Trouble by Katja Ivar

January 25, 2023

Another investigation for headstrong

Finnish detective Hella Mauzer

Trouble by Katja Ivar was published on 19th January 2023 by Bitter Lemon Press. My thanks to the author and publisher who sent me a copy and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Trouble is the third in the series featuring Hella Mauzer to follow on the success from Evil Things and Deep as Death.

Synopsis

Helsinki, June 1953, at the heart of the Cold War. Hella, now a reluctant private investigator, has been asked by her former boss at the Helsinki murder quad to do a background check on a member of the Finnish secret services.

Not the type of job Hella was hoping for, but she accepts it on the condition that she is given access to the files concerning the roadside death of their father in 1942, at a time when Finland joined forces with Nazi Germany in its attack against the Soviet Union.

German troops were sent to Finland, the Gestapo arrived in Helsinki and German influence on local government was strong, including demands for the deportation of local Jews.

Colonel Mauzer, his wife and other family members were killed by a truck in a hit and run accident.

An accident, file closed, they said.

But not for Hella, whose unwelcome investigation leads to some who would prefer to see her stopped in her tracks.

My Review

This was the first time that I had come across a Katja Ivar novel, but it definitely won't be my last. The story of Finnish detective Hella Mauzer trying to find out what actually happened the day her family was killed draws the reader into a captivating read of twists and turns, both within the main plot and the sub plots, of which there are many. I changed my mind so many times as to who was responsible for what, and in what context, whilst reading Trouble that I was kept fully engaged and found myself analysing every bit of evidence I could piece together whilst trying to get my mind to work in the way that Hella's does. There were so many twists that I wasn’t expecting and characters who were at the forefront one moment and then in the shadows the next that the reader is cleverly kept on their toes as to what Hella is going to discover and piece together in her quest to find out what actually happened to her family and who was responsible.

Trouble is a truly captivating read that captures its reader from the onset . It is a fine example of a skilfully written murder mystery which keeps the reader engaged at all times and I am looking forward to reading more in the Hella Mauzer series.

Katja Ivar is a writer who knows how to engage her readers from the first paragraph and how to then keep them hooked right until the very end. I hope we do not have to wait long for book four in the series.

Author

Katja Ivar grew up in Russia and the U.S. She travelled the world extensively, from Almaty to Ushuaia, from Karelia to Kyushu. She now lives in Washington, DC with her husband and three children. Katja received a B.A. in Linguistics and a master's degree in Contemporary History from Sorbonne University.