Estonian rights to Leena Lehtolainen’s Maria Kallio series sold to Pegasus!

Posted on 24.03.201506.07.2016

We are thrilled to announce that Pegasus has acquired Estonian rights to the first book in author Leena Lehtolainen’s iconic Maria Kallio crime series, My First Murder (Ensimmäinen murhani, Tammi 1993). Among other authors published by Pegasus are Donna Leon, Lars Kepler and Stephenie Meyer.

The bestselling Maria Kallio series, which brings a distinctively female perspective to the Nordic crime genre, stars a down-to-earth and emotionally intelligent police officer. To date 12 Maria Kallio books have been published.

The fourth entry in the series, Snow Woman (Luminainen, Tammi 1996), was recently published in the U.S by AmazonCrossing. The 13th Maria Kallio book, A Stroke of Sadness (Surunpotku, Tammi 2015) will launch in Finland this fall.

Lehtolainen has also penned the Bodyguard Trilogy, which follows a lean and tough New York-trained Finnish bodyguard Hilja Ilveskero. More than two million copies of her books have been sold internationally, and Lehtolainen has a devoted fan following around the world. Rights to her works have been sold in 29 languages.

RIGHTS SOLD
The Maria Kallio series:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
WORLD ENGLISH, AmazonCrossing
BRAZIL, Autentica
DENMARK, Bazar
ESTONIA, Pegasus
FRANCE, Gaia
GERMANY, Rowohlt
GREECE, Livani
HUNGARY, Animus
ISRAEL, Penn
JAPAN, Tokyo Sogensha
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
NORWAY, Bazar
POLAND, Rebis
RUSSIA, Ast
SPAIN, Destino
SWEDEN, Bazar
TAIWAN, Linking
TURKEY, Bizim Kitaplar
TV RIGHTS, Studio Hamburg

RIGHTS SOLD
The Bodyguard Trilogy:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
WORLD ENGLISH, Amazon
ARMENIA, Guitank
CZECH, Argo
FRANCE, Hachette Livre
GERMANY, Rowohlt
NETHERLANDS, Unieboek | Het Spectrum
RUSSIA, Azbooka-Atticus
SPAIN, Destino
TAIWAN, Linking
TURKEY, Nemesis

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

About author

Leena Lehtolainen

Leena Lehtolainen is the top female crime author in Finland: her new titles always head straight to #1 on the Finnish bestseller lists.

Lehtolainen created her successful protagonist, detective Maria Kallio, in 1993. Having already featured in 16 novels and a complete TV series, a new Maria Kallio TV reboot series was launched in Fall 2021 on C More. Lehtolainen’s novels have been translated into 30 languages and have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

And just like the events in Bodyguard, a that takes the heroine Hilja Ilveskero all around Europe, Lehtolainen’s own work takes her to book festivals, exhibitions and other events across the globe.

Leena Lehtolainen has also published outside the crime genre; her book The Charm of Figure Skating was voted sports book of the year 2010 in Finland, and A Life in Six Scenes showed her return to literary fiction.

The Crossing of the Green Dragon is her first title for YA audiences.

In her free time, Lehtolainen enjoys all kinds of music and follows lynx trails in the forests – just like Maria Kallio.

2023, Crime & Suspense

About author

Leena Lehtolainen

Bibliography