Loukko by Storyfinder
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You might be looking for a book with female protagonist, set in Lapland, solving a murder mystery or… Discover the possibilities! In the Storyfinder tool all Ahlbäck Agency’s titles have been classified by themes, location, time period or occasion and type of characters. Find more tips on using the tool here. Be innovative, be bold, start finding your next big hit from Ahlbäck Agency’s catalogue!
304 results
The Curiosity Code: Stay Curious or Stay Stuck in a World of Constant Change
What if the very playbook we’ve been handed for success – grit, passion, specialization – isn’t just incomplete, but entirely counterproductive to a fulfilling life?
✓ Rights sold in pre-empts in Brazil, Poland and Romania! Auctions in Korea, The Netherlands, Greece and the UK & US!
✓ A no-bullshit blueprint for a more meaningful life—by Finland’s most curious export that has taught leaders at Harvard, Columbia and NYU Stern
✓ In 2024, dr. Puutio reached 1,5 million readers with his columns on Forbes, Fast Company and Psychology Today, and speaking invitations from Adobe to Thomson Reuters
✓ Bold Nordic take on reinvention and permission: you don’t need approval to change paths – you just need curiosity
For decades, we’ve been told that specialization, grit, and mastering a single craft are the keys to success. However, success stories like Warren Buffet, Jack Ma, and Marc Benioff suggest a different formula: breadth over specialization, questions over certainty. And most important of all, an insatiable sense of curiosity that leads from one rabbit hole to another.
This book is a guide for anyone who’s ever been told they are too scattered, too unfocused, or too unconventional to succeed, and is ready for the validation they deserve. And for those who have bought into the cult of grit and the 10,000 hours, this book offers an invitation: to join a more rangeful, curious exploration of life.
Rights sold: UK: The Bodley Head (PRH) (orig.), BRAZIL: Objetiva / Companhia das Letras, COMMONWEALTH: The Bodley Head, GREECE & CYPRUS: Psichogios, KOREA: Seosamdok, NETHERLANDS: HarperCollins Holland, POLAND: Otwarte, ROMANIA: Publica, WORLD SPANISH: Penguin Random House Mexico
The Secrets of Finnish Parenting
A calm, practical parenting guide inspired by Nordic philosophy, offering a humane alternative to intensive modern parenting culture
The Secrets of Finnish Parenting is the radically calm antidote to intensive modern motherhood, by a Finnish journalist and mom of three who tried to be a “perfect” U.S. mom, before burning out and moving back to Helsinki for a reset. Inspired by her homeland, Annabella finally found her way to the calm, humane Finnish method that made parenting not only manageable, but fun again. Returning to the U.S., she successfully tested and adapted these Nordic practices in real American life, proving that Finnish parenting can work everywhere.
Blending intimate narrative with practical “recipes” from the happiest country in the world (and informed by her popular Instagram channel), the book offers guidance on everything from sleep and independence to school, food, sports, and activities—so parents everywhere can reclaim bandwidth and breathe again, no relocation required.
Rights sold: THE NETHERLANDS: HarperCollins Holland, WORLD ENGLISH: HarperOne (orig.)
The Happiness Puzzle
Finns are known for their quiet, reserved nature and their tendency to keep emotions in check, don’t exactly fit the traditional image of a "happy" nation. They don’t smile on command or express emotions as openly as people in other countries might. And yet, Finland continues to top the happiness rankings year after year.
This paradox is where the story begins. Building on Finland’s paradoxical position in the World Happiness Report, this book reveals the limitations of defining happiness purely as life satisfaction (contentment). Adopting a fresh perspective, it suggests a fuller, more nuanced understanding of happiness — one that begins with how ordinary people define and experience it. By exploring how ordinary people in Finland describe their own happiness, the book paints a picture that goes beyond the simple contentment, highlighting the skills needed to navigate three essential dimensions of happiness: emotions, contentment and meaning.
Rights sold: ITALY: Newton Compton Editori s.r.l., WORLD RIGHTS: Bloomsbury Tonic, WORLD SPANISH: Newton Compton Editores
The Last Point
The Last Point is a novel about family, honour and keeping up appearances – at the cost of everything they claimed to love
During the Helsinki Book Fair, author David Berglund is found dead in the Helsinki harbour – the same day he was set to receive a literary prize. His wife Aurora is almost due to have their first child, and the family he always dreamed of would finally become a reality.
Philip Koski, a national hockey hero whose career was cut short by an injury, just joined the Helsinki Police Department and is assigned to the case. Philip struggles to prove to his colleagues, and himself, that he belongs to the team.
