Abstract
Readers of Finnish crime novels in translation often seek more than just another good tale of cops and criminals—they're also seeking a taste of Finland and Finnish culture. So they tend to judge the book in two ways: as crime novels certainly, but also as literary tour guides to Finland. But the books that most appeal to readers as distinctly Finnish crime novels often suffer from the same faults as more traditional forms of tourism—self-conscious constructions that reduce Finland and Finnishness to a series of familiar tropes and artifacts, the literary equivalent of the dockside trinket shop, whereas books judged least successful as distinctly Finnish crime novels simply fail to accommodate for the literary tourist's preconceived notions of what Finland and Finnishness—and a Finnish crime novel—must be.
