Original title: Kuolema Ehtoolehdossa
Author: Minna Lindgren
Published: 2013
Publisher: Teos
Genres: Literary Fiction, Humor
Pages: 305
Part of a series: Sunset Grove trilogy
Reading material:
English edition
Who could imagine that anything illegal – whether it be suspicious deaths, thefts or the covert trading of medications – could happen in Sunset Grove retirement home? Its 90-year-old residents Siiri and Irma certainly can’t.
The lives of Siiri, Irma, and other Sunset Grove inhabitants are filled mostly with empty time punctuated by glasses of red wine, tram rides and funerals. Investigating the sudden strange occurrences at Sunset Grove, however, proves to be a more interesting pastime than playing cards with the ambassador and the woman in the wide-brimmed hat – not to mention the never-ending arts and crafts sessions, gym classes or accordion evenings (which the residents of the house attend mostly out of pity towards the employees).
Death in Sunset Grove is a devilishly funny and suspenseful story about old age, friendship and life in a relatively ordinary retirement home. Here the only fate worse than death is being drugged up and locked away inside the dementia ward. Even the sharpest senior can’t decipher all the nuances of this place; thankfully a few young people, including members of the biker gang and a grandchild’s boyfriend, offer some help.
Death in Twilight Grove is a clever mystery novel that brilliantly combines thriller with comedy. There’s suspense in it, and there’s warmth. By reading you will hear echoes of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, and much more than this. Minna Lindgren not only shows intelligent and hearty humour, but she demonstrates depth that is not easy to find in the genre. Siiri, Irma and Anna- Liisa will stay with you for a long time, three wonderful old ladies, wise and naive at the same time, who know so much about life but still cannot recognize cruelty in its worse aspects.
- Francesca Varotto, Marsilio, Italy
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Aurora Studios
ARABIC: Al Arabi
CZECH REPUBLIC: XYZ
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard
ESTONIA: Varrak Publishers
GERMANY: Kiepenheuer & Witsch
GREECE: Enalios
HUNGARY: Kossuth
ISRAEL: Yedioth Books
ITALY: Marsilio
LATVIA: Petergailis
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
SLOVAKIA: Albatros Media Slovakia s.r.o.
SPAIN: Santillana
SWEDEN: Norstedts
WORLD ENGLISH: Pan Macmillan