3rd book in FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy by Spiegel Bestselling author Martta Kaukonen sold to Germany!

We are very excited to announce that Spiegel bestselling author Martta Kaukonen’s 3rd Follow the Butterfly thriller, Free, has been acquired by her German publisher Heyne in a pre-publication dealThe deal was closed by Martti Berner.

Congratulations to Martta Kaukonen, and Heyne! The anticipated third book in FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy will be published in Finland in May 2025.

Published as Therapiert in Germany, the first book has sold close to 30,000 copies and it hit the Spiegel bestseller list. The sequel, Traumatisiert, was just published in March.

Film and TV rights have been acquired by Legendary Tobis. Martta Kaukonen’s work has received glowing starred reviews everywhere it has been published. Last year Follow the Butterfly was nominated for Germany’s Viktor Crime Award  and for the prestigious Danish Glass Key Award.

 

Praise from UK authors of FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY:

“The premise is highly original and flawlessly executed, with an unexpected, ingenious twist at the end. The play between the patient and serial killer, Ida and her celebrity therapist, Clarissa, is deftly crafted, luring the reader in and entangling them in their web of deception. It is an utterly compelling, gripping read with an explosive conclusion.
Danielle Ramsay, author novel the Perfect Husband

“Dark, clever and hugely suspenseful, Follow the Butterfly is a breathtakingly fast-paced, original debut with vivid, intriguing characters and a masterfully constructed, compelling plotline that sinks its teeth into you from the first and doesn’t let go. Kaukonen’s writing is flawless, poignant and addictive, while the ending blew me away.”
-A. A. Chaudhuri, bestselling author of Under Her Roof

“Surprising, fresh and almost indecently fun, with two brilliantly original female leads and a sinuous plot that keeps you guessing until the very last page.”
-Tammy Cohen, author of The Wedding Party

“Breathlessly plotted, deviously constructed, and brought to vivid, twisted life by an antiheroine for the ages, FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY is an utterly beguiling debut. This isn’t just a thriller you sink your teeth into—it’s a thriller that sinks its teeth right back into you.”
-Elizabeth Little, author of Pretty as a Picture

 

Want to be part of this phenomenon? Rights are still available in Sweden, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Japan, Ukraine and more!

Click here to request reading materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy!

 


Book #1: FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY

by Martta Kaukonen

An addictive psychological thriller in the spirit of Gillian Flynn

Ira, 20, a serial killer who was abducted as a child, starts therapy with celebrity therapist Clarissa. Only one of them knows that they share a mutual secret from the past. Will the other one realize it before she gets murdered?

Clarissa is a middle-aged psychotherapist, the best in her field. She is familiar to everyone from her TV appearances and from glossy magazines. For her, every patient is a princess. And someone only she can save. Or can she? Clarissa already has one suicide to answer for; a teenage boy’s death never seizes to haunt her.

When Ira becomes Clarissa’s patient, a cat-and-mouse game begins in which rules are followed by no one. The kind of game that never ends well.

Book #2: MEET ME IN THE DARKNESS
by Martta Kaukonen

Nothing is as it seems.

Four years have passed since the events of Follow the Butterfly. Ira and Arto have teamed up, and both work as crime journalists for the Helsinki Today. Everything’s going nicely, until Ira starts suspecting there’s a serial killer on the loose in Helsinki.

The murders are investigated by Senior Crime Inspector Kerttu Leppänen, who leads the murder unit and eagerly waits for retirement. Unsolved cases haunt Kerttu, who is unable to forgive herself.

The past catches up with all of them – if they were ever free from its clutches in the first place…

Book #3: FREE
by Martta Kaukonen

Is it worth digging up the truth?

It’s 1995. Detective Chief Inspector Kerttu Leppänen and her spouse, Inspector Esko Koivuvyö, are tasked with investigating the murder of a middle-aged woman. However, the crime scene presents a mystery that complicates the investigation: beside the body, there is a bloody knife on a pillow, even though it cannot be the murder weapon.

Thirty years later, Ira is determined to uncover the truth about her parents’ marriage. Why did her mother Marja fear her father Arto? And why does Arto refuse to answer Ira’s questions? Across different decades, Kerttu and Ira each come to the same realization: if you uncover the truth, you must be prepared to face its consequences.

Book #1: Follow the Butterfly
TERAPIASSA
WSOY, 2021, 471 pp.

Reading materials: English edition, German Edition

Book #2: Meet me in the Darkness
HENGISSÄ
WSOY, 2023, 272 pp.

Reading materials: German edition, unedited English manuscript

Book #3: Free
POISSA
WSOY, 2025, 300 pp.

Reading materials: English synopsis, Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Albatros Media
DENMARK: Forlaget Falco
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
FILM & TV: Legendary Tobis TV
GERMANY: Heyne (3 books)
GREECE: Psichogios (2 books)
HUNGARY: Partvonal Kiadó (2 books)
ICELAND: Storytel (3 books)
LATVIA: Jumava
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
POLAND: Czarna Owca (2 books)
UNITED KINGDOM: Pushkin Press (2 books)
UNITED STATES: Pushkin Press (2 books)
WORLD ARABIC: Al Arabi Publishing
WORLD ENGLISH (Audio): Audible

 

About author


Martta Kaukonen

Martta Kaukonen (1976) lives in Helsinki. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a film critic, whose reviews have been published in both Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and a popular women’s weekly magazine Me Naiset. Martta has a master’s degree in arts. She has interviewed the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Justin Bieber. Martta met her husband at his second hand bookshop and fell in love. Alongside writing, Martta loves psychological thrillers, film noir, flea markets, abandoned houses and travelling. 

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Free

Martta Kaukonen


2023, Crime & Suspense

Meet Me in the Darkness

Martta Kaukonen


2022, Crime & Suspense

In Your Shadow

Martta Kaukonen


2021, Crime & Suspense

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

13,000 copies sold for CRIMSON WEB by Aamos Honka!

We are excited to report that Aamos Honka‘s espionage thriller Crimson Web has sold more than 13,000 copies in Finland!

