Lili Flame Investigates: Murder at the Mansion

Laura Andersson

Original title: Kuolema Kulosaaressa

Author: Laura Andersson

Published: 2022

Publisher: Otava

Genre: Crime & Suspense

Pages: 415

Part of a series: Lili Flame Investigates

Reading material:

English sample and synopsis, series bible

The beginning of this feel-good crime series is filled with the glory of old-time detective novels and charms with its wit!

Post-war Helsinki is full of people looking to build a new life, and Lili Flame, who spent the war years in the US as a housemaid, is among them. However, the housekeeping gets swept aside when Lili breaks away from the traditional womanly roles of her time and begins a career as a private eye solving crimes which are too sensitive for the police. Lili gets help from her husband, a gay man who's becoming a companion like no other - even if the true nature of their marriage has to be kept a secret. The first case leads her to the party of a rich corporate family. The glamor and glitz of this segment of society is blinding, until the investigation takes a tragic turn and Lili realizes she has a much bigger mystery on her hands than she thought.

Inspired by Agatha Christie and the screwball comedies of the 30s, Lili and her curiosity will delight anyone looking for a good mystery, humor, and a little escapism!

The narration flows swiftly, and the location of post-war Helsinki feels fresh. Lili is a heroine well suited there: a woman of the new era with her own will and a quick wit.

Salla Stotesbury in Kodin Kuvalehti magazine, Finland

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

About author

Laura Andersson

Laura Andersson has been working in the publishing industry for 15 years. During her career she’s been involved in launching a YA book festival in Finland and creating an award-winning publishing program for the Finnish gaming mega-brand Angry Birds. Andersson is a long-time fan of both Agatha Christie and the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, both of which have inspired Lili Flame. She also found inspiration in the life story of Finland’s first female president, Tarja Halonen. The stylishly old-fashioned name of Ms. Halonen’s mother, Lyyli Loimola, made her first think of the character of Lili and about the possibility of creating a cool, historical crime series. Prior to writing Lili Flame, Andersson had been teaching Finnish parents and their babies good sleep habits, and her autobiographical non-fiction book The Baby Sleep Project, has become required reading among Finnish families. Andersson was born, and continues to live, in Helsinki, Finland. She loves her city deeply, and its historical layers keep feeding her imagination. She’s most curious about those aspects of the city’s past that are not part of the official historical narrative. In her free time, Andersson is passionate about books, horses, wine, and the circus.

Bibliography


2024, Crime & Suspense

Laura Andersson

Lili Flame Investigates: The Case of the Girls' Orphanage


2023, Crime & Suspense

Laura Andersson

Lili Flame Investigates: The Mystery of the Circus Woman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Laura Andersson

Lili Flame Investigates: Murder at the Mansion