Loukko by 
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that World English rights to Minna Lindgren’s bestselling Twilight Grove Trilogy (Teos Publishers) have been sold to Pan Macmillan. Rights were previously sold in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Estonia. Lindgren’s warm and satirical mystery series stars group of spirited 90-something ladies living in a Helsinki retirement home.
Pan Macmillan will publish Lindgren’s novels as Death in Sunset Grove, Escape from Sunset Grove and The End of Sunset Grove. The first book, translated by Lola Rogers, will publish in English in June 2016.
“The central characters [Siiri and Irma] are both funny and endearing and they make for an interesting detective duo! I’m delighted to be publishing this trilogy,” says editor Natasha Harding, who acquired the series.
Pan Macmillan is part of the Macmillan Group, which operates in more than 70 countries. Among other authors published by Pan Macmillan are Ken Follett, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Håkan Nesser and Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg (with The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules).
See here for our Fall 2014 catalog page on Lindgren.
The Twilight Grove trilogy: a summary
In Death in Twilight Grove (Kuolema ehtoolehdossa, Teos 2013, 302 pp.), the 90-something characters of Siiri, Irma and Anna-Liisa discover that their home, a retirement community called Twilight Grove, turns out to be an optimal environment for both smaller swindles and larger criminal activities. The first entry in the series is a suspense novel into which friendship and love, both of which are still possible for the oldest members of society, bring a sense of warmth.
The second entry, Escape from Twilight Grove (Ehtoolehdon pakolaiset, Teos 2014, 335 pp.), sees our heroines moving to an apartment in the Hakaniemi neighbourhood as roommates. A fishy plumbing renovation at Twilight Grove evokes suspicions of more crimes taking place, but the real crimes may actually be happening elsewhere. The death of two people close to them forces these friends to contemplate questions of euthanasia, at-home care and terminal care.
The final part in the trilogy, The end of Twilight Grove (Ehtoolehdon tuho, Teos, 2015), marks a return to the retirement community. But the place no longer feels like home, and has turned into a state-funded, technology-driven pilot project in elderly care. The conclusion brings together characters lost along the way, and murky details are brought to light. Legal justice is also served – in unexpected ways. A natural, long-awaited death finally collects some, but still not all, of our main characters.
RIGHTS SOLD: THE TWILIGHT GROVE TRILOGY
CZECH REPUBLIC: Albatros Media/XYZ
ESTONIA, Varrak (Part I)
GERMANY, Kiepenheuer & Witsch
FRANCE, Calmann-Lévy
ITALY, Marsilio
SPAIN, Santillana
WORLD ENGLISH, Pan Macmillan
Film rights: Yellow Film & TV
Reading materials:
English sample of book 1 (the first 76 pages of the novel)
English synopses of books 1-3
Finnish editions of books 1-2
Original publisher:
Finland, Teos
For rights inquiries contact: info@ahlbackagency.com
