Ruumiin kulttuuri 1/2006: English Summary The Whodunnit Society’s Clew of the Year award was given out in February for the 22nd time. The winner was Matti Rönkä with his novel Ystävät kaukana (Friends at a Distance). We know Rönkä (b. 1959) as a TV news anchorman, and since recent years also as the author of high-quality crime fiction. His books have brought a new eastern dimension to the genre in Finland: their hero Viktor Kärppä is a jack of many trades from Russian Karelia, now living in Helsinki where he, in the manner of a private detective, takes care of all sorts of business for people who have come to Finland from the former Soviet Union, moving smoothly between the two cultures. The jury praised Rönkä’s narrative voice, wit, and above all, his way with the Finnish language: “The effortless flow of words gives constant enjoyment to the reader.” The winner airs his feelings in an interview (“Kärppä Hit the Jackpot”). This year, the special commendation awarded to a foreign author went to Minette Walters, “a master of changing patterns and multidimensional, mysterious characters”. 40 years ago last year, the legendary series of police novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö began with Roseanna. In Finland, the anniversary was celebrated by the release of all ten novels in new editions, and Maj Sjöwall herself came to Helsinki for a visit. The radical grandmother finds that Sweden is full of problems in 2006, and she says the women’s party recently founded in her country is outright stupid. In our interview (“Something Rotten in the State of Sweden”) Sjöwall looks back over the famous series and picks the 8th, The Locked Room, as her own favourite. 2005 was an anniversary year for another classic: 75 years since the publication of Dashiell Hammett’s best-known novel The Maltese Falcon. In our Hammett section, the first article (“Hunters of the Black Bird”) examines Richard Layman’s Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade, an informative book about the background of the novel, nominated for an Edgar. Article number two (“The Master’s Legacy: Selected Letters and Lost Stories”) deals with Hammett’s correspondence and a new collection of his “forgotten” short stuff, Lost Stories. In mysteries and thrillers, especially in the hard-boiled variety, great quantities of alcoholic drinks are consumed, and it is no news that also the characters in Finnish crime fiction enjoy their tipple. With 15 years of experience of working in a foundation helping people suffering from alcohol-related problems, Heikki Ollikainen studies the relationship of alcohol and detective stories. How does drinking figure in Finnish books of the genre? How do the men drink? And the women? What is the role of humour in this connection? What is the norm never broken by even the toughest of Finnish investigators? (“It’s a Rare Book with No Booze”) Also on the Internet, crime fiction is a popular subject. Not to be missed by any Finnish enthusiast is DekkariNetti, a site created and managed by librarian Terttu Uusimaa in the northern town of Tornio. She popped down south and was interviewed (“Mrs DekkariNetti – a close-up of Terttu Uusimaa”). Another web-related article (“The Net Breathes”) deals with Net Noir: the interviewees are Kevin Burton Smith, manager of the Thrilling Detective web site, and author Dave Zeltserman who runs the Hardluck Stories pages. Other items Seppo Tuisku has turned 70. He is a living legend in the world of Finnish pulp suspense, long-time editor-in-chief of the Jerry Cotton series and author of 125 novellas depicting the shenanigans of the adventurers Kalle-Kustaa Korkki and Pekka Lipponen. The birthday boy compiled a list of his favourite mysteries over the years (“My Top Ten”). Our culinary series “A Dish to Die For” begins its tenth year with a chocolaty temptation, a Luis Fernando Verissimo recipe (“The Devil in the Kitchen”). In the Movie Mania section: Michael Haneke’s puzzling, award-winning Caché, plus Woody Allen’s elegant noir creation Match Point. In the Video section: Le Couperet, the story of an unemployed killer, directed by Costa-Gavras, based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax... and the two-part TV film Icon, based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel and badly watered down by the American crew (says our reviewer). Capital Sentences: the rest of late 2005 books have their judgement day, likewise the first new publications of 2006. Translated by Liisa Koskinen

Ruumiin kulttuuri 1/2006