Originally published in Finland in January, Crimson Web has been one of the bestselling fiction titles in Finland and has received outstanding reviews from the critics and the readers:

Did the best domestic thriller of 2025 arrive on the very first day of the year? Or at least the best debut novel? It’s possible, because Aamos Honka’s Crimson Web is quite a punch for fans of thrillers based on international politics. – A new star has just appeared in Finland’s thriller sky.”
– Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

One rarely encounters as great a debut thriller as [—] Aamos Honka’s literary debut Crimson Web, published in January. [—] In his novel, Honka has succeeded in creating a thrilling and even authentic atmosphere that keeps [the readers] in its grip until the end.”
– Jari Olavi Hiltunen, Satakunnan Kansa newspaper

The book delivers absolutely brilliant intensity. The thriller draws you in and keeps you tightly in its grip. At times, the pace is downright breathtakingly exciting. Aamos Honka seems to really know the ingredients of a good thriller. The reader doesn’t have to be an expert of the field to get a grasp of the novel’s world, and the narration is pleasantly easy to read. [—] in the reader’s mind there is a constant thought that all of this could probably happen in real life as well.
– Luetut.net book blog

”With his debut, Aamos Honka made my blood run cold. – When things get going, they do so with such speed and astonishment that even the most cynical reader is left breathless. – The series starts off quite powerfully, so expectations are high for what follows.
– Kirsin kirjanurkka blog

Additionally, Aamos Honka’s publisher Gummerus has revealed the cover for the sequel to Crimson Web – Article 5 (Viides artikla in original Finnish)!

Slated to be published in Finland in November, Article 5 sees the Finnish intelligence officer Janne Peura discover that Russia is executing a cold, calculated strategy to destabilize NATO’s unity. As geopolitical tensions escalate and the stakes of the operation rise, Peura must find a way to expose Russia’s true plan before it leads to open conflict – but every move could be a deception masking an even greater scheme.

Download materials for CRIMSON WEB here!

Crimson Web

Aamos Honka

A frighteningly topical debut thriller from an insider in the intelligence world, revealing the hidden heart of secrets ops and hybrid warfare.

Planes collide in London. Electricity and information networks are attacked in Finland. Janne Peura from military intelligence and Laura Vesterinen from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service track down signs of foreign power operations. When Janne and Laura’s lines cross, they take on major roles in a high stakes international game.

Once you read the book, the news headlines will never look the same to you.

Article 5, book #2 in the Janne Peura series, is slated to be published in Finland in November 2025.

CRIMSON WEB
PUNAINEN VERKKO
Gummerus, 2025, 489 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample (chapters 1-6)
German sample (chapters 7-12)
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)

About author


Aamos Honka

Aamos Honka has been a part of the Finnish intelligence community for over a decade and continues to work for the Finnish government. Drawing from his professional expertise, Aamos crafts gripping and realistic thrillers that delve deep into the high-stakes world of international espionage. He lives with his family in the picturesque Finnish archipelago, where he finds inspiration for his writing. In his free time, Aamos enjoys hunting and ice swimming.

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Crimson Web

Aamos Honka

THE LAST GRUDGE and GHOST ISLAND by NYT bestselling author Max Seeck sold to Turkey!

We are happy to let you know that the Turkish rights to The Last Grudge and Ghost Island, books #3 and #4 in the Jessica Niemi series by The New York Times and Spiegel bestselling author Max Seeck, have been acquired by Doğan Kitap! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency.

Doğan Kitap is part of Doğan Yayınları, one of Turkey’s leading book and magazine publishers. Doğan Kitap’s authors include Ragnar Jónasson, Lars Kepler, Tess Gerritsen, Camilla Läckberg, Jo Nesbø, Jean-Christopher Grangé, etc.

Rights for Max Seeck’s novels, including the Jessica Niemi series, have been sold to 41 territories, Max Seeck’s novels have sold more than 1,000,000 copies internationally, and have earned Max the Glass Key Award of 2023 (for The Last Grudge)! Additionally, a TV series based on the Jessica Niemi novels is in development by Greg Silverman/Stampede Ventures, while Solar Films is adapting Max’s latest novel Milo as an international TV series!

Download materials for the JESSICA NIEMI series here!

The Last Grudge

Max Seeck

Winner of the Glass Key Award 2023! The third installment in the NYT-bestselling series!

A prominent business executive Eliel Zetterborg is found brutally murdered in his home in Helsinki. The company he led has just announced drastic cutbacks and Zetterborg gained hundreds of enemies and death threats in the process.

But the murder motive become less clear, when the police finds out that the murderer had other targets as well. The only clue the police has is a photo of Zetterborg with three other men, whose faces are all scratched off. Who are the faceless men, and why can’t the police identify them? Are they other victims? Or something more sinister?

While Jessica Niemi suffers from a mental breakdown after her encounter with the witch coven, Jusuf gets a chance to lead the investigations and prove his skills as a police officer, while helping Jessica battle her demons that seem to come closer and closer…

Ghost Island

Max Seeck

The fourth title in the NYT-bestselling Jessica Niemi series!

A month after solving the Zetterborg case, Jessica Niemi is ordered on paid leave after an altercation, and she decides to travel to a small island in the Åland archipelago to escape the attention and find some peace. Meanwhile, a group of old people arrive on the same island, and Jessica learns that they are the remaining members of the Doves, the people who had to flee from Finland to Sweden during World War II and ended up living in an orphanage on the very same island.

One evening, Jessica hears a local legend about a girl who also inhabited the orphanage once, but who was mentally ill. Every night at two o’clock, the girl put on her blue coat and went to stand on the pier, waiting for something that never showed up. One night she disappeared and was never found. That same night, one of the remaining Doves dies.

Jessica soon finds out that two other people have previously faced the same fate on the same island, and all three people seem to have something to do with the girl in the blue coat. A chain of events starts to escalate, and we don’t know whether we’re facing a killer or – just like the legend says – a ghost, the girl in the blue coat.

Jessica Niemi is once again facing a scary mystery where the stakes are considerable. Whilst battling her own demons, uncertain what is real and what is not, she needs to find out the truth.

THE WITCH HUNTER
USKOLLINEN LUKIJA
Tammi, 2019, 400 pp.

THE ICE COVEN
PAHAN VERKKO
Tammi, 2020, 370 pp.

THE LAST GRUDGE
KAUNA
Tammi, 2021, 390 pp.

