Loukko by 
Marko Hautala’s literary horror novel Granny Hatchet (Tammi 2014) was published this week in the U.S. as The Black Tongue by AmazonCrossing. Based on a real-life urban legend of a mythical creature who kills her victims with a hatchet and devours their hearts, Hautala’s novel explores childhood traumas and buried secrets in a small Finnish town.
Early U.S. reviews for The Black Tongue have been glowing, with several literary bloggers giving the novel five stars. See below for highlights!
Beyond the U.S., rights to Granny Hatchet/The Black Tongue have been sold in Germany to DTV and in the Czech Republic to Euromedia.
Praise for The Black Tongue:
This story exceeded my expectations. I was immediately shocked and drawn into the small town of Suvikyla, Finland…I truly hope that more of [Hautala’s] books are translated in the near future. I was utterly pulled into this story and shocked at how it all came together. This is definitely an author to keep an eye on.”
– 2 Book Lovers Reviews literature blog, U.S. (Five stars)
“Reading The Black Tongue reminded me more of the unabridged Grimms’ fairy tales than it did horror per se. Like Grimms’, the villain [in this case villainess] is really awful, but her evil is almost more a force of Nature than a deliberate intent – almost, not completely. Granny Hatchet seems something unavoidable, an implacability. Herein lies the other comparison to the Grimm Brothers: the moral lesson. Don’t go out at night. Don’t leave the city confines. Don’t walk in the woods or on the beach, especially at night. Leave tribute – and never, ever, mock Granny Hatchet.”
– Mallory Heart Reviews literature blog, U.S. (Five stars)
“The Black Tongue ended up being much weirder and scarier than I was expecting….the ending was the perfect conclusion to the story.”
– A Bookish Type literature blog, U.S.
“I was sitting at the edge of my seat enthralled with the gruesomeness of the Granny Hatchet story as it was being told to the children of the town…There is a twist at the end that did have me letting out an involuntary gasp because I did not see it coming…Mr. Hautala can certainly write prose that makes you feel the mist and hear the crunch of dry leaves.”
– Constantly Moving the Bookmark literature blog, U.S.
About the author:
Marko Hautala’s (b. 1973) signature blend of psychological thriller and realism has earned him a reputation as the Finnish Stephen King. Beyond his skill of generating spine-tingling fear in his readers, he is also known for his literary mastery and intelligence as a storyteller: Hautala has been awarded the Tiiliskivi Prize in 2008 and the coveted Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize for Young Authors for Shrouds (Tammi 2009) in 2010.
RIGHTS SOLD:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
WORLD ENGLISH, AmazonCrossing (Granny Hatchet)
CZECH REPUBLIC, Euromedia (Granny Hatchet)
ITALY, Newton Compton (Shrouds)
GERMANY, DTV (Worms, Shrouds, Granny Hatchet)
Reading material:
Full English text
English synopsis
Finnish edition
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com