Original title: Kuolema Kulosaaressa
Author: Laura Andersson
Published: 2022
Publisher: Otava
Genre: Crime & Suspense
Pages: 415
Part of a series: Lili Flame Investigates
Reading material:
English sample and synopsis, series bible
The beginning of this feel-good crime series is filled with the glory of old-time detective novels and charms with its wit!
Post-war Helsinki is full of people looking to build a new life, and Lili Flame, who spent the war years in the US as a housemaid, is among them. However, the housekeeping gets swept aside when Lili breaks away from the traditional womanly roles of her time and begins a career as a private eye solving crimes which are too sensitive for the police. Lili gets help from her husband, a gay man who's becoming a companion like no other - even if the true nature of their marriage has to be kept a secret. The first case leads her to the party of a rich corporate family. The glamor and glitz of this segment of society is blinding, until the investigation takes a tragic turn and Lili realizes she has a much bigger mystery on her hands than she thought.
Inspired by Agatha Christie and the screwball comedies of the 30s, Lili and her curiosity will delight anyone looking for a good mystery, humor, and a little escapism!
The narration flows swiftly, and the location of post-war Helsinki feels fresh. Lili is a heroine well suited there: a woman of the new era with her own will and a quick wit.
Salla Stotesbury in Kodin Kuvalehti magazine, Finland