The Burning Stones - by Antti Tuomainen

Book Synopsis

A top saleswoman at a Finnish sauna company must outwit the police and a murderer when her boss is found dead ... in a sauna. A darkly funny, tense new thriller from 'The funniest writer in Europe' (The Times)

'The best comic crime novel you'll read this year' Abir Mukherjee

'Showcases Antti's trademark deadpan humour and crime plots focused on intriguingly quirky individuals. An utter delight' Vaseem Khan

'Just what you want from Antti Tuomainen, the brilliant moulding of apparent mundanity into a which-way-now thrill ride, with humour drier than a desert snake's belly' Ian Moore

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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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'The funniest writer in Europe' The Times

'Hilarious, beautifully penned and startlingly inventive. No other writer can come up with more ways to kill you in a sauna, and The Burning Stones cements Tuomainen's position as the king of the humorous crime caper' Abir Mukherjee

'Laconic, thrilling and warmly human - hugely enjoyable' Christopher Brookmyre

'Antti turns the heat up with this wryly comic thriller. You'll sweat along with the characters!' Douglas Skelton

'You don't expect to laugh when you're reading about terrible crimes, but that's what you'll do when you pick up one of Tuomainen's decidedly quirky thrillers' New York Times

'Finland's greatest export' M.J. Arlidge

'A refreshing change from the decidedly gloomier crime fiction for which Scandinavia is known' Publishers Weekly

'Right up there with the best' Times Literary Supplement

Praise for Antti Tuomainen

'Delightfully funny' Guardian

'Deftly plotted, poignant and perceptive in its wry reflections on mortality and very funny' Irish Times

'Fresh and witty' Chris Ewan

'A thrilling and hilarious read' Liz Nugent

'Charming, funny and clever' Literary Review

'A delight from start to finish' Big Issue

'Original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald

'Finnish criminal chucklemeister Tuomainen is channelling Carl Hiassen' Sunday Times

'A thriller with black comedy worth of Nabokov' Telegraph

Review Quotes

"The prose is comedic and absurd...The Burning Stones is an intriguing mystery novel in which people's mundane obsessions drive them to murder."--Foreword Reviews

"This has got to be one of the quirkiest openings in crime fiction, and that is saying something."--Booklist

"Suspense is uppermost in this adroit mix of psychological thriller, whodunnit and middle-aged rom-com." --The Times

"Finnish author Tuomainen has a talent for creating offbeat characters that you can't help rooting for and smart, resilient Anni is no exception in this tense, pacy novel, laced with the author's trademark laconic humour and superbly translated by David Hackston."--The Guardian

"Tuomainen's strength is his characters...Whilst undoubtedly 'scandi-crime, ' Tuomainen's novels have a touch of humor that lightens them up. Yet he never scimps on the mystery, delivering compelling whodunnits time after time. The Burning Stones is no exception. "--GeekDad

"The Burning Stones is full of quirky characters and unusual situations. I was entertained."--Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

About the Author

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.

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, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards.