Dual review with Swedish first and then English!

SWEDISH REVIEW

Kolibri är den första boken i serien om Anna Fekete som redan första dagen på sitt nya jobb som brottsutredare ställs inför det svåra arbetet att lösa mordet på en ung tjej som har blivit skjuten i ett joggingspår. Samtidigt oroar sig Anna för en annan ung tjej som hon misstänker kan kommas att utsättas för hedersvåld. Det är mycket för henne redan det och att på köpet tvingas stå ut med en rasistisk kollega gör inte situationen bättre.

Kolibri var en bok som jag var hemskt nyfiken på att läsa mycket för att jag aldrig tidigare har läst en finsk kriminalare. Jag gillar Anna Fekete, hon har sina egna privata demoner, barndomen i Jugoslavien, brodern som aldrig verkar vilja ta ansvar för sitt liv och de människor hon har mist. Jag gillade verkligen att karaktärerna kom till liv i boken, att det inte bara var Anna man fick en inblick i hemmalivet hos utan även de andra poliserna. Dock, kände jag ibland att det privata livet hos poliserna, samt Annas privata övervakning av den unga tjej som hon tror har problem med sin familj tog överhand och att fallet med den mördade tjejen hamnade lite i skymundan. Framåt slutet kändes det lite som om författaren kom på att hon hade ett mordfall som behövde lösas. Så, en stark start, svackor här och där under berättelsens gång för att sedan avslutas med en spurt och i mina ögon inte en helt överraskad avslutning, dock en bra sådan och jag ser fram emot att läsa nästa bok.

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

The Hummingbird is the first book in the series about Anna Fekete, who on the first day of her new job as criminal investigator faces the difficult work to solve the murder of a young girl who has been shot while out running. At the same time, is Anna under constant worry about another young girl life. She suspects that the young girl could risk being honor killed if she doesn't do what her family wants. It's a lot for her to deal with already and a racist colleague does not make the situation better.

I was curious about The Hummingbird because I have never read a Finnish detective novel before. I like Anna Fekete, she has her own private demons, with her childhood in Yugoslavia, the brother who never seems to want to take responsibility for his life and the people she has lost. I really liked that the characters came to life in the book that it was not only Anna's life the reader got an insight into but also the other policemen's. However, sometimes, I felt that the private life of the police, as well as Anna's private surveillance of the young girl she believes, has problems with her family took over and that the case of the murdered girl ended up overlooked. In the end, it felt a bit like the author realized that she had a murder case that needed to be solved. So, a strong start, sluggish here and there during the story and then ending with a spurt and in my eyes, not a completely surprising conclusion, but a good one and I look forward to reading the next book.

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy! ( )

Dual review with Swedish first and then English!

SWEDISH REVIEW

Kolibri är den första boken i serien om Anna Fekete som redan första dagen på sitt nya jobb som brottsutredare ställs inför det svåra arbetet att lösa mordet på en ung tjej som har blivit skjuten i ett joggingspår. Samtidigt oroar sig Anna för en annan ung tjej som hon misstänker kan kommas att utsättas för hedersvåld. Det är mycket för henne redan det och att på köpet tvingas stå ut med en rasistisk kollega gör inte situationen bättre.

Kolibri var en bok som jag var hemskt nyfiken på att läsa mycket för att jag aldrig tidigare har läst en finsk kriminalare. Jag gillar Anna Fekete, hon har sina egna privata demoner, barndomen i Jugoslavien, brodern som aldrig verkar vilja ta ansvar för sitt liv och de människor hon har mist. Jag gillade verkligen att karaktärerna kom till liv i boken, att det inte bara var Anna man fick en inblick i hemmalivet hos utan även de andra poliserna. Dock, kände jag ibland att det privata livet hos poliserna, samt Annas privata övervakning av den unga tjej som hon tror har problem med sin familj tog överhand och att fallet med den mördade tjejen hamnade lite i skymundan. Framåt slutet kändes det lite som om författaren kom på att hon hade ett mordfall som behövde lösas. Så, en stark start, svackor här och där under berättelsens gång för att sedan avslutas med en spurt och i mina ögon inte en helt överraskad avslutning, dock en bra sådan och jag ser fram emot att läsa nästa bok.

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

The Hummingbird is the first book in the series about Anna Fekete, who on the first day of her new job as criminal investigator faces the difficult work to solve the murder of a young girl who has been shot while out running. At the same time, is Anna under constant worry about another young girl life. She suspects that the young girl could risk being honor killed if she doesn't do what her family wants. It's a lot for her to deal with already and a racist colleague does not make the situation better.

I was curious about The Hummingbird because I have never read a Finnish detective novel before. I like Anna Fekete, she has her own private demons, with her childhood in Yugoslavia, the brother who never seems to want to take responsibility for his life and the people she has lost. I really liked that the characters came to life in the book that it was not only Anna's life the reader got an insight into but also the other policemen's. However, sometimes, I felt that the private life of the police, as well as Anna's private surveillance of the young girl she believes, has problems with her family took over and that the case of the murdered girl ended up overlooked. In the end, it felt a bit like the author realized that she had a murder case that needed to be solved. So, a strong start, sluggish here and there during the story and then ending with a spurt and in my eyes, not a completely surprising conclusion, but a good one and I look forward to reading the next book.

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy! ( )

Twee moorden moeten worden opgelost door Anna en haar collega’s van de recherche ( )

The setting of The Hummingbird-- especially when Hiekkapelto is describing the forests of Finland-- is extremely atmospheric and suspenseful, even a bit claustrophobic. It was difficult for me to stop feeling as though I were being watched.

The mystery that begins with the deaths of joggers on deserted running tracks is complex and unfolds slowly over a period of four months. I had no problem with the case taking that long to solve, but I do feel that the writing could have been tightened a bit in order to keep the story flowing smoothly.

The occasional italicized chapter is a sort of diary written by a young girl, and this ties into a second case that Anna takes very personally. She is absolutely convinced that a young immigrant girl is in very real danger of honor killing, and when she isn't spending hours trying to find a serial killer, she's spending her nights in a marked patrol car parked outside the girl's home hoping her presence will stop the girl's family from doing anything rash. It's a subplot that makes you wonder about Anna's behavior, and Anna's behavior is the only real stumbling block I had in this book.

Anna keeps not only her fellow characters at a distance but the reader, too. Combine this with the fact that I always had the feeling that more was going on than I was being allowed to see, and I soon became puzzled and a tiny bit unhappy. Once all was revealed, I did find out that I was right; there was more going on than readers were being allowed to see. Originally, this made me feel as though I could not be trusted. Once I knew what was what, I understood that there was an excellent reason for the secrecy... but I still felt snubbed. I think this means that I can be a very subjective reader from time to time. But becoming subjective means that Kati Hiekkapelto engaged my emotions as well as my mind. She's telling a story from the perspective of an immigrant woman, and in this day and age, it's a story that should always involve both heart and intellect.

The Hummingbird is a complex mystery that is a pleasure to unravel, and that's partly due to the fact that the characters do not always behave in ways that you would expect them to. Now that I've become acquainted with Anna Fekete, I want to know more, so it's on with the series I'll go! ( )

This serial killer mystery was well written and engaging, and it was interesting perspective on immigration issues. What put me off was the lack of awareness of the relationship between the workplace racism and sexism in the police force, and the domestic violence that caused the murders. What you walk past, you accept. ( )