Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen

Little Siberia
By Antti Tuomainen
Published by Orenda Books (17 October 2019)
I received an advance reader copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

A man with dark thoughts on his mind is racing along the remote snowy roads of Hurmevaara in Finland, when there is flash in the sky and something crashes into the car. That something turns about to be a highly valuable meteorite. With euro signs lighting up the eyes of the locals, the unexpected treasure is temporarily placed in a neighbourhood museum, under the watchful eye of a priest named Joel.

But Joel has a lot more on his mind than simply protecting the riches that have apparently rained down from heaven. His wife has just revealed that she is pregnant. Unfortunately Joel has strong reason to think the baby isn’t his. As Joel tries to fend off repeated and bungled attempts to steal the meteorite, he must also come to terms with his own situation, and discover who the father of the baby really is.

My verdict

Little Siberia is great fun to read – and now my favourite Antti Tuomainen book. 

Who knew that a piece of rock could cause so much trouble? A valuable meteorite crashing through the roof of a car driven by a drunken driver. Dodgy Russian gangsters and other dubious characters trying to steal it. Chase scenes through snowdrifts and deserted museums, along frozen lakes and rocky terrain. The setting is as chilling as the plot, with its icy landscape and close-knit claustrophobic community.

All of this has been packaged into a quirky crime novel. Yet this is far more than just your ‘ordinary’ museum heist, as all manner of local secrets drift out into the open during the book's rollercoaster journey. While crime is at the heart of Little Siberia, this is also very much a book about people and humanity with its scenes of contemplation, questioning faith and belief, right versus wrong and the meaning of life. There’s a veteran-turned-priest deep in a personal crisis, with a 'miraculous' pregnancy surrounded by the mystery of fatherhood.

The book has been translated well by David Hackston, retaining the author's dark Finnish humour, cheeky charm and sharp dialogue and narrative.

With Antti Tuomainen, you never know what’s coming next. And I can’t wait to see what that will be!

Follow the blog tour

Two sides to every story by Antti Tuomainen

I am delighted to be today's stop on the blog tour for Palm Beach Finland by Antti Tuomainen (translated by David Hackston). Antti tells us why there are two sides to every story - creating criminal characters. Palm Beach Finland is published by Orenda Books, and will be published in paperback on 18 October 2018.

Two sides to every story

By Antti Tuomainen

I have been writing crime fiction now for 15 years. I published my first novel in 2006 after several unpublishable manuscripts which I consider my basic training. (Actually, the advanced training still continues after eight published novels, but that is another story.) One thing I've always found quite a lot of fun is writing the bad guys. You know, the criminals. Or, to be completely accurate, the ones committing the crime in crime fiction.   

In writing criminal characters, I suppose there are several reasons for my sense of enjoyment. One reason is certainly the type of criminals I've had in my book. They have been, with a few exceptions, amateurs at their chosen task. They have been regular human beings who out of necessity do what they have to do to get out of their given situation and/or they're on some deeply personal level mixed in criminal doings. Either way, what has been important to me, is that I portray them as human beings. (This also gives me a chance to examine what each of us would do in an extreme situation.)

By portraying them as human beings, I mean that I aim to make them multi-dimensional persons. They are not completely evil and complete evilness is not the reason they commit their crimes. Sometimes they are not evil at all. They are just people caught in a highly surprising situation. 

Although, having said that, I have previously, for example, written about a hitman named Emil (The Mine, Orenda Books, 2016) whose work-related actions can't be defended, yet even he was something else besides a hitman. He was a father and his main concern in the story was in getting to know his son after not seeing him for 30 years. I didn't make him multi-dimensional to provide an excuse for his unusual line of work, but rather to deepen his character and to show him as a human being: faulty like the rest of us (and perhaps a tad more deadly) and trying his best with what limited means he had. 

My latest book in English, Palm Beach Finland, out this November, brings forth another type of criminal entrepreneurs. Those with serious limitations in their wisdom-department, as the saying goes. Chico and Robin are not bad guys. They just end up doing all kinds bad things and causing general mayhem while trying their best to advance their ambitious personal plans. Their aim is true and pure, they wish to make their dreams come true, but chaos ensues. I loved writing them. And who can't identify with trying your best and ending up with the worst possible result. We've all experienced a version of that. It's just that it keeps happening to them all the time. Yet they're – I hope – likable mates all the way through. As the story progresses we learn more about them and find out certain things that are in no way unique. They wish to be loved, accepted, seen. This universal human wish sees them diving headfirst into trouble. 

