Joona Keskitalo’s The Outback series has surpassed an impressive 20,000 copies in Finland this month! The first book, The Island Torn Apart, was published in February 2024, followed by the second book, The Swamp That Sank, in November 2024. The third part, Howl of the Arctic Fell, will be published in summer 2025 and the fourth book is set to be published fall 2025.
THE OUTBACK SERIES is written by Joona Keskitalo, hailed as the “Finnish Jens Lapidus”. In this series local communities in different parts of Finland solve crimes with their own strength and questionable means. Each book is a standalone story with its own unique characters crating gripping, thriller-like, stories to the far ends of Finland’s dirt roads. The series gives an alternative to police procedurals – crimes as seen from the perspective of local people caught up in them.
The series has drawn comparisons to Fargo, the darkly absurd TV show inspired by the Coen brothers’ iconic film, known for its mix of mystery, unexpected violence, and pitch-black humor. Much like Fargo, The Outback series blends the bizarre with the brutal, offering a fresh twist on crime and community. Besides its tone, the changing landscape and characters also make the series similar to Fargo, which introduces a new setup and set of characters each season.
”It is very exceptional, that within a few months, the same author delivers two completely different works, both of which are absolutely perfect thrillers. — Surprise combined with a high skill in storytelling. That’s what Keskitalo’s contribution to Finnish crime fiction is.”
– Kai Hirvasnoro, Kulttuuriuutiset
Request reading materials for the OUTBACK series here
The Outback Series #1: The Island Torn Apart
Joona Keskitalo
Korppoo: a place where many have died
It’s a beautiful place – serene, a little piece of paradise – by the name of Korppoo. A place where people offer apple pie to passers-by and lend their tractor to their neighbors. Where everyone greets each other, joys are shared and grudges are borne forever. Then, Jennifer from Helsinki buys a guest marina on the island and brings death with her.
Sigge Boman, an embittered ferryman who lost the family boat to gambling, decides to get his own back. However, his liquor-soaked revenge expedition takes an unexpected turn when a floating corpse gets caught up on the bow of Sigge’s miserable outboard motorboat. He peers to look, stumbles, and sinks into the icy depths, clinging on tightly to the stiff body. He is rescued at the last minute and his drunken bungling is misinterpreted as a heroic rescue attempt. For the first time in his life, Sigge is appreciated – and that’s easy to get hooked on
Meanwhile, a new inn owner arrives on the island, the good-hearted Jennifer who brings death with her. Empty boats drift on the sea and a feeling of unease spreads among the islanders. Are these strange events just chance, or is everything somehow linked to Jennifer’s high-flying plans? Or is it the three Russians snapping up properties in the area at an ever-faster pace?
The Island Torn Apart promises the reader at least one thing – when the earth’s crust tears, things will be revealed that no one would have dared to dig out.
The Outback Series #2: The Swamp That Sank
Joona Keskitalo
Revonlahti, the final break from life.
The Lehtonens, who own the only gas station in their home village,have gathered to wait for information on whether the Kaske family will get a permit for a competing new gas station from the municipality. 17-year-old Maria would rather be dead than spend the evening at home. When she finally manages to sneak onto the village road, it brings her the Volvo Amazon and its forbidden fruit, Teemu Kaske. The next morning, Maria remembers the back seat of the car, Teemu, and her father’s rage. The taste of alcohol. But not why she is covered in blood.
The events from years ago haunt Maria after she returns from prison to her home region of Revonlahti. The villagers do not celebrate the parricide’s homecoming, and when new bodies are found in a nearby swamp, Maria is forced to try once again to find out what really happened.
The Outback Series #3: Howl of the Arctic Fell
Joona Keskitalo
Muonio, a place to live and a place to die.
Janita left her home in Muonio night with the love of her life again. Nine hours later, she finds it hard to remember what about him she fell in love with. But today, the mild aftertaste of a love adventure turns promisingly sweet.
Janita, 27, has been living out of control, and has accumulated debts to every other woman in Muni. All that’s left is her own house, where an old man called Odd lives in the backyard. Despite a neighbourly fiend, the nightly chosen one offers to buy Janita’s house out of the blue. So all is for the better, or would be if the by-product of a property inspection didn’t turn up a corpse – and if Odd stayed on his own property.
In Joona Keskitalo’s Outback series, local communities across Finland investigate crimes with their own strength and questionable means, and each book is an independent narrative with its own inimitable characters.
THE OUTBACK SERIES #1: THE ISLAND TORN APART
SAARI, JOKA REPESI
Bazar, February 2024, 400 pp.
READING MATERIALS
English synopsis
English sample
RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Bazar (orig.)
THE OUTBACK SERIES #2: THE SWAMP THAT SANK
SUO, JOKA UPPOSI
Bazar, November 2024, 320 pp.
READING MATERIALS
English synopsis
RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Bazar (orig.)
THE OUTBACK SERIES #3: HOWL OF THE ARCTIC FELL
TUNTURI, JOKA ULVOI
Bazar, Summer 2025
READING MATERIALS
English synopsis
RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Bazar (orig.)