Loukko by 
We are thrilled to announce that Soho Press has acquired World English rights to Karo Hämäläinen’s Cruel is the Night (WSOY 2013), a devilish thriller of four players that merges Agatha Christie with Quentin Tarantino. Rights were previously sold in Italy to Newton Compton.
“We’re thrilled to be publishing Cruel Is the Night, both because of its delightful premise and execution and also because we are excited to work with this dynamic, versatile author. A literary homage to the locked-room mystery, Cruel Is the Night is exactly the blend of genre class and literary elegance we look for at Soho Crime. We are also thrilled to finally have a Finnish work on our list—it will be a happy addition to our growing list of literary translations!”
– Juliet Grames, Associate Publisher, Soho Press
Manhattan-based Soho Press is known for introducing and nurturing bold new literary voices and award-winning crime fiction from around the world. Among other authors on the Soho Crime imprint are Cara Black, award-winning Japanese author Fuminori Nakamura and Get Carter author Ted Lewis.
In Cruel is the Night, ruthless journalist Mikko is on his way to London to visit his old friend Robert, who has become fabulously wealthy and married the gorgeous Elise. Unbeknownst to his wife Veera, Mikko is planning on murdering Robert. On the evening’s menu are bones to pick, hidden motives, skeletons in the closet, a champagne sword, a cyanide capsule, a pinch of poison and a loaf of bread that’s not for just anyone’s consumption.
“The diners’ repartee and flashbacks revealing their relationships call to mind Herman Koch’s The Dinner…Hämäläinen’s novel takes things to a completely different level, however – the reader follows the events safely through a wall of Plexiglas, holding back laughter but absolutely absorbed.
– Helsingin sanomat newspaper, Finland
About the author:
Karo Hämäläinen (b. 1976) has a 15-year background as an economics reporter. His first thriller The Buyout (2011) was an immediate critical success. Hämäläinen also works as a journalist, literary critic and managing editor of Parnasso, Finland’s best-known literary publication.
RIGHTS SOLD:
CRUEL IS THE NIGHT
Original publisher: FINLAND, WSOY
ITALY, Newton Compton
WORLD ENGLISH, Soho Press
THE BUYOUT
Original publisher: FINLAND, WSOY
SPAIN, Ediciones B
Reading materials
English sample
German sample
Russian sample
Finnish edition
Italian edition
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com