At the same time, journalist Tilde Björkqvist digs into David’s story. She was the last person to interview him, and encountered a man whose words of joy and gratitude did not match his desperate appearance. At work, Tilde struggles against antiquated hierarchies. Someone is trying to shut down her investigation – and she wants to know why.
Meanwhile, Åsa Stråhle, head of the Bohre Foundation, is beside herself with grief. After years of trying to conceive, she is still childless. David and his twin brother Adam are the closest thing to a family she has, but she lost contact with Adam after he lost himself to addiction. Åsa hides behind a polished mask while everything around her is falling apart.
The result is a psychologically charged story about lies, loyalty and the darkness lurking behind a well-kept façade.
Rights sold: SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms (orig.), FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finnish-Swedish), , DENMARK: Cicero/Gyldendal (print), Gyldendal Astra Denmark (e-book & audio), FINLAND: Schildts&Söderströms
The Sealed Case
The start of a gripping new thriller series! The Department K series blends a web of power games and criminal investigations with finely crafted psychological portraits.
When journalist Joel Saarni’s affair with his editor-in-chief makes the tabloid front page, he’s forced to leave his job. But the unfinished story won’t let him go. Someone has sent him a folder containing highly incriminating material: a Finnish network equipment company appears to have made illegal deals in Russia. But why?
Corporate lawyer Petra Thorry has her own reasons for getting involved. She’s obsessed with solving the mystery of a child who vanished in the 1990s.
As the investigation deepens, Petra and Joel are drawn into a tightening web of lies and espionage—where the deadly strings are pulled by Department K.
The Sealed Case launches a new top-tier Finnish thriller series. Department K is an addictive story about unchecked power—and the people who can no longer look away.
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Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.), GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe, GREECE: Memento
The Children of Spooky Theater and the Talking Cabinet
Children of the Spooky Theater is a charming children’s novel series set in early 1900s Helsinki, starring twins Ottilia and Roland, who once performed in spiritualist shows. The book’s magical atmosphere will sweep you away!
On an autumn evening, two siblings appear at the door of the Orphanage of Love and Mercy, carrying with them a peculiar cabinet. Ottilia and Roland have been performers in the traveling von Hofenstaufen Spirit Theater, but now they are without a home. The kind-hearted director welcomes the twins, even though the poor orphanage is struggling financially. However, the problems might be solved when Ottilia, the children, and the Talking Cabinet organize the greatest spiritualist show of all time…
Tuutikki Tolonen’s new series exudes a mystical mood and plays with messages from the beyond. Netta Lehtola’s illustrations deliciously bring historical Helsinki to life.
Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
Kittilä Rewind
“The ending is perfect, and I don’t want to know what happens after.
I rewind the movie, watch the ending again. And again.
Baby, you’re gonna miss that plane.”
When 17-year-old Joonatan’s mother suddenly dies, he decides to move from Helsinki to Kittilä to live with his almost unknown father. A new beginning in the North brings painful memories to the surface, and the question of what really happened nearly twenty years ago when his parents first met on a bright summer night.
With the help of an online crisis therapist and the Richard Linklater films he finds on his father’s shelf, Joonatan tries to figure out whether the story his mother told about their life was only half true. The mix is further complicated by the social dynamics of a small village, where a gang maintains an atmosphere of fear. At the same time the leader of the group fighting against them, the gray-eyed and defiant Susi, makes Joonatan’s heart beat faster. Can love piece the story together?
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Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
Meet the Squirrel Family
A new, heartwarming installment in the award-winning series! What can happen to a little squirrel in just one summer day?
A young squirrel has a strange problem: it’s afraid of heights. To live a full squirrel life, it must overcome this fear. But dangers lurk everywhere, and the little squirrel must face a hunting goshawk and a horned owl—along with its own fear.
The Animal Family series’ seventh narrative non-fiction book explores the life of squirrels. This family-friendly work combines educational text, storytelling, and Hannu Laakso’s internationally awarded, vibrant and intimate nature photography in an enchanting way. The series has become a favorite among grandparents who read the books together with their grandchildren. The books follow each animal family and their adventures from the animal family’s perspective! Believe it or not, but the stories are partly based on true events – witnessed by the author!
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Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: Into (orig.)
Duffy Dewsnip
Duffy Dewsnip and his Shoresnort family are forced to flee their home grounds. They find a new place to live in the Marshwood Forest, in the lands of the Bogsnorts. While the parents build a new home, Duffy has time to go on adventures. Getting to know the Bogsnorts doesn’t go quite as nicely as lively and curious Duffy would hope. However, the lush and mysterious forest hides pleasant surprises within.
