<div><p>"An outstanding plot, an entertaining read. Give us more Inspector Kafka novels from the far North."—<I>Fränkische Zeitung</I></P> <p>Nykänen writes clever dialogue and his laconic humor is an enjoyment for every reader."—<I>Aamulehti</I></P> <p>"Unlike his Scandinavian contemporaries, Nykänen delights with an eccentric hero and a wonderful sense for dialogue. This is a tight thriller with an unexpected, explosive end."—<I>Hamburger Nachrichten</I></P> <p>During the period known as the Days of Awe that lead up to Yom Kippur, Ariel Kafka, inspector in the Violent Crime Unit of the Helsinki police and one of two Jewish policemen in Finland, is confronted with the most difficult case of his career. Two Arabs are killed near the capital and shortly after Kafka discovers two more bodies at an Iraqi-owned garage. Are these deaths evidence of gang warfare or international terrorism? When it transpires that an Israeli minister will make an unofficial visit to Helsinki, matters become truly complicated. The Finnish Security Police and Mossad all have a role to play and Kafka is on a trail that leads back to his youth.</P> <p><B>Harri Nykänen</B>, born in Helsinki in 1953, was a well-known crime journalist before turning to fiction. He won the Finnish crime writing award The Clue in 1990 and in 2001. His fiction exposes the local underworld through the eyes of the criminal, the terrorist, and, most recently, from the point of view of an eccentric Helsinki police inspector.</P></DIV>