GHOST ISLAND
LOUKKO
Tammi, 2022, 358 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English editions

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
ARABIC: Arab Scientific Publishers (World Arabic)
ARMENIA: Guitank
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BELGIUM: A.W. Bruna
BULGARIA: EMAS
CANADA: Berkley/Penguin Random House
CROATIA: Fokus (Book 1)
CZECHIA: Grada
DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Pegasus
FRANCE: Michel Lafon (Books 1-2)
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
GREECE: Livanis (Book 1-2)
HUNGARY: Animus
ICELAND: Forlagid
ISRAEL: Tchelet Books (Book 1)
ITALY: Piemme (Books 1-2)
KOREA: Cheongmirae
LATIN AMERICA: Editorial Maeva/Maeva Noir
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
LITHUANIA: Baltos lankos (Book 1)
NETHERLANDS: A.W. Bruna
NORTH MACEDONIA: Matica
NORWAY: Aschehoug
POLAND: Sonia Draga (Books 1-2)
PORTUGAL: Bertrand Editora (Books 1-2)
ROMANIA: Litera (Books 1-2)
RUSSIA: AST
SERBIA: Vulkan
SLOVAKIA: Motýľ
SLOVENIA: Didakta
SPAIN: Editorial Maeva/Maeva Noir (Book 1)
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
TURKEY: Doğan Kitap
UKRAINE: Family Leisure Club’
UNITED KINGDOM & COMMONWEALTH: Welbeck Publishing UK
UNITED STATES: Berkley/Penguin Random House
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Stampede Ventures (Greg Silverman)

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.

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

“An exceptional combination of hardboiled Scandi-noir and eerie ghost story. [--] Seeck marries breathtaking suspense with an expertly drawn heroine. This is guaranteed to send shivers up even the most unshakable readers’ spines." – Publisher's Weekly, starred review (Ghost island)

"Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year's winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction." - Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

“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 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.

Bibliography


2024, Crime & Suspense

Milo

Max Seeck


2022, Crime & Suspense

Ghost Island

Max Seeck


2021, Crime & Suspense

The Last Grudge

Max Seeck


2020, Crime & Suspense

The Ice Coven

Max Seeck


2019, Crime & Suspense

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Mephisto Touch

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Call of Hades

Max Seeck


2016, Crime & Suspense

Angels of Hammurabi

Max Seeck

FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY by Martta Kaukonen a bestseller in Italy!

We are excited to let you know that Butterfly, the Italian edition of Martta Kaukonen‘s international bestseller Follow the Butterfly, has sold more than 20,000 copies in Italy!

On top of this excellent sales success, Martta Kaukonen was interviewed by fellow crime and thriller author Nadine Matheson on her The Conversation with Nadine Matheson podcast! They discussed topics such as Martta’s original inspiration for the main character of her novel Follow the Butterfly and how we are often stopped from pursuing our dreams by obstacles that we have set ourselves.

You can listen to the podcast her: Martta Kaukonen: The Voice in –The Conversation with Nadine Matheson – Apple Podcasts

Follow the Butterfly has been sold to 16 territories!
Rights are available in, e.g., France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Spain, Romania…

Download materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY here!

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

Can she cure a killer? An addictive psychological thriller in the spirit of Gillian Flynn!

Ira, 20, a serial killer who was abducted as a child, starts therapy with celebrity therapist Clarissa. Only one of them knows that they share a mutual secret from the past. Will the other one realize it before she gets murdered?

Clarissa is a middle-aged psychotherapist, the best in her field. She is familiar to everyone from her TV appearances and from glossy magazines. For her, every patient is a princess. And someone only she can save. Or can she? Clarissa already has one suicide to answer for; a teenage boy’s death never seizes to haunt her.

When Ira becomes Clarissa’s patient, a cat-and-mouse game begins in which rules are followed by no one. The kind of game that never ends well.

FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY
TERAPIASSA
WSOY, 2021, 471 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition
German edition
Italian edition
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Kniha Zlin/Albatros
DENMARK: Falco
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
GERMANY: Heyne
GREECE: Psichogios
HUNGARY: Partvonal
ITALY: Longanesi
ICELAND: Storytel
LATVIA: Jumava
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
POLAND: Czarna Owca
UNITED KINGDOM: Pushkin Press
UNITED STATES: Pushkin Press
WORLD ARABIC: Al Arabi Publishing
WORLD ENGLISH (Audio): Audible

About author


Martta Kaukonen

Martta Kaukonen (1976) lives in Helsinki. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a film critic, whose reviews have been published in both Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and a popular women’s weekly magazine Me Naiset. Martta has a master’s degree in arts. She has interviewed the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Justin Bieber. Martta met her husband at his second hand bookshop and fell in love. Alongside writing, Martta loves psychological thrillers, film noir, flea markets, abandoned houses and travelling. 

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Free

Martta Kaukonen


2023, Crime & Suspense

Meet Me in the Darkness

Martta Kaukonen


2022, Crime & Suspense

In Your Shadow

Martta Kaukonen


2021, Crime & Suspense

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

Bestseller titles from the Ahlback Agency!

Titles represented by the Ahlback Agency have been on the official bestseller lists of Finland in March 2025!

What Finland Reads is a monthly statistic compiled by the Booksellers’ Association of Finland, which brings together the best-selling literature in Finland. The list includes literature in print form as well as audio and e-books.

 

Dad Man and the Mysterious Puppet Master by Arttu Unkari and Kai Vaalio is included in both All Genres and Children’s and Young Adult lists.

In Finnish literature list you can find Crimson Web by Aamos Honka, which has been one of the most purchased books in Finland since it’s release in January!

Stop Chasing Happiness: A Pessimist’s Guide to a Good Life by Frank Martela can be found on the most purchased Non-Fiction books list.

Traces by Anna Harju is one of the most purchased print books. Traces has been on the best selling lists since it’s release in January!

Princess Rascal and the Dark Fairy by Elina Hirvonen and Mervi Lindman is one of the most purchased Children’s and Young Adult books in e-book form.

 

Dad Man and the Mysterious Puppet Master

BY ARTTU UNKARI AND KAI VAALIO

The quirkiest cop in town! The Dad Man Series offers fast-paced adventures and humour for all ages – especially lower middle grade.

✓ Bestselling series: over 200,000 copies sold in Finland!

✓ Rights sold to Germany (2 books) and Denmark (2 books)!

✓ Perfect for reluctant readers and for fans of David Walliams and Captain Underpants

✓ All books in the series have been nominated for the Storytel awards Best children’s audiobook prize!

✓ Books in the series have also been recognized with Best Newcomer of the Year 2020, and the Runeberg Prize 2023!

✓ Bold and fresh 4-colour comic-book style artwork that add visual jokes to the narration

✓ Work as standalones and can be read in any order!

The wackiest cop in town is messing up again! A fast-paced adventure full of humor for elementary school readers.

