The Angels of Hammurabi to Iceland, and The Decent Ingredient to Italy this week

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Max Seeck’s Debut Thriller of the Year Award-winning nail-biter, The Angels of Hammurabi has been acquired by Forlagid, Iceland’s largest publisher, for a winter/spring 2018 publication.

Forlagid editor, Stella Soffía Jóhannesdóttir was delighted with the acquisition, to be published alongside the likes of Lee Child, Jo Nesbø and Pierre Lemaitre:

“The Angels of Hammurabi is a highly original and thrilling read, it‘s fast paced and impossible to put down. It‘s an action thriller which truly stands out.”

The German edition of The Angels of Hammurabi will be published by Blanvalet in January 2018 as ‘Der gesetzlose Richter’ (The Lawless Judge) – their cover treatment can be seen above right.

Mephisto’s Touch, the standalone sequel to The Angels of Hammurabi, will be published in Finland this August by Tammi.

Request reading materials for The Angels of Hammurabi

Meanwhile, in Italy, Leena Parkkinen’s novel, The Decent Ingredient (Teos, 2016) sold to indie publisher Sovera’s newly-launched imprint, Aspasia, which will be publishing undiscovered voices in European literature with a bias towards female voices.

“Among our different voices of European countries we love Finland to be represented by The Decent Ingredient because the voice of Leena Parkkinen is particularly inspiring. Her story full of events and nuances is going to impress our Italian readers.” – Chiara Macconi, Sovera Edizioni

The Decent Ingredient, a Cold War domestic drama set in Helsinki in 1956, features forbidden love and dangerous secrets. And food, which reflects life, love, class, sexuality and politics throughout this richly-detailed novel. Parkkinen’s award-winning works have been translated into seven languages to date.

Request reading materials for The Decent Ingredient

Publishers of The Angels of Hammurabi:
FINLAND, Tammi (Original publisher)
ESTONIA, Pegasus
GERMANY, Blanvalet
ICELAND, Forlagid

Publishers of The Decent Ingredient:
FINLAND, Teos (Original publisher)
ITALY, Sovera Edizioni/Aspasia

About author


Leena Parkkinen

Leena Parkkinen has authored three prize-winning adults’ novels set in 20th century Europe, often about people living at the margins society. Her skillful use of detail is often imbued with an element of suspense. She has also written two children’s story books.

Parkkinen has received numerous literary awards, such as Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for the best debut (2009), Academic Bookshop’s Bestselling Debut Prize (2009), Laila Hirvisaari Award (2010) and the Kalevi Jäntti Prize (2013), in addition to being nominated for the Tulenkantaja Export Prize 2017. Her works have been translated into seven languages to date.

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About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

Max Seeck - New York Times Bestselling Author of THE WITCH HUNTER.

Winner of the prestigious Glass Key Award 2023 for his novel THE LAST GRUDGE.

“Another star has been added to the firmament of thriller writers,” announced Iltalehti newspaper, when Max’s debut novel was published in 2016. Four books later, Max Seeck’s novels have been sold to more than 40 countries, including US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries and as far as Korea!

His debut trilogy following protagonist Daniel Kuisma sold over 40,000 copies in Finland. His Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! 2024 will see the release of his independent novel MILO, which is already creating buzz internationally with several rights pre-empts ahead of the Finnish publication!

Max Seeck has a background in sales and marketing, and has lately been able to dedicate his time to his lifelong love of writing. His interests include well-conducted research, reading Nordic Noir and listening to movie soundtracks as he writes.

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