New praise for THE INVESTIGATIONS OF A CERTAIN CAT from Germany and Estonia!

We are happy to share new international praise for Katja Kettu’s THE INVESTIGATIONS OF A CERTAIN CAT!

Recently published in both Germany and Estonia this novel combines historical storytelling, magical realism, and accurately and sharply recounts the pain of a miscarriage and the nearly futile attempts to carry on after such a tragedy. It received great praise right after publication in both countries from critics and readers alike:

“Katja Kettu’s raw, direct style remains moving, and the magical realism helps tell this personal story.”
 BÜCHERmagazin, Germany

“Kettu’s language is raw and physical, the pain spills from the pages together with a touch of magic.”
 Katia Schingshandl, Buchkultur, Germany

“An impressive book. Certainly not an easy read – but one that is absolutely worth it.”
@shizu_reads, Germany

“How bold to tell the story exactly like this—and Kettu’s tone, which is idiosyncratic without feeling mannered, and Tanja Küddelsmann’s translation—I found both absolutely fantastic. Their shared joy in language, the richness of imagination, and the seriousness of the text make it an experience. A rare one. One that stands entirely on its own. And honestly—this cover from @weissbooksverlag? Absolute knockout.”
@petrasbuecherapotheke, Germany

“Reading [it] left my soul tender, there was sadness and pain, but also something beautiful, bright. [—] I like books like this.”
 Pille raamatu ja kassiga book blog, Estonia

“It is Kettu’s rich language that carries the power of the story, gives force and colour to that which it describes, is occasionally pressed into one’s memory, whirls in one’s thoughts and squeezes one’s heart. The near-mythological hand and its repeating motives remain with the reader even after closing the book.”
 Ülle Kiivet, editor, in Postimees newspaper, Estonia

“Sublime language, an enchanting translation.”
 Kirjakoi book blog, Estonia

The Investigations of a Certain Cat has been sold to 10 territories!

Rights are still available for France, Poland, Netherlands, Japan, Greece, Spain, US, UK, etc!

To support your decision, we have the German edition, an English sample and synopsis.

Request materials for The Investigations of a Certain Cat here!

 

The Investigations of a Certain Cat

Katja Kettu

Katja Kettu’s stunning novel spins through ages whilst surrendering to the wilderness of nature and the deep yearning for offspring. 

Can one find solace and meaning in life from the past once the future no longer exists?

An Author has a miscarriage and loses their ability to speak and write. From the Investigative Bureau of Heavens, a Detective is sent to the scene, but something goes awry. Soon, in the corner of the room, there appears Cat who starts examining a mysterious diary that once belonged to the Author’s Great Grandmother.

When a new life has been lost, the Author turns their gaze to the past and to the age-old words of creation in the old Finnish outskirts. The one who knows them, Great Grandmother, has the power of healers. The Great Grandmother’s diary sheds light on birth and death, love towards children, and the strength of heritage in one’s blood.

Combining autofiction and elements of magical realism, Katja Kettu’s latest novel also sheds light on the history of the Finnish frontiers.

THE INVESTIGATIONS OF A CERTAIN CAT
ERÄÄN KISSAN TUTKIMUKSIA
Otava, 2023, 380 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
German edition
Finnish manuscript

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
CZECHIA: ARGO
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof
ESTONIA: Koolibri
GERMANY: Weissbooks
HUNGARY: Gondolat
ITALY: Mondadori
NORWAY: Pax Forlag
ROMANIA: Humanitas Fiction
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag

About author


Katja Kettu

Katja Kettu is an acclaimed and award-winning writer with a strong, unique voice from Northern Finland. Originally from Rovaniemi, Lapland, she graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts in 2001 as an animation director and has also studied in the University of Tampere and in the National Film and Television School in the UK. She has worked as a columnist for numerous Finnish newspapers and magazines.

Her debut novel Surujenkerääjä (2005) was nominated for the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize and won the Tiiliskivi Prize, but her breakthrough came with The Midwife (orig. Kätilö, 2011), which won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Runeberg Prize and the Thank You for the Book Medal. The rights for the novel have been sold to 19 countries, it has sold more than 160,000 copies in Finland, and in 2015 it was adapted into a film.

To date, she has published five novels, written or edited two collections of short stories, authored a graphic novel, edited a fiction/non-fiction book on women’s experiences with sexual harassment and violence, and a biography of Ismo Alanko, a Finnish musician. In addition, she has collaborated with photographer Meeri Koutaniemi and documentarist Maria Seppälä on a book and a TV series about Finnish emigrants in North America and their relationships with the Ojibwe people. Outside of literature, Kettu has directed, written or helped produce 10 animations and been a singer in the punk band Confusa.

Kettu’s works have been characterized as “Laplandic magical realism”. Kettu is meticulous in the research for her works and she is interested in microhistory, especially the fates of women caught up in conflicts where individuals have a limited influence on their lives.

Her novel Rose on poissa was a Finlandia Prize 2018 nominee. Kettu's works have been translated into 23 languages.