A supervillain calling himself the Mysterious Puppet Master robs the Museum of Ancient Diseases and threatens to unleash deadly germs if the city’s smartest detective doesn’t complete the tasks he’s assigned.

Who else but Dadman rises heroically to the challenge, dragging Oona and the gang back into action. They must solve the Puppet Master’s riddles before it’s too late — and before Dadman ruins everything. Because those tasks? They’re not quite as heroic as Dadman thought..

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

Crimson Web

BY AAMOS HONKA

A frighteningly topical debut thriller from an insider in the intelligence world, revealing the hidden heart of secrets ops and hybrid warfare.

Planes collide in London. Electricity and information networks are attacked in Finland. Janne Peura from military intelligence and Laura Vesterinen from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service track down signs of foreign power operations. When Janne and Laura’s lines cross, they take on major roles in a high stakes international game.

Once you read the book, the news headlines will never look the same to you.

The sequel to Crimson Web, book #2 in the Janne Peura series, is slated to be published in Finland in November 2025.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

Stop Chasing Happiness: A Pessimist’s Guide to a Good Life

BY FRANK MARTELA

A guide to finding happiness by Finland’s leading happiness expert UK publication on March 20, 2025!

✓  World English rights sold to Allen & Unwin, German rights to Knesebeck, and Finnish rights at auction to Gummerus!

✓ Full English manuscript available!

✓  Frank Martela, PhD, is Finland’s #1 internationally bestselling non-fiction author – his previous title, A Wonderful Life, has been sold to 30 countries!

✓  A unique blend of personal stories and quirky anecdotes combined with deep understanding of the latest psychological research on well-being

✓  Finland has been ranked the happiest country 7 times in a row and Frank Martela has explained the secret to Finnish happiness for Fox NewsNew York TimesScientific American and New Scientist.

What if the secret to happiness isn’t finding it—but letting it go?

In a world obsessed with success and self-improvement, the chase for happiness often leaves us feeling lost. The real path to contentment lies in unlearning the habits holding you back: stop obsessing over what others think, stop being so sensitive about your feelings, stop measuring your value by what you have.

In Stop Chasing Happiness, academic and philosopher Frank Martela – hailing from Finland, the world’s happiest country – reveals why our fixation on happiness and achievement is making us miserable. With wisdom rooted in science, philosophy, and personal experience, Martela shows you the path to a life of energized contentment.

Through this transformative book, you’ll discover:

* the courage to free yourself from the pressures of what you should do

* the serenity to accept whatever life throws at you

* the sparkle to energetically pursue whatever you identify as your real values.

Stop the anxious chase. You have already arrived. Start living your own life through accepting the past, enjoying the present, and working towards a better future – it all starts here.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

Traces

BY ANNA HARJU

“Perfect suspense!” – Max Seeck, New York Times bestselling author

The opening of a gripping crime series set in trendy Tampere. Taro Auramo Series #1

There are secrets whose revelation will have fatal consequences. There is no escaping them, no matter how hard you try. Must one always pay for their mistakes?

A well-liked pharmacist is found murdered at his workplace. Suspicion falls on pharmacist Joanna Vihervuori, the last person to see her boss alive. Joanna insists she is innocent, but the case begins to twist around her in a strange way.

For Tampere Police Detective Inspector Taro Auramo, this murder investigation is the place to prove himself. The white dust on the dead pharmacist’s cheek raises doubts about whether his business is completely clean, and soon nothing will be as it seems.

Psychologically astute and utterly addictive, Traces is the first in the Taro Auramo crime series set in Tampere. Book #2 is slated to be published in 2026 and book #3 in 2027.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

Princess Rascal and the Dark Fairy

BY ELINA HIRVONEN AND MERVI LINDMAN

A picture book about being scared of the dark

✓ Shows day-to-day challenges of families with children with a lot of warmth and humor

✓ Rights in series sold into 5 languages

Would a crown of courage or a string of pearls with happy things help in the dark?

Beloved Princess Rascal is a little girl with big feelings and magical powers. The popular picture book series continues!

Princess Rascal stays awake all night, because there’s a monster under her bed. No one believes that, but Princess Rascal knows it’s true. She feels that no one else has such big worries and that no one else is even afraid of anything! Somehow this problem has to be solved: could there be something in Princess Rascal’s toy box that could help?

The Princess Rämäpää series by Elina Hirvonen and Mervi Lindman takes the reader on magical adventures that can be found right in the middle of everyday life, as long as you have enough imagination.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

DAD MAN AND THE MYSTERIOUS PUPPET MASTER
ISÄMIES JA SALAPERÄINEN NUKKEMESTARI
Otava, 2025, 176 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
Finnish pdfs books 1-6
German edition books 1-2
Danish edition book 1
English sample book 4

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: Bogoo (2 books)
GERMANY: Mixtvision (2 books)

 

CRIMSON WEB
PUNAINEN VERKKO
Gummerus, 2025, 489 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)

 

STOP CHASING HAPPINESS: A PESSIMIST’S GUIDE TO A GOOD LIFE
ÄLÄ ETSI ONNEA: EPÄTYYPILLISIÄ ELÄMÄNOHJEITA NYKYIHMISELLE
Allen & Unwin, 2025, 200 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
Full English edition
English chapters

RIGHTS SOLD:
UK: Allen & Unwin (orig.)
FINLAND: Gummerus
GERMANY: Knesebeck
WORLD ENGLISH: Allen & Unwin

 

TRACES
JÄLJET
Tammi, 2025, 382 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English sample & synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE DARK FAIRY
PRINSESSA RÄMÄPÄÄ JA MÖRKÖTAIKA
Tammi, 2024, 44 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English sample & synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

About author


Aamos Honka

Aamos Honka has been a part of the Finnish intelligence community for over a decade and continues to work for the Finnish government. Drawing from his professional expertise, Aamos crafts gripping and realistic thrillers that delve deep into the high-stakes world of international espionage. He lives with his family in the picturesque Finnish archipelago, where he finds inspiration for his writing. In his free time, Aamos enjoys hunting and ice swimming.

About author


Anna Harju

Anna Harju (b. 1983) enjoys atmospheric detective stories with a compelling, complex plot. By profession, she is a translator and communication multitasker.

Traces is her debut novel and takes place in Tampere, where Harju is from.

