Shock therapy by a new Finnish thriller author, on Arctic drug war and hybrid warfare.
Author: Anu Ojala
Swedish original: Taivasverkko
Publisher: Gummerus, 2024
Number of pages: 247 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English synopsis
Rights sold: Dutch, De Fontein
Twin city Tornio-Haparanda, on the Swedish-Finnish border, has been plagued by a crime wave which keeps claiming new victims. Sergeant Ronja Jentzch investigates murders that lead to the trail of a dangerous synthetic drug. While police are fighting a helpless battle, unexpected connections to higher instances begin to come to daylight. As frozen sea brings deadly substances over to seemingly calm and safe communities, cases of inhumane cruelty, despair-driven crimes, and international meddling become a daily challenge for Jentzsch and her team.
In The Skynet (2024), the third and final part of the series, Ronja Jentzsch and her partner Janne are preparing for a boring work meeting in Haparanda, when a van stops in front of the Town Hall. All of the sudden, Finnish police find themselves in the middle of a terror attack and bloodshed, targeted at the town officials. It soon becomes clear that the fentanyl plague is related to a much bigger picture than anyone could have imagined.
“The Skynet is a chillingly strong performance by Ojala, whose Silk Road North was one of the best domestic thrillers of 2021 […] The Skynet is razorsharp in its topicality, which looks at the future. What if the criminal energy on the streets is systematically re-directed towards the destabilization of society, Ojala seems to be asking.” – Kansan Uutiset Magazine
About the author
Anu Ojala