Cara Knuutinen’s charming illustrations and sympathetic story take the little reader along Duffy’s adventure paths.
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Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
The Forest Within the City
The chilling start to a new series from a critically acclaimed thriller author—taking you deep into the darkness of a small town.
While sorting through her late mother’s belongings, Päivi discovers a scrapbook whose headlines pull her back to the 1980s: Tuonijoki. Multiple hushed-up deaths, the unexplained disappearance of her best friend, and the Forest of All Birds, rumored to be the site of horrifying acts by local youth.
The chain of events that shaped Päivi’s childhood resurfaces as vividly as if it were happening all over again. Determined to uncover the truth, she returns to the town to finally learn what happened to her friend decades ago.
The Tuonijoki series seamlessly blends psychological suspense with creeping horror in an irresistibly gripping way.
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Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: Like (Orig.)
All About Sahara
All About Sahara is an intense, atmospheric story about fifteen-year-old Sahara, whose world has fallen silent after the sudden departure of her friend Tio. Sahara decides to resolve the unfinished matters. On her journey north, Sahara is joined by a strange acquaintance, an invisible being named Xei. But what must be discussed before the stones open and the train can fly?
This small, compelling novel explores the painful relationships of youth, transformations, and the possibility of confronting life’s and death’s greatest questions. Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen’s writing is delightfully straightforward and thought-provoking at the same time.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
The Feast
“We didn’t really want the same things. We only wanted to feel that we did.”
When Maria arrives at her childhood friend’s party, she has no idea what to expect—or why she was invited in the first place. Her and Marianne’s paths diverged years ago, and rebuilding that connection no longer seems possible.
When they were young, Maria was the one in control, but now the roles have reversed: her friend has transformed from a small-town kiosk clerk into a celebrated influencer surrounded by the city’s elite. Maria, meanwhile, juggles family life and a job at a museum, all the while nursing a quiet longing for something different. Slowly, memories resurface—of a wordless bond, of moments filled with joy and happiness, but also of the betrayal that changed everything.
The Feast is a gripping one-night novel about choices, class, envy, and love. It is a labyrinth of conversations and rooms, where every door leads to a different fate.
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Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
HIM: The Last Tour
An intense memoir of HIM’s global rise, international touring life, and the relentless pace of the rock business – and its consequences
How did HIM, led by the charismatic Ville Valo, rise from the Helsinki underground to global stardom? What kind of pressure, and personal sacrifice are required to sustain success at the highest level—and what ultimately causes a band to fall apart?
In HIM: The Last Tour, the band's (former) guitar tech Kimmo Aroluoma takes readers behind the scenes of HIM’s farewell tour and across the band’s entire career, from the 1990s club circuit to sold-out international arenas. Moving between continents, green rooms, and moments of quiet collapse, the book exposes the hidden mechanics of international touring, the mythology of artistic genius, and the emotional toll placed on those who serve a singular vision.
At once a tour memoir, a study of power and loyalty, and a personal survival story, HIM: The Last Tour offers an intimate portrait of the modern rock industry—seductive, exhausting, and ultimately unforgiving.
Rights sold: FINLAND: LIKE (orig.)
The Melting Point
The queen of addictive romances, Annukka Salama, now takes your breath away on the hockey rink! Oliver and Niklas are hockey’s brightest prospects—and sworn enemies on junior national teams from Finland and Sweden. When the boys are forced onto the same team, a Finland–Sweden showdown begins like nothing the hockey world has ever seen.
Oliver Järvinen rockets from complete obscurity to a trial with the national team. All his wildest dreams are coming true, until Niklas Gauffin skates into his life: a Finnish-Swedish hockey star and a total pain in the neck. Tipped to be the NHL’s number-one draft pick, Niklas has ditched his Swedish Tre Kronor jersey and moved to Finland, and, to top it all off, he’s Oliver’s new roommate in the high school dorm.
When fate throws them onto the same ice, the game, and the tension, heat up to unbearable levels. With the media scrutinizing their every move ahead of the NHL draft, the boys face huge choices as they fight for their future.
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Bestseller -
Full English
Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.), FRANCE: Rageot Editeur, NETHERLANDS: Uitgeverij Kluitman Alkmaar B.V. , SWEDEN: Bokförlaget Opal
The Shadow Bride
People whose shadows intersect each other on Shadow Day are proclaimed to be in a shadow marriage. A black ring stands as a symbol that the marriage can not be broken.
