Standarddeckare som inte tillför något nytt men ok lyssning. ( )

I am reading these Maria Kallio books in random order and I am absolutely thrilled with this interesting woman. Maria Kallio is not a character who would be convincing as an American. She is so definitively "other" – a true feminist, a free thinker, a woman in a position of responsibility, a committed life partner, a new mother. All these jobs are embraced with energy, intelligence, and an entirely human ambivalence. No, Maria Kallio is not an American.

I received a review copy of "Snow Woman: The Maria Kallio Series Book 4" by Leena Lehtolainen translated by Owen F. Witesman (AmazonCrossing) through NetGalley.com. ( )

I really enjoyed this entry in the Maria Kallio series, which is part of the 1990s feminist wave. It combines an appreciation for the closed-circle Agatha Christie-style mystery (set in a hardcore feminist retreat) with social issues (one of the characters is seeking shelter from an abusive fundamentalist husband). An unusual combination of features, but it works for me in large part because I like the narrative voice.

This is number four in the Maria Kallio series, and is an interesting, absorbing thriller. It also shows a continued improvement in the series -- the characters are better developed, the background is more interesting, and the plotting is growing less predictable. Maria Kallio, for those who do not know her, is the police officer/lawyer heroine of a Finnish series, the earlier installments of which (including this one) were written back in the 1990's. That means that there are occasional things that pop out of the narrative -- cell phones are a really big deal for these folks, not an extra appendage -- but for the most part it moves right along. This one is centered around a group of women of very different types, and it is interesting to see how Maria reacts to this. Her personal life also continues to develop along absorbing lines. Translators, let's have more of this series in English. ( )