(LEHTIKUVA)
I just learned that author Jim Thompson died in Finland on August 2. It’s a shocker and my thoughts go out to his wife. Jim was a long-time resident of Finland and penned four books in the popular Inspector Vaara series. The fifth, Helsinki Dead, was left unfinished at the time of his very untimely death at the age of 49. According to one Finnish source, James was apparently killed in an accident.
Born in Kentucky, Jim packed a lot into his all too short life. In addition to being a successful author, Jim had variously turned his hand to being a bartender, bouncer, construction worker, photographer, rare coin dealer, soldier and wrestling announcer. He earned a Master’s degree in English Philology from the University of Helsinki and spoke six languages.
I have run posts on Jim and his work a couple of times. As I recall, I was introduced to Jim and his work by Leighton Gage, another writer no longer with us. I find myself reverting to useless euphemisms at times like this; at times like this words don’t seem very useful. For a brief obit/bio, see this piece in the Helsinki Times.
We never met in person, but Jim was just one of those special people it was an honor to have known. He cared so very much about his craft and was savvy about the book business, kind to friends, and not one to suffer fools gladly.
I’ll miss him–I am sure there are a lot of you out there who will too.
What a shock to read this.
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I too was shocked to hear of the passing of this wonderful author. I started the right way, at Book 1 SNOW ANGELS and although I thought it gory and gruesome I loved the character of Kari so much I couldn’t wait to get the next. That’s been pretty much ‘it’, and only when I investigated for the publication date of #5 did I find it was slated for Sept ’15 which seemed such a big gap from the previous – and that’s how I found out the sad news nearly 2 months later. Having been engaged in the rollercoaster progression of the characters through 4 books I was keen to see how the new Finnish Police Commissioner was going to go on past his Black Ops atrocities (which I didn’t really have any problem with as the baddies were worse – and let’s face it folks. This is FICTION!) and what Thompson’s ultimate direction or plan was for his powerful series – but alas, we may never know!
Boo hoo.
Hi Sydney,
thanks for your good words about Jim. Jim was a friend and mentor of our band Berlin Architecture and I can*t still believe he doesn’t live anymore. I never met Jim, but had many phone calls with him who inspired us to write music for his books and upcoming movies. We did the two songs “Snow Angels” and “Lucifer’s Tears” inspired by Jim’s novels of the same names. The songs can be heard on http://www.berlinarchitecture.de . On our next album we’ll do a song for Jim.
Best regards from Berlin, Dieter
Dieter,
Like yourself, I never met Jim but stayed in touch for a number of years the writing life. He was a true mensch and smart as a whip. I will definitely check out the two songs you mentioned, and thanks so much for getting in touch. Good luck with the next album.
Best,
Syd