MURDER ON THE ISLE OF BLISS by Eeva Louko
A crime-solving journalist investigates her father’s murder and the secrets of the tight community

• This opening of a new cozy crime series is a perfect combination of surprising twists and messy relationships!

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. Using the skills she’s learned from working as a journalist, Ronja starts investigating the background of her distant father, uncovering the old secrets of the community that have been kept under wraps until now. 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

LILI FLAME INVESTIGATES #1: MURDER AT THE MANSION by Laura Andersson
The beginning of this feel-good crime series charms with its wit!

• A strong female lead, societal bling, and mysteries! Everything good in one book!

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 will delight anyone looking for a good mystery, humor, and a little escapism!

For more Crime Fiction titles in our new catalogue: click here

THE SILK SISTERS #1: CHARLOTTA by Sara Medberg
Glamor, the courtly life, beautiful dresses, and passion!

• A new series about the Grand Duchy of Finland in the spirit of Jane Austen.

Strict class hierarchy and fabulous silk ruffles rule in the 19th century Åbo, where seamstress Charlotta Silke is looking for her own Mr. Darcy. When Baron Ridderlöw of Starfire Manor hires Charlotta as a lady’s maid for her sister, both their lives change for good. Charlotta gets her hands on Jane Austen’s newly published Pride and Prejudice, which alters the way she sees her role as a woman. But the book’s ideas of modern love, marriage and early feminism are put to the test as the bitter war-torn Baron Ridderlöw becomes romantically interested in Charlotta. Can an ordinary lady’s maid have it all – a meaningful life and the man of her dreams?

ANNA OF HAGA MANOR by Riikka-Maria Rosenberg
Life and love of the nobility in 18th century Finland!

• Opening chapter of a new series about historical women

Anna of Haga Manor is an enchantingly sensuous historical novel that transports the reader to 18th century Finland, still part of Sweden then, and into the middle of a certain love story.

Anna Magdalena Lilliebrunn, a noblewoman nearing her forties, has a stain on her reputation and the role of an old maid looms in her future. Everything is set to change, however, as the notoriously hot-tempered officer Karl Gustaf Uggla from the neighboring Haga Manor is chosen to be Anna’s husband.

At the Manor, Anna is met by a frigid atmosphere. The reserved relatives and her husband’s lover make sureshe will neither feel at home nor become lady of the house. Will the tough and self-willed Anna be capable of living in the manner that she believes in?

Anna of Haga Manor is the masterful opening chapter of a new historical novel series, The Ladies of Haga Manor. Based on thorough research on the lives and fates of real women who lived at the real Haga manor, the ambience of the past is expertly captured and the reader will want to savour every word.

For more Historical Fiction titles in our new catalogue: click here

THE GREEN CHAMBER by Sirpa Kähkönen
A heartfelt story of memories, youth, and searching for the people you’ve lost

• A Savonia Prize winner!

A touching story set in the winter of 1964 in Kuopio, eastern lake area of Finland. Three teenagers try to navigate life shadowed by the pain inflicted by their parents, who cannot handle life after the trauma of WWII.

Leo, Irene and Jaakko have been friends since childhood, but dropping out of school, going to army, and falling in love have changed the dynamics between the three. A December day lights the spark which sees their lives changed.

Close to the teens and still far away, separated by the years lived and things seen, are the old couple Linnea and Santeri. Having lived through the Revolutions in Russia and both world wars, the couple has found refuge in tending to their flower shop, where Irene also works. Santeri, however, searches for something he lost decades ago in St. Petersburg, and sets out to try and find it once more.

MY ONLY HOME by Hanna Brotherus
The only way to regain control of your body, soul, and life is to be completely and brutally honest

• No. 1 bestselling Finnish fiction title of 2021 with more than 60,000 copies sold in Finland!

When her children leave their home, a woman wants to take a deep dive into the past. She wants to understand all the lives she has lived, to examine whose eyes she has seen herself through, to see what she still has ahead of her. And she wants to have a fresh start in everything possible.

An uncompromising journey into the truth behind memories begins. All of the old wounds and traumas, some spanning generations, are ripped open and exposed with uncompromising honesty, revealing a life punctured by sorrow, illness, pressures, and death. The gates are wide open when the woman realizes she is the most important person in her life. Her body is her only home.

This heart-rending debut novel by the dancer, director, and choreographer, Hanna Brotherus, moves through a woman’s different life stages without excessive embellishment and in a relatable way. MY ONLY HOME is a fearless autofictive novel about the frenzy for life and the acceptance of incompleteness. Reader feedback emphasizes the moving and striking honesty in the book and how well one can identify with it. The book moves, touches, cleanses and has a profound impact.

PRAISE:

“MY ONLY HOME is a book of crises. It is a confessional novel, and an exceptionally well-written one. [—] Brotherus’ text is as light as that of someone who is jotting down their thoughts in a journal. In fact, MY ONLY HOME is a journal, the journal of Life. It does not embellish. It laughs, grieves, and eventually nurtures its writer.” – Anne Välinoro, Kulttuuritoimitus magazine

For more Literary Fiction titles in our new catalogue: click here

We are so excited for this season!

Team EALA, 
Elina, Toomas, Elsa, Sten-Erik and Linda