Loukko by 
We are excited to announce that Actes Sud has acquired French rights to Karo Hämäläinen’s Cruel is the Night (WSOY 2013), a darkly humorous thriller of four characters that merges Agatha Christie with Quentin Tarantino. World English rights were previously sold to Soho Press, and Italian rights to Newton Compton.
Among other authors published by Actes Sud are Paul Auster, Stieg Larsson, Cormac McCarthy and Johanna Sinisalo.
“A thrillingly suspenseful novel that plunges the reader into a huis clos of almost bursting tension. Evil intentions lure behind the seemingly relaxed atmosphere and upper-class smiles. The constant uncertainty, the feeling that something terrible is going to happen at any moment… Smart, elegant and delightfully Hitchcockian.”
– Hege Roel Rousson, Consulting Editor, Actes Sud
“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.”
– Juliet Grames, Associate Publisher, Soho Press
About the book:
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.
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
FRANCE, Actes Sud
ITALY, Newton Compton
WORLD ENGLISH, Soho Press
Reading materials
English sample
German sample
Russian sample
Finnish edition
Italian edition
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com
