the graveyard shift with the other new guy- a wunderkid who seems a bit...off, somehow. But then again, so does Vaara.He and his new partner Milo are called out to what appears to be a domestic murder. A husband wakes up and realizes he's been sleeping with a corpse - his dead wife. He pleads innocence, that it's her lover they should be after, but the powers that be seem to have the case already solved - with the verdict they want. At the same time, the Interior Minister wants Vaara to investigate a 90 year old man for war crimes. He wants an innocent verdict, but Germany wants the man extradited as a Nazi war criminal. It gets more complicated when Vaara realizes he has a family connection to the old man's story.Vaara is battling crippling headaches, insomnia and corrupt leaders on every level. And his wife's brother and sister have just arrived from the US to help with the baby. They're not much help.Inspector Kari Vaara is just a great flawed character. He's highly intelligent, but sometimes acts without thinking. He constantly defies his superiors, but he gets results. His personal demons drive him, but he is a dedicated husband and soon to be father. Supporting characters are just as well drawn. Milo kept me off balance and I really disliked Kate's family.The plot has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. Nothing is straight forward and the two cases intersect in a way I didn't see coming. A word of warning to readers - the crimes are graphic in nature.The setting is yet another character. The history and politics of Finland play a large part in this book. I also found the culture and food references interesting. The cold and the weather are tangible as well."My home, Finland. The ninth and innermost circle of hell. A frozen lake of blood and guilt formed from Lucifer's tears, turned to ice by the flapping of his leathery wings." James Thompson's story is interesting as well. He was born and raised in eastern Kentucky, but has lived in Finland for 12 years now. He is also fluent in both Swedish and Finnish. Fans of Michael Connelly would love Kari Vaara. Any yes - if you've finished all the Steig Larssons, you'd enjoy this series as well.