The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen

 

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen.

Translated by David Hackston.

Published 24th October 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Saunas, love and a ladleful of murder…

A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest moment: the new head of a sauna-stove company is murdered … in the sauna. Who has turned up the temperature and burned him to death?

The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and the victim’s successor at Steam Devil.

And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its purpose, and struggling with work weren’t enough, Anni realizes that she must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is behind it all – before it’s too late…

From the international bestselling author of The Man Who Died and The Rabbit Factor, comes a darkly funny, delightfully tense new thriller that showcases humanity at its most bare – in middle age, suspected of murder and, of course, in a sauna…

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When Ilmo Rӓty, heir apparent at the illustrious Steam Devil, is burned to a crisp in his home sauna, top salesperson Anni Korpinen, next in line as head of the steam-stove company,  falls under suspicion as the cold-blooded murderer. The thing is, Anni knows she is innocent, despite the damning evidence stacking up against her. Middle-aged Anni acknowledges she is not cut out to be a sleuth, but if she does not find out who really killed the unfortunate Ilmo from among her rivals fast, then she is in big trouble...

An Antti Tuomainen novel is always a breath of Finnish fresh air, full of dark humour and heart-felt emotion, weaving through a cracking crime story, and this is no exception. The story unfurls from the point of view of fifty-something Anni, who has spent the last twenty years working her way up to the top of the ladder selling the fine steam-stoves installed in the world's best saunas. She enjoys her job, which takes her away from the cares of a marriage that is long past its sell-by date, to a husband more interested in Formula one racing than her. 

Finding herself in the spotlight as number one suspect in a very odd murder, especially as she is now the likely successor to her boss, Erkki 'Stove King' Ruusula, Anni is up against it - but she is more of a Sherlock Holmes than she thinks herself to be. Digging into the shenanigans of her fellow employees at Stove Devil, she comes across some intriguing clues that might put her on the trail of the real killer... if she can stay alive long enough, of course.

All the delightfully absurd situations and characters I have come to expect in one of Tumainen's books are here, cleverly sprinkled throughout the story to provide Anni with perplexing trials to overcome - deliciously awkward conversations, ridiculous planted evidence (I give you enchantingly named, stolen 'bumlets', and sauna ladles in places they were never intended to be), a steam-stove client fixated on true crime, mambo-loving Erkki, and a police detective unable to let an old grudge about an enormous elk go... such fun! There is so much poignancy in many of these situations and relationships too, that Tuomainen touches on with tenderness in that gentle way he has - particularly around marital troubles, dementia, and second-chance love. And, as always, there is a left-of-field mystery that keeps you guessing right until the end. Excellent translation work from David Hackston once again too!

I loved Anni, and the way she transforms herself throughout this story, making her way out of the middle-aged rut she has fallen into, and reigniting the fire in her belly like the steam-stoves she sells, to battle the odds, banish her ghosts and find the happiness she deserves. 

Nordic noir the Antti Tuomainen way is an absolute joy.

The Burning Stones is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. 

In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. 

With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller and has been released as a TV series, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

About the translator:

David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). He also translates Antti Tuomainen’s stories. 

In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki.