Father found dead by the shore. A community where everyone knows everyone. Secrets of the past. Will the answers be found before it is too late?

After living abroad for many years, thirty-something Ronja returns to her childhood home in Lauttasaari, Helsinki after her father is found murdered by the seaside. Welcoming her back are a group of old friends whom it’s both comforting and painful to see again, and the young police officer assigned to the case who does not seem to be doing his work properly.

Unsatisfied with the police, Ronja decides to start investigating the background of her distant father. In the process she uncovers the old secrets of the community that have been kept under wraps until now, and puts her own life on the line. When everyone knows everyone, each person becomes a suspect.

PRAISE:
“This debutant has crafted a multifaceted, clever, surprising and truly entertaining plot, which is evidence of her talent for this specific genre.” – Antti Majander in Helsingin Sanomat

The second title in the Ronja Vaara crime series from the rising star of Finnish crime literature takes the reader to the shadows of a pulsing summer night.

A late spring heat wave caresses the people of Lauttasaari, and Ronja Vaara is pleasantly busy with her new job at the local newspaper. When the body of a young woman is found on Käärmesaari (Serpent Island) near Helsinki, Ronja’s new boss senses an opportunity to make the newspaper the prime source for any information on the case. Reluctantly, Ronja contacts the chief investigator Anton Koivu, who is surprisingly willing to leak confidential information to Ronja – if she does him a favor in return.

Soon, another death shocks the people of Lauttasaari. Koivu and his team pick up the pace to solve the cases, but a surprising guest from the past throws them off balance.