In Palm Beach Finland, we also have a cold-blooded criminal, a killer named Holma. But even he, in all his twistedness, has the same wish that his less-savvy criminal competitors Chico and Robin have. Holma wishes that people respected him, admired him, even worshipped him. But in him, it is safe to say, these qualities have over-powered the man. But that is human, too. That can happen. I noticed that writing Holma was different from writing Chico and Robin. I needed a bit more distance, a bit more coolness. And yet, by recognizing those characteristics that had him totally blinded, I found him and his character quite naturally and enjoyed writing his parts of the book. 

All of the previous is a way of saying that there really are two sides to every story. Every crime fiction story, anyway. And for me, that is arguably a sizable part of the enjoyment of writing crime fiction: looking at something from both directions, so to speak. When you're writing about well-rounded characters doing all sorts of things, you're of course, at least in a roundabout way, turning the light on yourself, trying to see if I could be doing that or if I could be that person. So far, I've stuck to writing. But you know, since there are two sides to every…

            

About Antti Tuomainen

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. The critically acclaimed My Brother’s Keeper was published two years later. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. Two years later, 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, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. 

Find Antti Tuomainen on Facebook and on Twitter - @antti_tuomainen

About Palm Beach Finland

Palm Beach Finland 

By Antti Tuomainen

Published by Orenda Books (E-book- available now; Paperback - 18 October 2018)

Publisher's description

Jan Nyman, the ace detective of the covert operations unit of the National Central Police, is sent to a sleepy seaside town to investigate a mysterious death. Nyman arrives in the town dominated by a bizarre holiday village – the ‘hottest beach in Finland’. The suspect: Olivia Koski, who has only recently returned to her old hometown. The mission: find out what happened, by any means necessary.

With a nod to Fargo, and dark noir, Palm Beach, Finland is both a page-turning thriller and a black comedy about lust for money, fleeing dreams and people struggling at turning points in their lives – chasing their fantasies regardless of reason.

Follow the Blog Tour

BEST OF CRIME with Antti Tuomainen

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

ANTTI TUOMAINEN

for his The Man Who Died blog tour

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Elmore Leonard and Lawrence Block. Great writers who, with the help of a few others, got me into this writing life. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

Fargo. I recently watched it again and it was even better than I remembered. 

... TV DRAMAS

The Wire. In my mind, still the best television show ever. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
I probably don't have one. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Rust Cohle from TV show True Detective, season 1. Played pitch-perfect by Matthew McConaughey, Rust Cohle is the ultimate self-destructive, philosophical detective and the smartest guy in any room. 

... MURDER WEAPONS
There is a scene in my new book The Man Who Died in which the character has a self-inflicted accident with a samurai sword. That one is pretty good, if I say so myself.

    

... DEATH SCENES

Charles Willeford surprised me when I was young. In his novel Miami Blues, the psychopath arriving in Miami kills a Hare Krishna man by twisting his finger. 

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

www.stevenpressfield.com Pressfield has some very interesting things to say about writing and especially about working as a professional writer.

... WRITING TIPS

Write every day. Set realistic goals. Finish what you started. Learn from others. 

... WRITING SNACKS

Apples. They're great. Eating an apple is the perfect break, both timewise and energetically. Just make sure you get ones with plenty of delicious crunch. 

About ANTTI TUOMAINEN

Finnish Antti Tuomainen (b. 1971) was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. The critically acclaimed My Brother’s Keeper was published two years later. In 2011 Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. The Finnish press labelled The Healer – the story of a writer desperately searching for his missing wife in a post-apocalyptic Helsinki – ‘unputdownable’. Two years later in 2013 they crowned Tuomainen ‘The King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. The Mine, published in 2016, was an international bestseller. All of his books have been optioned for TV/film. With his piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen is one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and The Man Who Died sees him at his literary best. 

Find Antti Tuomainen on his website, on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @antti_tuomainen

About THE MAN WHO DIED

Publisher's description

A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he’s dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists.
With a nod to Fargo and the best elements of the Scandinavian noir tradition, The Man Who Died is a page-turning thriller brimming with the blackest comedy surrounding life and death, and love and betrayal, marking a stunning new departure for the King of Helsinki Noir.

Read a snippet of my review

'It made me laugh and grimace at times, and also made me sad. It's very different from anything else I've read in a while, with some brilliant twists that I really didn't see coming at all.'

To read the rest of my review, click here.

The Man Who Died is being published by Orenda Books on 10 October 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen

The Man Who Died
By Antti Tuomainen
Published by Orenda Books (10 October 2017)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.

Publisher's description

A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he's dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists. 

My verdict
The Man Who Died's first line certainly welcomed me straight into protagonist Jaakko's nightmare diagnosis. He's just been told by his doctor that he's dying, being slowly poisoned by an unknown toxin, after experiencing a whole host of distressing symptoms.

