A blood-curdling panorama of espionage, power and freedom in the fateful years of world history.
Author: Lauri Mäkinen
Finnish original: Lopun alku D-mollissa
Publisher: Siltala, 2022
Genre: literary fiction
Number of pages: 542 pp
In his new book Lauri Mäkinen, who has previously hooked his readers with two suspense novels, tells a masterful story that brings together strands from the Spanish Civil War to the Second World War, interweaving the ideologies of the late 1930s and early 1940s.
The Finn Nalle Malmi fights in the Spanish Civil War at Belchite in 1937. In 1938 Berlin the actress Lena Dolgorukov has become a favourite in National Socialist Germany. In Tokyo in 1939 a spy-ring radio operator, Max Clause, is seeking to escape his double life. In 1940 Moscow General Arslan Ibragimov has risen to a dangerous rank as purges have swallowed up his predecessor as head of military intelligence, and in 1941 Minster Joseph Goebbels strengthens his position in his east Prussian bunker.
Alongside the spy adventure, the book traces how people themselves change as they seek to change the world.
“A skilfully constructed novel about matters of importance.”
– Suomen Kuvalehti magazine
“An impressive and well-researched panorama of the game of mirrors and delusions that is espionage.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
“A breath-taking, blood-curdling, skilfully written, masterly tapestry that ends in a hefty surprise.”
– Kirjoja hyllystäni literature blog
“Like all good historical fiction, Lauri Mäkinen’s third novel (…) makes one reflect that there is nothing new under the sun. (…) All that is certain is the uncertainty of everything. The Beginning of the End in D Minor is a skilfully constructed novel about important matters.”
– Suomen Kuvalehti magazine
“Plenty of novels have been written about the Second World War and espionage. Mäkinen gives his subjects new vigour by using as his narrators a wide range of real and invented characters. The result is an impressive and well-researched panorama of the game of mirrors and delusions that is espionage.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
“Reading 542 pages is a long time to hold your breath. But that is how it feels when you read Lauri Mäkinen’s third book and third masterwork and must say an unwilling farewell. At last you can draw breath: what an ending, what a brilliant whole. (…) The beginning of the end in d minor seems to demand the highest possible testimonials: a breath-taking, blood curdling, skilfully written, masterly tapestry that ends in a hefty surprise. (…) Mäkinen’s character depictions make enjoyable reading. (…) Seldom does one come across so intensive a novel, built from so many diverse elements, in which all the threads are stylishly brought together at the end; 500 pages later, one remains hungry for more.”
– Kirjoja hyllystäni literature blog
Also available:
50/50 (2017)
Shrewd As Snakes, Innocent As Doves (2015)
About the author:
Lauri Mäkinen