About author


Arttu Unkari

Arttu Unkari is a teacher from Helsinki and a Master of Education (University of Helsinki, 2015) who majored in ethics and philosophy.  He combines his educational background and experience as a teacher in his books – his stories are anarchist and zany, but at the same time the humour often revolves around profound and intriguing concepts such as honesty, obedience, and morality in ways that speak to children in their own language. His books are enjoyed by adults as well because they contain layers that open up differently to readers of all ages. This is one of the reasons Dad Man is such a great series for the whole family.

As an author Unkari is a Runeberg prize nominee 2023 for the third instalment of the Dadman series: Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis (Isämies ja hyytävä hypnoosi, Otava 2022). The Runeberg Prize is a literary prize awarded by the newspaper Uusimaa, the City of Porvoo, the Finnish Writers' Union, the Finnish Critics' Association and the Finland’s-Swedish Writer’s Association. The prize was established in 1986 and it is awarded annually in Porvoo on 5th February, the day when Finland celebrates their national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg.  All of his previous books (Dad Man and the Exploding poop, Dad Man and the Evil Little Brother,  Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis and Dad Man and the Impossible Time Warp) have been nominated for best children’s audiobook in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Finnish Storytel awards. He’s also participated in making a Finnish language schoolbook (Loikka 3, Otava 2022).

Unkari is a sought after inspirational speaker in his home country. He’s visited schools all over Finland advocating for the importance of reading.

About author


Elina Hirvonen

Elina Hirvonen is an award-winning author of adults' and children's prose and documentary filmmaker whose works have been translated into many languages. Hirvonen’s debut novel, When I Forgot, made the front page of The New York Times Book Review, and received rave reviews from the Independent, Guardian, Financial Times and Globe and Mail.

Hirvonen has won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Young Aleksis Prize, has been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize. She has received the prestigious 2023 Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö Literary Foundation Award, recognizing the artistic independence and high standard of her writing.

Her new novel, The Logbook of Love, was published in Finland in August 2023. The Logbook of Love is the first part of a trilogy of novels that create their world through conversations.

About author


Frank Martela

Professor Frank Martela, PhD, is a philosopher and researcher of psychology specializing in the question of meaning in life. His articles have appeared in Scientific American Mind, Harvard Business Review, Salon, CNBC and his work has been featured on Quartz and on the BBC. His research has been published extensively in numerous academic journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Journal of Personality, Metaphilosophy, Southern Journal of Philosophy, and Academy of Management Review. He has spoken to more than one hundred audiences worldwide, including invited lectures in universities on five continents, including Stanford University and Harvard University. He’s been interviewed by the New York Times, Discover Magazine, New Scientist, Vice News, Fox News,and Monocle Observer among others. He is Assistant Professor at Aalto University in Finland. Outside of work, Frank is a father to three lovely children, an amateur-level soccer player, with an occasional skiing trip in the winters. He is made in Green Bay, so Packers holds a special place in his heart.

About author


Kai Vaalio

Kai Vaalio (b. 1986) is an illustrator, comic artist, and a bit of a cosmopolitan as well. He’s written and illustrated underground comic books for adults about his travels in South-East Asia and Latin America — the latter won Mondo magazine’s Travel book of the year award back in 2014. Recently he’s ventured into the world of illustrating children’s books mainly with Arttu Unkari’s Dad Man Series. Together they’ve made several books about this goofy detective and his clever little posse. The Dad Man Series has received Storytel Awards and Runeberg Junior 2023 award nominations. Vaalio’s been on and off in the graphic industry since 2005 when he graduated as a graphic designer from Lahti College of Arts and Crafts. In 2018 he got his bachelor’s degree from Lahti University of Applied Science.

MILO 2 by Max Seeck cover reveal

We are excited to share the amazing cover for Max Seeck’s bestselling MILO series, book #2: PETETTY.

New York Times & Spiegel Bestselling Author Max Seeck and his books have sold over 1 million copies worldwide and published in 41 countries!

Finland’s no. 1 Bestseller MILO, a psychological suspense novel with surprising twists and interesting facts about the game of chess, has sold over 45,000 copies, and starts a new series with a sequel publishing in September 2025.

Request reading materials for MILO series here!

about MILO:

MILO is a criminal profiler and art gallery owner struggling with sexual frustration who needs to understand the game of chess better in order to catch a killer.

The game has only just begun.

On a cold November evening, a body is discovered on the shore of Seurasaari. The victim’s skin is covered with a thick layer of white paint, and during the autopsy, a chess piece is found lodged in its throat.  The police are baffled. Why would the murderer go to such lengths to disguise the body? And why wasn’t there any attempt to hide it? Milo Perho, an art gallery owner specializing in profiling killers, is called in to assist. What follows is a nerve-wracking game where every move costs a life, and no one wants it to end in checkmate.

 

About MILO 2:

They know your every step.

When a strikingly beautiful woman sits across from art gallerist Milo Perho at a restaurant terrace in Helsinki, he has no idea where the meeting will lead. Soon, the Helsinki police are dealing with multiple murders, and someone is after Milo, someone who knows his past all too well. A deadly chase begins, where the predator could be anyone, and there’s nowhere to hide.

MILO 2 is a razor-sharp thriller set in the world of espionage. It continues the Milo series, following the story begun in book #1.

MILO
MERKITTY
Tammi, 2024, 400 pp.

Rights sold for MILO series:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Pegasus (2 books)
FRANCE: Mera Editions
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
ITALY: Piemme / Mondadori Group
JAPAN: Kodansha
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
NORWAY: Aschehoug
FILM & TV: Solar Films

READING MATERIALS:
50 p. English sample + synopsis, Finnish edition, German edition, French Edition, Synopsis of Book #2

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.

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

“An exceptional combination of hardboiled Scandi-noir and eerie ghost story. [--] Seeck marries breathtaking suspense with an expertly drawn heroine. This is guaranteed to send shivers up even the most unshakable readers’ spines." – Publisher's Weekly, starred review (Ghost island)

"Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year's winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction." - Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

“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 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.

Bibliography


2024, Crime & Suspense

Milo

Max Seeck


2022, Crime & Suspense

Ghost Island

Max Seeck


2021, Crime & Suspense

The Last Grudge

Max Seeck


2020, Crime & Suspense

The Ice Coven

Max Seeck


2019, Crime & Suspense

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Mephisto Touch

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Call of Hades

Max Seeck


2016, Crime & Suspense

Angels of Hammurabi

Max Seeck

Bestselling MAX SEECK 1 Million Copies Sold Globally!

