Loukko by 
Since its publication last spring, author Minna Lindgren’s Death in Twilight Grove (Kuolema ehtoolehdossa, Teos 2013) has reached Finnish bestseller lists and earned almost universal praise from critics. The second entry in the trilogy with a working title of Escape from Twilight Grove (Ehtoolehdon pakolaiset) will be published in May of 2014, and a film adaptation by well-known director Neil Hardwick is currently in the works.
If you like the bestselling The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, you will fall in love with Minna Lindgren’s Death in Twilight Grove.
“The characters of Siiri, Irma and Anna-Liisa are believable and full-blooded, as literary characters should be – not paper dolls…Lindgren’s humour easily brings to mind Giovanni Guaresch’s Don Camillo series, Graham Greene’s Monsignor Quixote and Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.” -Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland
“Minna Lindgren has produced a whodunnit that, between the lines of comedy and tragedy, contains all the anxiety, indifference and mercenary attitudes that are connected with the position and the care of the elderly in modern-day Finland.” -Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE
“Lindgren also describes the joys of advanced age: you can imbibe red wine without health concerns, there is plenty of time to enjoy the sights in your home town, and it’s never too late to find love.” –Aamulehti newspaper, Finland
“The conversations between Irma, Siiri and Anna-Liisa sound so natural, alive and present in the moment that you can’t help but burst into laughter reading them. They are just the like the chats I have with my friends.” -Ajatuksia kirjamaasta (“Thoughts from Book Land”) blog
Minna Lindgren (b. 1963) is a freelance journalist and columnist known for her whimsical writing style and fearless approach to topics as strange as opera and death. In addition to novels, she has authored nonfiction books on classical music. In 2009 Lindgren won the Bonnier Journalism Prize for her article entitled “Father’s Death” (“Isän kuolema”).
The Twilight Grove trilogy: a summary
In Death in Twilight Grove, the 90-something characters of Siiri, Irma and Anna-Liisa discover that their home, a retirement community called Twilight Grove, turns out to be an optimal environment for both smaller swindles and larger criminal activities. The first entry in the series is a suspense novel into which friendship and love, both of which are still possible for the oldest members of society, bring a sense of warmth.
The second part, Escape from Twilight Grove (working title, Teos, May 2014), sees our heroines moving to an apartment in the Hakaniemi neighbourhood as roommates. A fishy plumbing renovation at Twilight Grove evokes suspicions of more crimes taking place, but the real crimes may actually be happening elsewhere. The death of two people close to them forces these friends to contemplate questions of euthanasia, at-home care and terminal care.
The final part in the trilogy, The end of Twilight Grove (working title, Teos, 2015), marks a return to Twilight Grove. But the place no longer feels like home, and has turned into a state-funded, technology-driven pilot project in elderly care. The conclusion brings together characters lost along the way, and murky details are brought to light. A natural, long-awaited death finally collects some, but still not all, of our main characters.
RIGHTS SOLD:
Film rights: Yellow Film & TV
Reading materials:
Finnish edition
English sample
Original publisher:
Finland, Teos 2013
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com