Snow Woman
Written by Leena Lehtolainen
Narrated by Amy Rubinate
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
When the well-known director of a women’s retreat center goes missing, Espoo Police Detective Maria Kallio is called to investigate. As the missing woman’s friends and family quickly become the pool of suspects, Maria must soften her tough interrogation style to uncover the information she needs to solve the crime. Meanwhile, a killer Maria put in prison escapes and sets out to take revenge. As the missing persons case—and Maria’s personal life—become increasingly complicated, the Espoo Police work to track down the escaped killer before it’s too late.
Leena Lehtolainen
Leena Lehtolainen was born in Vesanto, Finland, to parents who taught language and literature. A keen reader, she made up stories in her head before she could even write. At the age of ten, she began her first book—a young adult novel—and published it two years later. She released her second book at the age of seventeen. She has received numerous awards for her writing, including the 1997 Vuoden Johtolanka (Clue) Award for the best Finnish crime novel and the Great Finnish Book Club prize in 2000. Her work has been published in twenty-nine languages. Besides writing, Leena enjoys classical singing, her beloved cats, and—her greatest passion—figure skating. Her nonfiction book about the sport, Taitoluistelun lumo (The Enchantment of Figure Skating), was chosen as the Sport Book of the Year 2011 in Finland. Leena lives in Finland with her husband and two sons.
Related to Snow Woman
Titles in the series (11)
My First Murder Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Her Enemy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Copper Heart Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Snow Woman Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fatal Headwind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death Spiral Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before I Go Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nightingale Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Below the Surface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Derailed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Have All the Young Girls Gone Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related audiobooks
Death Spiral Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My First Murder Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mirror Image Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFatal Headwind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Copper Heart Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Derailed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Below the Surface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before I Go Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Her Enemy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Nightingale Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Have All the Young Girls Gone Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Daybreak Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5White as Snow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death in Dalvik Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can't See Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man on the Beach Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun On Fire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Night Shadows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Betrayal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5House of Evidence Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Girls Who Lie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Smoke Screen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edge of Nowhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red as Blood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cold as Hell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ice Fisher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Super Recogniser of Vik Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In the Heat of the Moment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Waters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Harm's Way Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Crime Thriller For You
The Godfather: 50th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stillwater Girls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Woman in the Library, The Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hit and Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mystic River Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Club: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notes on an Execution: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Colorado Kid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Song Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Suspect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fractured: A Will Trent Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murderer's Maid: A Lizzie Borden Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Win Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These Silent Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orphan X Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saving Noah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two for the Dough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5River Wild: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cleaning the Gold: A Jack Reacher and Will Trent Short Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Snow Woman
51 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I am reading these Maria Kallio books in random order and I am absolutely thrilled with this interesting woman. Maria Kallio is not a character who would be convincing as an American. She is so definitively "other" – a true feminist, a free thinker, a woman in a position of responsibility, a committed life partner, a new mother. All these jobs are embraced with energy, intelligence, and an entirely human ambivalence. No, Maria Kallio is not an American.I received a review copy of "Snow Woman: The Maria Kallio Series Book 4" by Leena Lehtolainen translated by Owen F. Witesman (AmazonCrossing) through NetGalley.com.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is number four in the Maria Kallio series, and is an interesting, absorbing thriller. It also shows a continued improvement in the series -- the characters are better developed, the background is more interesting, and the plotting is growing less predictable. Maria Kallio, for those who do not know her, is the police officer/lawyer heroine of a Finnish series, the earlier installments of which (including this one) were written back in the 1990's. That means that there are occasional things that pop out of the narrative -- cell phones are a really big deal for these folks, not an extra appendage -- but for the most part it moves right along. This one is centered around a group of women of very different types, and it is interesting to see how Maria reacts to this. Her personal life also continues to develop along absorbing lines. Translators, let's have more of this series in English.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent police-procedural crime mystery. "Snow Woman" by Leena Lehtolainen, originally published as "Luminainen" in 1996 in the Finnish author's native language, was superbly translated by Owen F. Witesman into English and published in translation in 2014. Snow Woman is the fourth installment in "Maria Kallio Mystery" series.(Witesman has also translated the previous books in this series.) The characters are believable, well-developed and the Finnish winter landscape - absolutely atmospheric. Maria Kallio is a bright, analytic, energetic and extremely capable detective. She is painfully aware that by being the sole female in her unit, she cannot let the guys see a single crack or scratch in her hard-crust shell. She proves her mettle and becomes well-respected. She also exhibits tenderness and compassion which displays greater depth to her developing character. This story is well-crafted and I eagerly look forward to reading more stories within this series.I am grateful to Goodreads' Firstreads and author, Leena Lehtolainen for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity did not, however, influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.Synopsis:When the well-known director of a women’s retreat center goes missing, Espoo Police Detective Maria Kallio is called to investigate. As the missing woman’s friends and family quickly become the pool of suspects, Maria must soften her tough interrogation style to uncover the information she needs to solve the crime. Meanwhile, a killer Maria put in prison escapes and sets out to take revenge. As the missing persons case—and Maria’s personal life—become increasingly complicated, the Espoo Police work to track down the escaped killer before it’s too late.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5...a slick thriller!Detective Maria Kallio is called to investigate the disappearance of Elina Roseberg, the director of a woman's retreat center, near Espoo. Maria had some previous contact with the center in an advisory capacity. Concurrently, a deranged killer, Malmberg, is on the loose and it becomes clear that those who put him away, Maria and her partner Palo are his main targets. As events transpire a subtle thread connects the missing woman's life with the escaped killer. Who though is responsible for Elina going missing? Each of the retreat member is a suspect. The storyline is tight, the translation flows nicely and events unfold at a good pace. The psychological buildup of events draws you in.Maria works in a charged, tough environment. There is little room for feelings. Sometimes her very femaleness renders her an isolated island amongst all the testosterone.An enquiring, sensitive and thoroughly likeable character, she often sees things that her detective partners miss. Is the reference to both Elina and Maria as 'snow woman' merely situational, albeit for different reasons, or can one draw deeper inferences from this? When related to Elina it is a comment on how she is found, the unknown-ness, the quiet mystery of of the situation. With Maria it's playful and yet brings into relief her deeper character. There are aspects of Maria's personality that seem to be frozen, repressed. Her life though is thawing, the sun is breaking though. Changes are happening. Continuing that theme, the Finish landscape is bleak, frigid and depressing. You can feel the cold seeping into your bones.I must say that the ending is surprising, the suspense being held right through until the last few pages. I did not see that coming!A NetGalley ARC