Copper Heart sold to Estonia and A Killer’s Girlfriend published in Finland!

We’re very glad to share more news regarding Leena Lehtolainen’s beloved crime novels.

A distinctively female take on the Nordic crime genre by Finland’s #1 bestselling female crime author with over 2 million copies sold worldwide and rights sold in 29 languages, her first Maria Kallio novel was published 25 years ago. Still our favorite lady cop keeps topping bestseller lists and charming readers. “Leena Lehtolainen is the flagship name for ’Finland-Crime’,” wrote Hellweger Anzeiger in Germany.

Lehtolainen’s newest book, A Killer’s Girlfriend, was published in early August to the delight of her devoted fans. It is a short story collection featuring the loved protagonists of her Maria Kallio and The Bodyguard books but expands also into mystery and ghost stories.

How does a librarian become a killer’s girlfriend? Is love stronger than death, and can a child have three fathers? The capturing stories take their characters in unexpected situations and don’t let the reader off the hook.

“Fans of Leena Lehtolainen will find many delightful encounters in these stories, but on the other hand this collection is a brilliant reminder of the fact that ‘the queen of detective novels’ handles many other literary genres in addition to crime,” wrote Amman lukuhetki blog of the collection.

While we’re eagerly waiting for more news from Hollywood, where a production company has optioned the Maria Kallio series to be developed into a TV series, new deals are being struck on the translation sales side. Pegasus in Estonia will continue publishing the Maria Kallio novels with the third book in the series, Copper Heart.

“Copper Heart is a brilliant holiday read! It’s really hard to put it down. Copper Heart makes you look forward to the next Maria Kallio cases,“ said Tiiu Kraut, editor at Pegasus, Estonia.

Ask us for reading materials for Leena Lehtolainen’s books!