This leads into a black comedy as Jaakko tries to discover the culprit and why they have it in for him. There are plenty of potential poisoners in his life, considering his job is the successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry. With some slapstick scenes, chases that don't go quite as planned, a whole host of bizarre characters and plenty of dark humour, Antti Tuomainen takes us on a journey into Jaako's working life and personal relationships. There's much philosophical discussion about life and death and hopes and dreams, with a running theme of betrayal (and also love).

I was glued to this book. It made me laugh and grimace at times, and also made me sad. It's very different from anything else I've read in a while, with some brilliant twists that I really didn't see coming at all. The writing is stunning with vivid and intense descriptions of people and places - I could visualise it all so clearly. I learnt a lot about growing mushrooms too!

Definitely a book for those who like something deliciously dark and delightfully different.

The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen - Cover Reveal

Today, I'm delighted and excited to be hosting the cover reveal for The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen, which is being published by Orenda Books in October 2017.

The Man Who Died: Read the blurb

A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he’s dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists.
With a nod to Fargo and the best elements of the Scandinavian noir tradition, The Man Who Died is a page-turning thriller brimming with the blackest comedy surrounding life and death, and love and betrayal, marking a stunning new departure for the King of Helsinki Noir.

LOVE the sound of this!!! Can't wait to read it!

The Man Who Died: View the cover

What a gorgeous cover! As expected from Orenda, something that's totally unique
and will grab your attention from the shelf!

The Man Who Died: Read about author Antti Tuomainen

Finnish Antti Tuomainen (b. 1971) was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. The critically acclaimed My Brother’s Keeper was published two years later. In 2011 Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer,  won Best Finnish Crime Novel of the Year,  and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. The Finnish press labelled The Healer – the story of a writer desperately searching for his missing wife in a post-apocalyptic Helsinki – ‘unputdownable’. Two years later in 2013 they crowned Tuomainen ‘The King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. His third book published in English, The Mine, has confirmed his place at the heart of the genre. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen is one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his books are published in 29 countries. The Man Who Died marks yet another departure, and rights have been sold at auction internationally.

Find Antti Tuomainen on Twitter - @antti_tuomainen

For ALL your Orenda news, visit the Orenda website and follow @OrendaBooks on Twitter.

The Mine by Antti Tuomainen - The Finnish Invasion Blog Tour

I am DELIGHTED to be today's stop on the Blog Tour for The Mine by Antti Tuomainen, which is being published by Orenda Books on 15 November 2016. Read my review below and follow the Blog Tour for some more reviews and author guest posts.

The Mine is one of two Finnish books being published by Orenda Books this month under the banner The Finnish Invasion. The other book is The Exiled by Kati Hiekkapelto. I featured my review of The Exiled on 6th November, so don't forget to take a peek.

My review of The Mine

The Mine
By Antti Tuomainen
Published by Orenda Books (15 November 2016)
ISBN: 978-1910633533

Publisher's description

A hitman. A journalist. A family torn apart. Can he uncover the truth before it's too late?

In the dead of winter, investigative reporter Janne Vuori sets out to uncover the truth about a mining company, whose illegal activities have created an environmental disaster in a small town in Northern Finland. When the company's executives begin to die in a string of mysterious accidents, and Janne's personal life starts to unravel, past meets present in a catastrophic series of events that could cost him his life.

My verdict
The Mine is an emotionally-charged thought-provoking Finnish environmental thriller. It's stunningly written and translated seamlessly - no word is out of the place and the descriptions provide an amazing sense of the chilling frozen setting. I was totally gripped throughout and struggled to put the book down (other than to sleep).

Investigative reporter Janne Vuori discovers corruption, secrets and lies as he investigates a mining company in a small town in Northern Finland. His life is in danger, there's a killer on the loose and he fears that he and his family are being watched. While The Mine is essentially a thriller, it has an underlying sensitivity about it - with themes of morality and family running through the plot. When Janne's investigations put his own family life in jeopardy, he is forced to make some difficult decisions.

The Mine is also a book about how our past and family can shape us and our future - and how family secrets often come back to haunt us. There's some violence, but nothing too graphic, and some unexpected revelations, twists and turns. I really felt like I cared about Janne and his family by the end - and believed in the characters as if they were real people (not all crime thrillers have that effect on me).

I will admit the ending of the book 'broke' me. I finished it late one evening and it left me with a sense of discomfort and longing for more. I struggled to sleep that night - thoughts churning over in my mind about the plot, the characters and the final chapter. If you like resolution, be warned you may not be satisfied - although I do feel the author had this planned all along.

This is a stunning book - yet another winner from Orenda. The Mine is a book that will stay with me for a long while (especially as I'm desperate to know what happens next...)

I received an Advance Reader Copy.

Follow The Finnish Invasion Blog Tour!