Loukko by 
We are happy to announce that Rowohlt, publisher of iconic Finnish crime author Leena Lehtolainen in Germany, has acquired rights to A Stroke of Sadness (Surunpotku, Tammi 2015), the 13th entry in Lehtolainen’s well-known Maria Kallio series.
In addition to the Maria Kallio series, Rowohlt is the German home of Lehtolainen’s Bodyguard Trilogy. Other authors published by Rowohlt include Siri Hustvedt, Jonathan Franzen and Paul Auster.
“After all these years of publishing Leena’s fabulous series, her heroine Maria Kallio feels like an old friend. I am thrilled that A Stroke of Sadness is one of the strongest Maria Kallio novels to date.”
– Silke Jellinghaus, Editor, Rowohlt
A Stroke of Sadness, which will make its debut in Finnish bookstores in August, finds police officer Maria Kallio inspecting the murder of jewelry expert Jaakko Pulma. The victim’s lost phone soon begins to send out threatening messages, and Kallio and her colleagues receive tips of a money laundering operation. Buried in Pulma’s family history is evidence of blackmail and an accident that turns out to not have been one at all.
“Leena Lehtolainen is the flagship name for ‘Finland-Crime’.”
– Hellweger Anzeiger newspaper, Germany
Rights to Lehtolainen’s works have been sold in 29 languages. In the United States AmazonCrossing published Book II in the Bodyguard Trilogy, The Lion of Justice (Tammi 2011) in June, and Snow Woman (Tammi 1996), the fourth book in the Maria Kallio series, in December of 2014.
RIGHTS SOLD
The Maria Kallio series:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
WORLD ENGLISH, AmazonCrossing
BRAZIL, Autentica
DENMARK, Bazar
ESTONIA, Pegasus
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
RIGHTS SOLD
The Bodyguard Trilogy:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
WORLD ENGLISH, Amazon
ARMENIA, Guitank
CZECH, Argo
FRANCE, Hachette Livre
GERMANY, Rowohlt
NETHERLANDS, Unieboek | Het Spectrum
RUSSIA, Azbooka-Atticus
SPAIN, Destino
TAIWAN, Linking
TURKEY, Nemesis
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com