We are over the moon to share the news that our International and New York Times & Spiegel Bestselling Author MAX SEECK and his novels are published in 41 countries, selling 1 million copies around the world!

Max Seeck ‘s books have been included in Vogue’s list of the best Nordic noir books of all time! Max Seeck is the Winner of the prestigious Glass Key Award. Recently, we announced that Kodansha in Japan will start publishing Max Seeck.

Hollywood calling – international TV news!

An international TV adaptation of THE WITCH HUNTER (a New York Times bestseller!) is in development with Stampede Ventures! Big news coming soon!

For the new series by Max Seeck, MILO, Solar Films is adapting Milo as an international TV series for global distribution, with production slated to commence in 2026!

Finland’s no. 1 Bestseller MILO, a psychological suspense novel with surprising twists and interesting facts about the game of chess, has sold over 45,000 copies, and starts a new series with a sequel publishing in September 2025.

In France, Méra Editions has just published “Echec et Mat” and in Germany, Bastei Lübbe will publish “Blindspiel” in June 2025, with Piemme/Mondadori in Italy, Aschehoug in Norway, Kodansha in Japan, Latvijas Medijii in Latvia, and Pegasus in Estonia to follow in 2026.

Request reading materials for JESSICA NIEMI series here!

Request reading materials for MILO series here!

About MILO:

MILO is a criminal profiler and art gallery owner struggling with sexual frustration who needs to understand the game of chess better in order to catch a killer.

The game has only just begun.

On a cold November evening, a body is discovered on the shore of Seurasaari. The victim’s skin is covered with a thick layer of white paint, and during the autopsy, a chess piece is found lodged in its throat.  The police are baffled. Why would the murderer go to such lengths to disguise the body? And why wasn’t there any attempt to hide it?  Milo Perho, an art gallery owner specializing in profiling killers, is called in to assist. What follows is a nerve-wracking game where every move costs a life, and no one wants it to end in checkmate.

About MILO 2:

They know your every step.

When a strikingly beautiful woman sits across from art gallerist Milo Perho at a restaurant terrace in Helsinki, he has no idea where the meeting will lead. Soon, the Helsinki police are dealing with multiple murders, and someone is after Milo, someone who knows his past all too well. A deadly chase begins, where the predator could be anyone, and there’s nowhere to hide.

MILO 2 is a razor-sharp thriller set in the world of espionage. It continues the Milo series, following the story begun in book #1.

Rights sold for MILO series:

FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Pegasus (2 books)
FRANCE: Mera Editions
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
ITALY: Piemme / Mondadori Group
JAPAN: Kodansha
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
NORWAY: Aschehoug
FILM & TV: Solar Films

Reading Materials:

50 p. English sample + synopsis, Finnish edition, German edition, French Edition, Synopsis of Book #2

Rights sold for Jessica Niemi series:

FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza (3 books)
ARABIC: Arab Scientific Publishers (World Arabic) (3 books)
ARMENIA: Guitank
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BELGIUM: A.W. Bruna (4 books)
BULGARIA: EMAS (4 books)
CANADA: Berkley/Penguin Random House (2-book-deal)
CROATIA: Fokus
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada (2 books)
DENMARK: Gutkind (4 books)
ESTONIA: Pegasus (4 books)
ICELAND: Forlagid
ISRAEL: Tchelet Books
ITALY: Piemme/Mondadori (2 books)
FRANCE: Michel Lafon (2 book)
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe (4 books)
GREECE: Livani (2 books)
HUNGARY: Animus (4 books)
KOREA: Cheongmirae
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji (4 books)
LATIN AMERICA (World Spanish): Editorial Maeva/Maeva Noir
LITHUANIA: Baltos lankos
MACEDONIA: Matica (2 booksl)
NETHERLANDS: A.W. Bruna (4 books)
NORWAY: Aschehoug (4 books)
POLAND: Sonia Draga (2-book-deal)
PORTUGAL: Bertrand Editora (2 books)
ROMANIA: Litera (2 books)
RUSSIA: AST
SERBIA: Vulkan (2 books)
SLOVENIA: Didakta (2 books)
SLOVAKIA: Motýľ (2 books)
SPAIN: Editorial Maeva/Maeva Noir
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag (4 books)
TURKEY: Doğan Kitap (2 books)
UKRAINE: Family Leisure Club
UNITED KINGDOM: Welbeck Publishing UK (4 books)
UNITED STATES: Berkley/Penguin Random House (4 books)
TV RIGHTS: Stampede Ventures

Reading Materials:
English editions, German editions, Finnish editions

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.

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

“An exceptional combination of hardboiled Scandi-noir and eerie ghost story. [--] Seeck marries breathtaking suspense with an expertly drawn heroine. This is guaranteed to send shivers up even the most unshakable readers’ spines." – Publisher's Weekly, starred review (Ghost island)

"Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year's winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction." - Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

“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 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.

Bibliography


2024, Crime & Suspense

Milo

Max Seeck


2022, Crime & Suspense

Ghost Island

Max Seeck


2021, Crime & Suspense

The Last Grudge

Max Seeck


2020, Crime & Suspense

The Ice Coven

Max Seeck


2019, Crime & Suspense

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Mephisto Touch

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Call of Hades

Max Seeck


2016, Crime & Suspense

Angels of Hammurabi

Max Seeck

Arttu Tuominen nominated for two awards in France!

Arttu Tuominen’s success in France continues as two of his books receive prestigious award nominations!

Silenced (Tous les silences) has been shortlisted as one of the eight novels for the Prix Le Point du Polar Européen, an annual award recognizing the best crime or thriller novel by a European author.

Jeopardy (La Revanche) has been listed as one of the ten finalists for the Prix du Meilleur Polar Points, further solidifying Tuominen’s reputation as a force in Nordic crime fiction.

Huge congratulations to Arttu! Winners will be announced early April at the Quais Polar festival!

“Arttu Tuominen, one of the rising stars of Nordic crime fiction. […] A captivating noir novel.”
– Le Figaro

The RIVER DELTA series by Arttu Tuominen has seen commercial success and garnered praise from readers and critics alike, both at home and abroad. In Finland alone, the series has sold over 230,000 copies. And to cement his status, Arttu Tuominen was voted top crime author by The Finnish Whodunnit Society in 2024.

Arttu Tuominen’s work has been compared to Henning Mankell, Jø. Nesbo and Stephen King. The series has risen to Spiegel Bestselling list in Germany and he was the first Finnish writer to be awarded with the Danish Palle Rosenkrantz Award, for book #2, JEOPARDY. He was also shortlisted for the Glass Key Award in 2021.

