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We are thrilled to announce that the Hungarian rights to Leena Lehtolainen’s crime novel The Killing One (Tappava säde, Tammi 1999) have been sold to Animus for publication in 2014.
PRAISES: The Killing One
“The social crime novel is alive and well in Finland, not least thanks to Leena Lehtolainen. Lehtolainen’s newest, The Killing One, is among Lehtolainen’s best and places her at the forefront of the genre when considered more broadly as well.”
“Kindred spirits with Karin Fossum and Anne Holt.”
”Themes drawn from the real world.”
– Kainuun Sanomat
“Despite the difficult subject, pure reading enjoyment.”
“Hard to put down.”
“Säde Vasara gives up her role of bystander, and death becomes a frequent visitor in the close circles of the battered women. Coincidences? Accidents? … Leena Lehtolainen reserves another complete surprise for the end of the book, with barely a hint earlier in the book.”
– Länsi-Savo
“Maria Kallio’s role in The Killing One is intriguing. Specifically, she may be the only person who knows, as the reader does, what the main character’s part is in the homicides depicted in the book. But whether she really knows or not remains a mystery.“
– Hämeen Sanomat
Summary
In the opening scenes The Killing One, the main character, Säde Vasara (the last name means ’hammer’), learns that a client at the domestic violence shelter where she works has been murdered by her abusive husband. The women’s shelter in question has a policy of not encouraging women to file police reports, since they consider keeping families together more important than bringing abusers to justice. Säde is called in for a police interview, during which we meet Maria Kallio, the lead investigator in this and the later cases in the novel (and the protagonist in most of the author’s other novels). Säde’s interactions with the police and her own inner monologue surrounding her indirect role in the client’s death hint that she will begin killing abusive husbands.
Reading material:
English sample
Reader’s report
World rights available: Elina.Ahlback@ahlbackagency.com
Author bio: Leena Lehtolainen is the bestselling fermale crime author in Finland. Her new titles head straight to #1 on the Finnish bestseller lists. Lehtolainen’s books have been sold over two million copies worldwide, and rights have been sold in 29 languages. In her free time, Lehtolainen enjoys all kinds of music from 1970s punk to Bach – just like Maria Kallio, the heroine of her crime novel series. And just like events in the Bodyguard Trilogy take the heroine Hilja Ilveskero all around Europe, Lehtolainen’s own work takes her to book festivals and other events across the globe. Read more by clicking here
Please ask the Agency for reading materials!
