The Man Who Died

By: Antti Tuomainen, David Hackston

Narrated by: Kris Dyer

A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he's dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him.

Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful roller-coaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists. With a nod to Fargo and the best elements of the Scandinavian noir tradition, The Man Who Died is a thriller brimming with the blackest comedy surrounding life and death, and love and betrayal, marking a stunning new departure for the king of Helsinki Noir.

©2017 Antti Tuomainen (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Quirky.

Interesting plot. I have to say having such a cultured British accent narrate doesn’t quite fit. But the novelty of the plot characters and locale makes up for it. For those that like this try “Norwegian by night”.

A fresh story line albeit a bit slow

Not a fast mover but a good story with good characters. New storyline that I haven’t heard before.

Dark, funny, entertaining

solid piece of Scandanavian noir. man who has been systematically poisoned tries to solve the mystery of who dunnit and why before it kills him. dry, dark, fun first person.

Darkly funny

This is a pretty engaging mystery that plays out among Finnish mushroom entrepreneurs--really, I swear. Two things about the book made it stand out for me. First, the book opens with the main character finding out he's been poisoned beyond all hope of recovery and has weeks/days to live. This leads him to investigate who did it, but as a man with a terminal prognosis he goes about this in a manner only a "dead" man can. Second, as I was listening to the audiobook, I realized that the narrator sounds a lot like David Mitchell's character in Peepshow, and the character he voices has a lot of the same neuroses--not to mention a proclivity for dry asides about, say, how manufacturers of crappy printers must be in cahoots with antidepressant makers to drive humanity mad. Everything about the story, the off-kilter humor and occasional bursts of darkly humorous violence, feels like either a particularly warped episode of Peep Show, or a Coen Brothers film. If that sounds good to you, check it out.

Wow, what a hidden gem!

I love Nordic noir and Tuominen puts a light, charming spin on what could be the darkest topic ever - the narrator discovers he has been poisoned and wants to solve the mystery and wrap up things before he goes. It just toes the line of absurd with such a deft touch that it delights instead of taking you out of the story. Unusual, well narrated, and clever. Highly recommend.