Set in the city of Pori by the Gulf of Bothnia, a Finnish police unit has to solve crimes that force them to consider their own acts and values. The series has sold to 6 territories, and each book can be read as a standalone.

Click here to request all materials for the RIVER DELTA series.

Arttu Tuominen’s thrillers are characterized by their solid style and skillful twists. Add to that the fact that Tuominen chooses current, socially engaged themes in his books. His work is among the best from Scandinavia.’
– Claudia van der Werf, Editor, De Fontein

River Delta #1: The Oath (2019): A Touching crime novel about secrets and guilt. Commissioner Jari Paloviita works on a murder case where the prime suspect is on old friend he feels indebted to.

River Delta #2: Jeopardy (2020): The grenade attack on the restaurant claims casualties – and at the same time threatens to expose Chief Commissioner Herik Oksman’s life-long secret.

River Delta #3: Silenced (2021): Pori police detectives Jari Paloviita, Linda Toivonen and Henrik Oksman are faced with an exceptionally cruel series of international crimes against elderly citizens.

River Delta #4: Shamed (2022): An investigation into a girl’s murder takes the police into the world of predators on the Internet and becomes personal for Linda Toivonen, whose daughter knew the victim.

River Delta #5: The Liberator (2023): The charred body of a man is discovered on a sports field in Pori. The victim had been doused with petrol and set on fire. Suspicions are directed at a group of young adults known to have harassed rough sleepers in the past.

River Delta #6: The Stager (2024):  On a remote forest farm a cruel killing is revealed. A family – mother, father, and their daughter – have all been murdered and embalmed, staged to watch television with their dog dead quiet by their feet. The killer is nicknamed Stager.

Publication Info:
WSOY
#1: The Oath (Verivelka, 2019)
#2: Jeopardy (Hyvitys, 2020)
#3: Silenced (Vaiettu, 2021)
#4: Shamed (Häväistyt, 2022)
#5: The Liberator (Vapahtaja, 2023)
#6: The Stager (Lavastaja, 2024)

Reading Material:
English samples and synopses
Series presentation
Finnish editions (6 books)
French editions books 1-2
Dutch edition books 1-3
German editions books 1-4
Danish editions books 1-3

Rights sold:
FINLAND:
 WSOY (orig.)
DENMARK: Modtryk (6 books)
FRANCE: La Martinière (4 books)
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe (6 books)
NETHERLANDS: De Fontein (6 books)
SLOVENIA: Litera (3 books)
SWEDEN: Lind & Co (3 books)
FILM & TV: Lucy Loves Drama

Rights still available in the US, the UK, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Turkey…

About author


Arttu Tuominen

ARTTU TUOMINEN (b. 1981) is a Spiegel bestselling author and environmental inspector based in Pori, Finland. During the evenings, he writes dark and tough crime novels. He is best known for his psychologically nuanced and gripping crime novels. Tuominen masterfully combines suspense, strong character development, and socially relevant themes in his work. His River Delta series has sold over 230,000 copies in Finland alone and has been published in six different languages. Tuominen has received numerous accolades, including the Vuoden Johtolanka (Clue of the Year) award for The Oath and the Palle Rosenkrantz Prize from the Danish Crime Academy for Jeopardy. In addition he has been nominated for the prestigious Glass Key Award. His novels have earned widespread praise from both critics and readers, firmly establishing him as a leading voice in Finnish crime fiction.

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Alec

Arttu Tuominen


2024, Crime & Suspense

The Stager

Arttu Tuominen


2023, Crime & Suspense

The Liberator

Arttu Tuominen


2022, Crime & Suspense

Shamed

Arttu Tuominen


2021, Crime & Suspense

Silenced

Arttu Tuominen


2020, Crime & Suspense

Jeopardy

Arttu Tuominen


2019, Crime & Suspense

The Oath

Arttu Tuominen

Introducing Ahlback Agency SPRING 2025 FICTION Catalogue!

We are thrilled to present our Fiction Catalogue for Spring 2025!

In literary fiction, we are thrilled to welcome Anna-Kaari Hakkarainen and her masterful, Finlandia Prize-nominated novel The Saprophile which explores themes such as power, desire, and the world of Ingmar Bergman.

In the romance and feel-good section of our Fiction Catalogue, we are excited to have on our list Michaela von Kügelgen‘s upcoming novel Summer at Villa Hilda, that takes the readers to the idyllic Stockholm archipelago. Additionally, we are glad to welcome Ulla Onerva and her debut novel Cotton Candy Dilemma, which intertwines romance and literature.

We are also happy to welcome two new crime and thriller authors to our Agency! Aamos Honka and his debut thriller Crimson Web take the readers to a frighteningly realistic and timely world of intelligence and hybrid warfare. Meanwhile, Anna Harju‘s psychologically perceptive crime novel Traces takes the readers to the trendy city of Tampere.

Lastly, we are glad to let you know that the English edition of Maria Turtschaninoff’s Tangled Roots (aka Inherited Land) will be published on April 10th, 2025 by Pushkin Press.

From our new catalogue, we’ve picked some of the hottest titles for you – take a look at them below!

View the Spring 2025 Fiction Catalogue here!

The Saprophile

Anna-Kaari Hakkarainen

A brilliant novel that dives deep into the human psyche, explores themes such as power, passion, and the world of Ingmar Bergman, and is a reflection on being human through art

  • Nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction!
  • For readers of Donna Tartt, Ali Smith, Maggie Nelson, and Rachel Kushner!

An island.

An author. Two women.

Ingmar Bergman.

The main characters of a film who are planning to escape.

The Saprophile is a hypnotic treatise on power and writing. It is the autopsy of a novel, a hybrid that seeks to go where genres end. It is a novel about Ingmar Bergman’s films, about a desire that refuses to obey, about an island, about how easy it is to lose yourself in another person, and how difficult it is to find your way back.

Like a saprophile, an organism that lives and thrives on dead or decaying organic matter, The Saprophile is like a literary organism that eats away at age-old concepts and structures.

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Many people dream of a second chance in life, but how many dare to take it?

  • For fans of experiencing romance and hardships through people of different ages, a story set in the beautiful Swedish archipelago, told with warmth and humor
  • Mamma Mia vibes on a remote Swedish island

Far out in the Stockholm archipelago lies the island of Halsterö. Journalist Thomas and former celebrity chef Louise travel there to work at the Villa Hilda guesthouse. They are both broken after many setbacks and are hoping for a fresh start. But setting up a summer paradise is not as easy as one might think, not even on the idyllic Halsterö island.

