Booklog 61/2017 - Indrek Hargla: Apothecary Melchior and the Mystery of St Olaf’s Church

[jacey]

This was recommended to me because it’s set in Tallinn, which is where I went this summer to research the Baltic countries for a book I’m working on. It’s two hundred years before my time period, but It’s great for atmosphere and background. The pace is a little slow, or should I say, measured, but the mystery is solved in the end. The person who recommended it did warn me that it wasn’t the best translation, but I could forgive the slightly pedestrian prose because of the background with the merchants, the Hanseatic League and Lubeck Law. One thing that did puzzle me was that Tallinn was referred to as Tallinn but its old name was Reval. Was that a translation thing or have I misunderstood my history? Melchior is the town apothecary turned sleuth and he’s coopted when a important personage is killed on the Toompea, and pretty soon it seems as though the town has a serial killer on its hands.

Comments

[cmcmck]

You researched Latvia in Tallin?

Wouldn't Riga have been better? :o)

I have connections, as you know!

[jacey]

Sorry, Estonia, not Latvia. Slip of the brain. But in fact my upcoming novel is set in a fantasy analogue of the Baltic states with a fair bit of Polish influence (Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth but slightly skewed), so I was looking for overarching cultural impressions. I had the opportunity to go to Tallinn for a couple of days after Worldcon because it was just a 2 hour ferry ride from Helsinki, whereas Riga (which I would also love to visit) would have been more money (and time). I'd love to visit some of the old Polish cities, too.

[jacey]

I've edited the original :-)