The life of Selja from Tar Block changes on Shadow Day. Her shadow intersects the shadows of both Senator Atticus and his son Laurion. Their shadow marriage is a triple marriage where scheming abounds. Father and son can’t stand each other and both have their own plans for the future of the capital, Aureus. Selja must choose whose version of the truth she believes. At the same time, she is carrying out her own secret task.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
Itty Bitty Princess: All Kinds of Emotions
Itty Bitty Princess is slightly afraid to go to the child health clinic, as they could give her a little jab.
She is full of bubbling joy when she figures out how to persuade her mom to go on a fun adventure-filled trek. And her pride knows no bounds when, on a particularly beautiful day, she does all of her morning chores completely on her own.
In addition to love and all the other wonderful emotions, Itty Bitty Princess’s world also includes negative emotions such as envy and disgust which have their own time and place as well.
Nine captivating and fun stories where both Itty Bitty Princess and the readers learn how to recognize and process emotions.
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Bestseller
Rights sold: FINLAND: Otava (orig.), ESTONIA: Kirjastus Elust Enesest
Stop Secret Mysteries #3: The Wicked Wave
An irresistibly funny and imaginative middle-grade mystery series for fans of Roald Dahl!
Sea Sheep on the Horizon!
In the third book of this lively children's series, the Stop Secret Club dives into a thrilling new mystery—right in the heart of summer!
The gang sets off to spend Midsummer at Maisa’s cottage, but before they even arrive, the adventure begins! On the way, the friends encounter a shipwrecked sheep bobbing in the waves.
But something strange is happening at the cottage. Smoke drifts from the fireplace - without a fire. A sure sign of a Sauna Elf. One clue leads to another, and soon the threads of a new mystery begin to unravel.
Get ready for cool splashes, wild waves, and a Midsummer mystery you won’t forget!
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Award
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
Swan Song
The internationally acclaimed author’s masterpiece about the relationships between species and the limits of our senses in a world of hidden secrets
Our near future is different than what we would have expected. When multibillionaires do what they want with their money, the world is changing.
Jane, born in Finland, lives in the United States of America and remotely rescues people from fires and avalanches. When she ends up with a dull-sounding scientific task and is introduced to an AI monitoring birds, she is caught up in an adventure that changes her life and, perhaps, the entire world.
Swan Song is a masterful story about language, consciousness, and how we choose not to see when our own interests and nature are pitted against each other.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
Dead Girls Don't Dance
16-year-old Oona must start high school without any familiar friends when her family moves back to her childhood hometown of Pori. On her very first day, she overhears a chilling story about a girl who was murdered in the school’s locker room – and soon realizes it’s about her older sister Roosa, who died fourteen years ago. Oona was told Roosa, a talented dancer, took her own life, but could there be something darker behind her sister’s mysterious death?
The thought haunts Oona, even as she immerses herself in dance and navigates the colorful, chaotic world of high school. Determined to uncover the truth, Oona teams up with her friend Kaisla, Rafael, a true crime podcaster, and Roosa’s stepsister Rosanna to investigate Roosa’s death. But their search quickly takes a dark and dangerous turn. The murderer is still out there and willing to silence anyone who digs too deep. Why do Oona’s own parents seem to be hiding secrets of their own?
Rights sold: FINLAND: Myllylahti (orig.), GERMANY: Ullstein, NETHERLANDS: De Fontein
The Witch of Sardesia
Soon to turn seventeen, Noa is the daughter of a pearl whisperer. She lives with her older sister and her mother, who has been crippled by a bear attack, in a house on Shady Pine Ridge, deep in the forest. The family cultivates pearls in their farm in the river, selling them to jewelers in the city. But the pearl farm is in trouble. No new pearls have been whispered for years. Noa’s mother has lost her ability to pearl whisper, and it was recently revealed that Noa’s sister Midja has no gift for pearl whispering either. Their father is serving a debtor’s sentence in the city of Paulava. Noa is their only hope.
When Midja falls ill with a deadly sleep sickness, the family faces a harsh reality: she can only be cured by the most powerful witch in Kernos—the Witch of Sardesia. Noa must venture out into the world for the first time, find the witch, and bring back a cure. Otherwise, her sister will die, their pearl farm will be doomed, and their father will never leave prison.
Together with a sly, wise toad and an enigmatic young man named Vesper who joins in the journey, Noa encounters dangers in the city and in her own heart.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Myllylahti (orig.)