One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic? And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?

Summer at Villa Hilda is about how difficult it is to be human among other people, but also about how, with the help of others, one can find one’s way back to life.

This novel is the first part of the Villa Hilda series and will be published in June 2025. The following titles will concentrate on the people living on the picturesque Halsterö island and will tentatively be published in February 2026 and September 2026.

Cotton Candy Dilemma

Ulla Onerva

Let the romantic rebellion begin!

  • A new, fresh feel-good series about romance and literature
  • For the fans of Emily Henry, Holly Bourne, and Ali Hazelwood

Emma’s first love has left her at the school dance and her feelings for her ex-boyfriend have not completely faded by the start of senior year. Instead of pining, Emma immerses herself in romance books, even though the rest of the world seems to despise her favourite genre.

When a morose writer publishes a seething critique of romance and feel-good literature in a magazine and the school curriculum does not include romantic titles, Emma revolts. She sets up the Club of Quirky Romantics, a group dedicated to improving the appreciation of romance literature and dispelling the stigma associated with reading romance. It’s no easy task, as the circle is fueled by hate and love alike, and Emma finds herself in a worse mess than the heroines of her favourite romance novels.

Ulla Onerva’s debut novel Cotton Candy Dilemma is the first title in the Quirky Romantics series, a humorous commercial trilogy that cleverly weaves the romantic classics of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë into the modern day. The trilogy is perfect for anyone who refuses to hide their love of romance books!

The Quirky Romantics Series will continue with book #2 in February 2026 and book #3 in February 2027 (on Valentine’s Day).

Crimson Web

Aamos Honka

A frighteningly topical debut thriller from an insider in the intelligence world, revealing the hidden heart of secrets ops and hybrid warfare.

  • Aamos Honka’s work with Finnish intelligence agencies gives him insider access to the world of national security and foreign intelligence
  • Already a critical success and an instant bestseller – 7000 copies sold in one month!

Crimson Web is an international espionage thriller that gets to the heart of hybrid influence, cyber threats and the geopolitical game. The story interweaves personal tragedies, global tensions and technological threats. Events intertwine in Helsinki, Wuhan, and London as different actors approach the crisis from their own perspectives.

The focus is on Janne Peura, a hybrid threat expert at the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency, and Laura, a cyber specialist at Supo. They join forces to expose a large-scale international operation involving Chinese and Russian hybrid influence projects, as well as China’s AI-based influence efforts.

Once you read the book, the news headlines will never look the same to you.

The sequel to Crimson Web, book #2 in the Janne Peura series, is slated to be published in Finland in November 2025.

Traces

Anna Harju

Perfect suspense!” – Max Seeck, New York Times bestselling author
The opening of a gripping crime series set in trendy Tampere.

  • A fresh, psychologically perceptive crime novel
  • A gripping story that takes the readers from industrial Tampere to the German island of Fehmarn and finally to the fells of Northern Finland

There are secrets whose revelation will have fatal consequences. There is no escaping them, no matter how hard you try. Must one always pay for their mistakes?

A well-liked pharmacist is found murdered at his workplace. Suspicion falls on pharmacist Joanna Vihervuori, the last person to see her boss alive. Joanna insists she is innocent, but the case begins to twist around her in a strange way.

For Tampere Police Detective Inspector Taro Auramo, this murder investigation is the place to prove himself. The white dust on the dead pharmacist’s cheek raises doubts about whether his business is completely clean, and soon nothing will be as it seems.

Psychologically astute and utterly addictive, Traces is the first in the Taro Auramo crime series set in Tampere. Book #2 is slated to be published in 2026 and book #3 in 2027.

Milo

Max Seeck

Bodies with chess pieces in their mouth – Milo needs to understand the game of chess in order to catch a killer.

  • Solar Films adapts Milo to an international TV series for global distribution, with production slated to commence in 2026!
  • Rights sold to 8 territories! Over 45,000 copies sold in Finland!

The game has only just begun.

On a cold November evening, a body is discovered on the shore of Seurasaari. The victim’s skin is covered with a thick layer of white paint, and during the autopsy, a chess piece is found lodged in its throat.

The police are baffled. Why would the murderer go to such lengths to disguise the body? And why wasn’t there any attempt to hide it?

Milo Perho, an art gallery owner specializing in profiling killers, is called in to assist. What follows is a nerve-wracking game where every move costs a life, and no one wants it to end in checkmate.

Milo is the gripping debut of the Milo series by internationally acclaimed author Max Seeck. Even before its release, the book’s translation rights were sold to numerous countries, and a TV series adaptation is already in the works.

Book #2: the sequel to Milo (publication in September 2025, Tammi Publishers, Finland)

It’s early September in Helsinki, Finland. Ten months have passed since the events of the first book, and a lot has happened. Milo Perho, an art gallerist and a criminal profiler, has divorced and moved on with his life. While his marriage has fallen apart, he actually has gained some more confidence and is happier single. Milo has given up his dreams of becoming a father, and he tries to enjoy life as it is.

Meanwhile the Helsinki homicide unit detective (and Milo’s old friend) Minka Laine gets a phone call. A blonde woman has been stabbed to death in the middle of the city. While Minka investigates the surveillance camera tapes of the restaurant, she is shocked to see Milo on the record. She now knows that her old friend is somehow involved in the death of an unknown woman.

THE SAPROPHILE
MARRASELIÖ
Tammi, 2024, 672 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition
Author’s vision

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA
SOMMAR PÅ VILLA HILDA
Schildts & Söderströms, 2025

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
Swedish manuscript

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finland-Swedish, Finnish)
SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms

 

COTTON CANDY DILEMMA
HATTARADILEMMA
Tammi, 2025, 336 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

CRIMSON WEB
PUNAINEN VERKKO
Gummerus, 2025, 489 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)

 

TRACES
JÄLJET
Tammi, 2025, 382 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

MILO
MERKITTY
Tammi, 2024, 400 pp.

READING MATERIALS
Longer English sample and synopsis
French edition
German manuscript
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Pegasus
FRANCE: Mera Editions
GERMANY: Bastei Luebbe
ITALY: Piemme
JAPAN: Kodansha Ltd.
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
NORWAY: Aschehoug
RIGHTS FILM & TV: Solar Films