Five star reception for Leena Lehtolainen’s Copper Heart!

Lehtolainen_Cover_Copper Heart_(c) Amazon Crossing 2013We are thrilled to share the first enthusiastic reviews of Leena Lehtolainen’s Copper Heart (Kuparisydän, Tammi 1995), translated into English by Owen F. Witesman. Copper Heart was published on 12 November by Amazon and Leena has been promoting her Maria Kallio mystery series in New York this week.

Praise by US readers of Leena Lehtolainen: 5-star reviews

“Rich, Smooth Murder Mystery (…) Leena Lehtolainen’s translator, Owen F. Witesman, did a fantastic job of translating from Finnish to English; it is so good that I forgot the original story was in a different language so rich and smooth was his translation.” – Terri J. Rice

“Fast paced, well written page turner. (…) I very much enjoyed this book and felt the suspense stayed with me until the last page. I particularly embraced the local color and the regional issues that Lehtolainen weaves throughout the book. The author includes a guide to the characters in the front of the book which may be helpful to those unfamiliar with Finnish names. (…) A great read overall, I look forward to more from Lehtolainen (…).” – Quickbeam

“Great Read, Hit the Mark. This is the 3rd title in the Maria Kallio series from Finland (after My First Murder and Her Enemy). I (…) feel like she’s really hit her stride with Copper Heart.” – Ria Darling

The Maria Kallio mystery series: Rights sold in 28 languages
World English, Amazon
Brazil, Autentica
Denmark, Bazar
France, Gaia
Germany, Rowohlt
Greece, Livani
Hungary, Animus
Israel, Penn
Japan, Tokyo Sogensha
Latvia, Zvaigzne
Norway, Bazar
Poland, Rebis
Russia, Ast
Spain, Destino
Sweden, Bazar
Taiwan, Linking
Turkey, Bizim Kitaplar
TV rights, Studio Hamburg

Original publisher: Finland, Tammi

Leena Lehtolainen’s works have also been published in (rights reverted):
Albania, China, Czech, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine

Reading materials:
Finnish Edition of Books 1-12
English Edition of Books 1-3
German Edition of Books 1-11
English Text of Book 11
French edition of Books 1-4

World rights and enquiries:
info@ahlbackagency.com

About author


Leena Lehtolainen

Leena Lehtolainen is the top female crime author in Finland: her new titles always head straight to #1 on the Finnish bestseller lists.

Lehtolainen created her successful protagonist, detective Maria Kallio, in 1993. Having already featured in 16 novels and a complete TV series, a new Maria Kallio TV reboot series was launched in Fall 2021 on C More. Lehtolainen’s novels have been translated into 30 languages and have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

And just like the events in Bodyguard, a that takes the heroine Hilja Ilveskero all around Europe, Lehtolainen’s own work takes her to book festivals, exhibitions and other events across the globe.

Leena Lehtolainen has also published outside the crime genre; her book The Charm of Figure Skating was voted sports book of the year 2010 in Finland, and A Life in Six Scenes showed her return to literary fiction.

The Crossing of the Green Dragon is her first title for YA audiences.

In her free time, Lehtolainen enjoys all kinds of music and follows lynx trails in the forests – just like Maria Kallio.

Photo credit: Ville Juurikkala

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

The Snow Leopard's Heart

Leena Lehtolainen


2022, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Crossing of the Green Dragon

Leena Lehtolainen


2016, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Charm of Ice

Leena Lehtolainen