GERMAN AUDIO RIGHTS sold to Leena Lehtolainen’s bestselling MARIA KALLIO Series and BODYGUARD Series!

We are very excited to announce that German Audio book rights to internationally bestselling MARIA KALLIO books 1-15 and THE BODYGUARD books 1-4 by Finland’s #1 female crime writer Leena Lehtolainen have been sold to Finch & Zebra in collaboration with Lehtolainen’s German publisher Rowohlt. Leena Lehtolainen’s crime novels have sold over 2.5  million copies worldwide.  Finch & Zebra is a digital audiobook label and they work in cooperation with Apple Books. Congratulations, Leena Lehtolainen and her German Publishers!

”I am very happy that our long-time, successful crime novelist Leena Lehtolainen will soon be available to audiobook listeners with all her volumes. It is something very special to be able to sell such an extensive series in one deal. It shows that Finch & Zebra believes in the titles and thinks they are fantastic – as do many fans”.

– Katrin Seele, Audio Rights Manager, Rowohlt Verlag, Germany

Maria Kallio Series has sold over 2,5 million copies worldwide and been translated into 30 languages.

• The New York Times Nordic Noir Guide recommends Maria Kallio series
• Maria Kallio TV Series premiering in August 2021 on CMore/MTV3!

There are 11 Maria Kallio titles in English, and in the US only Jo Nesbo has more translated titles than Lehtolainen.

The Maria Kallio mysteries follow the career of a tough, down-to-earth and emotionally intelligent police officer who starts working in the Helsinki violent crimes unit. Every book centers around a murder, but there are also elements of social issues, and through the series Maria’s personal development is present, as we follow her struggle to balance police work and motherhood.

#1 MY FIRST MURDER (Ensimmäinen murhani, Tammi 1993, 251 pp.

When a member of a student choir is found dead, young police sergeant Maria Kallio is given the opportunity to prove herself.

#2 HER ENEMY (Harmin paikka, Tammi 1994, 244 pp.)

Maria Kallio has left the Helsinki police force to work for a law office. When a new acquaintance is found strangled in her home, Maria is pulled back into the world of criminal investigation.

#3 COPPER HEART (Kuparisydän, Tammi 1995, 248 pp.)

Maria has returned to her old home town to serve as the summer replacement for the local sheriff. But her peace is disturbed, first by her old flame, and then by the discovery of a body.

#4 SNOW WOMAN (Luminainen, Tammi 1996, 352 pp.)

Elina Rosberg, the director of a women’s therapy center disappears. Clues point to murder, and the list of suspects includes participants of the current therapy group.

#5 DEATH SPIRAL (Kuolemanspiraali, Tammi 1997, 359 pp.)

A 16-year-old skating sensation is found slain with her own skates.

#6 FATAL HEADWIND (Tuulen puolella, Tammi 1998, 348 pp.)
Maria Kallio spends a weekend on the island of Rödskär, where one of her former boyfriends fell to his death. Soon another man loses his life.

#7 BEFORE I GO (Ennen lähtöä, Tammi 2000, 375 pp.)

An openly homosexual Green Party politician is savagely beaten: was this a personal grudge, a random act of violence or a hate crime?

#8 BELOW THE SURFACE (Veren vimma, Tammi, 2003, 314 pp.)

When a woman’s body turns up in a lake—with a bullet to the back of her head—Violent Crime Unit commander Maria Kallio, freshly back from maternity leave, is fast to get on the case.

#9 THE NIGHTINGALE MURDER (Rivo Satakieli, Tammi, 2005, 346 pp.)

When well-known prostitute Lulu Nightingale is murdered on live television, Maria dives into the convolutions of sex for hire and politics.

#10 DERAILED (Väärän jäljillä, Tammi, 2008, 378 pp.)

Maria Kallio is called back to investigate the murder of a sports official. The case appears to connect to recent threats against a journalist and a track-and-field doping scandal. A new house and an opportunity to play bass in a rock band with some other cops add some light to Maria’s life.

#11 WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG GIRLS GONE (Minne tytöt kadonneet, Tammi, 2010, 342 pp.)

After returning from Afghanistan with a heavy heart, Maria Kallio starts investigating the mystery of several missing immigrant girls, and one of them turns up dead.

#12 THE IRON TRIANGLE (Rautakolmio, Tammi 2013, 352 pp.)

Two bodies turn up wrapped in plastic out in the archipelago: the man was shot and the woman drowned.

#13 A STROKE OF SADNESS (Surunpotku, Tammi 2015, 432 pp.)

The dead body of a diamond dealer is found at a church. The murderer appears to also have stolen a set of diamonds. The hunt leads the police into an international web of crime.

#14 THE END OF INNOCENCE (Viattomuuden loppu, Tammi, August 2017, 457 pp.)

Maria begins work in a new unit investigating crimes commited by and affecting minors and youths. When the body of a recently-released serial sex crimes offender is found in an abandoned traffic park in Espoo, Maria has a homicide investigation on her hands.

#15 RIPPLE EFFECT (Jälkikaiku, Tammi, August 2020, 450 pp.)

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