Russell James has been named “the Godfather of Noir” by Ian Rankin. Russell writes crime novels - about criminals and victims, not the cozy procedural or whodunnit. He is the editor of Great British Fictional Detectives.
The short chapters of Deep As Death switch between PI Hella Mauzer and Inspector Mustonen, both investigating the death of a prostitute in the frozen waters of Helsinki harbour.
Mustonen’s boss in the Finnish Police, Jokela (once Hella’s boss too, before she was fired) does not want him to investigate. So much so, that he hands the case directly to Hella (hardly for the sake of an old friendship, more because the case seems little more than an unsolvable nuisance). Jokela has another reason for sidelining the investigation: the most likely suspect is the errant playboy son of a local bigwig, and Jokela wants a peaceful life – and promotion. Arresting the young man for murder will not enhance his prospects. (The victim, after all, was only a prostitute. Who cares?)
But Inspector Mustonen refuses to distance himself from the case. And Hella, short of money and with a huge fine to pay within days, cannot give up. They won’t work together, so who will solve the case? Why, when another girl is attacked and a brothel madame is murdered, is Jokela still unwilling to get involved?
This is the second Hella Mauzer book, and she is still a one-woman awkward squad.