Katja Kettu's literary works:

Surujenkerääjä, 2005 WSOY

Hitsaaja, 2008 WSOY

Kätilö, 2011 WSOY

Piippuhylly, novelleja, 2013 WSOY

Novelli palaa! Matkanovelleja, co-edited with Aki Salmela, 2013 WSOY

Yöperhonen, 2015 WSOY

Peräkammarin poika, illustrated by Jan Andersson, 2015 Otava

Rose on poissa, 2018 WSOY

Erään kissan tutkimuksia, 2023 Otava

Photo credit: Niclas Mäkelä / Otava

Bibliography


2026, Literary Fiction

Brita-Kajsa

Katja Kettu


2023, Literary Fiction

The Investigations of a Certain Cat

Katja Kettu

Literary Review selects Martta Kaukonen’s Follow the Butterfly as one of the top crime novels of 2024!

We’re so proud of Martta Kaukonen for her bestselling thriller FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY appearing in the prestigious UK literary magazine Literary Review! In their December 2024/January 2025 Crime Round-up, Natasha Cooper selected 8 of the best crime novels, including the likes of Paula Hawkins.

She described FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY as follows:

A fascinating study of guilt, shame, blame and the stories we tell ourselves to make life bearable.This is Finnish film critic Kaukonen’s first novel and features seductive portraits of characters both monstrous and admirable.

Click here to download all reading materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY!

 

About FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY:

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.

TERAPIASSA
WSOY, 2021, 471 pp.

Reading materials: Full English manuscript, German Edition

HENGISSÄ:
WSOY, 2023, 272 pp.

Reading materials: Full English manuscript, German MS

POISSA
WSOY, 2025, 300 pp.

Reading materials: English synopsis

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Albatros Media
DENMARK: Forlaget Falco
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
FILM & TV: Legendary Tobis TV
GERMANY: Heyne (2-book-deal)
GREECE: Psichogios (2-book-deal)
HUNGARY: Partvonal Kiadó (2-book-deal)
ICELAND: Storytel (3-book-deal)
LATVIA: Jumava
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
POLAND: Czarna Owca (2-book-deal)
UNITED KINGDOM: Pushkin Press (2-book-deal)
UNITED STATES: Pushkin Press (2-book-deal)
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 a second hand bookshop and fell in love. Alongside writing, Martta loves psychological thrillers, film noir, flea markets, abandoned houses and travelling.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

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

Arttu Tuominen’s Shamed shines with German reviews

Arttu Tuominen’s Was Wir Ihnen Antun (River Delta series #4 Shamed) was published in Germany by our friends at Bastei Lübbe a couple of weeks ago, and the prestigious “Krimi-Couch” has written an amazing review:

The “River Delta series” is certainly one of the most interesting European crime series at the moment in many aspects. Arttu Tuominen proves once again that he is no longer an insider tip, but is currently one of the best Nordic suspense writers.”
– Krimi-Couch.de, Thomas Gisbertz

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 200,000 copies. Notably, the final installment, The Stager, published in August, has already surpassed 20,000 copies sold! And to cement his status, Arttu Tuominen was voted top crime author by The Finnish Whodunnit Society.

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 7 territories, and each book can be read as a standalone.

In addition to a great success in Germany, Arttu Tuominen’s three novels have gained excellent reviews and sales in France as well:

 “The new genius of melancholic Finland” – Le Point

“The talent of a great writer” – France Inter

“Remarkable” – Télérama

“He manages each time to renew himself and to give even more humanity to his characters” – Ju lit Les Mots -literary blog

Arttu Tuominen’s work has been compared to Henning Mankell 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.

They are fierce, these Finns, and this year, one of their best crime writers, Arttu Tuominen is awarded the Rosenkrantz Prize for Sendebuddet (Jeopardy) […] Tuominen’s writing is like moonshine when writing about brutally bitter souls.
– Palle Rosenkrantz Prize jury statement

About RIVER DELTA SERIES:

“The Stager is a top-notch showcase by an experienced, yet anything-but-predictable writer, demonstrating that when you have the skill, you can do anything.”
– Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan uutiset

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

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's novels are acclaimed for their intense atmosphere, compelling plots, and richly drawn characters.

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 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

Fantastic new praise for MILO, WOLF CUB, and OUR LAST GAME!

To round off the week, we have some fantastic praise for our hot titles: MILO by NY Times bestseller Max Seeck, our wilderness noir WOLF CUB by award-winning author Johanna Holmström, and OUR LAST GAME by Finland’s literary favorite Riikka Pulkkinen!

MILO

“I found Seeck’s choice to deal with infertility from a male perspective particularly commendable. In the book, a child is precisely Milo’s dream, and when that dream doesn’t come true, it leads to many unexpected consequences.”

– Amman lukuhetki blog

*****

“The most important thing for a detective story is, of course, a well-rolling, addictive plot that reveals just the right amount: not too much, not too little. (-) As before, Seeck draws both the characters and the milieu with such force that everything can be seen as a film before your eyes. Not surprisingly, a TV series is already in the pipeline.”

– Amman lukuhetki blog

You can download materials for MILO here!

WOLF CUB

“We end up in the middle of the primeval forest, the wilderness. The best writers create their own genre. Like Johanna Holmström. Understanding half of what Johanna Holmström means and wants is enough to think that “Vargens unge” is a really good novel, even the best Swedish-language detective, crime, police and suspense novel of the year. A crime novel and novel critical of civilization.

– Bengt Eriksson, Opulens magazine, Sweden

*****

“Johanna Holmström succeeds in telling a strong story about lost and lonely people, about children who are both loved and hurt, about living both inside and outside society, and also makes strong contemporary events such as the pandemic and the Ukrainian war into thought-provoking parts of the story. At the same time, she also writes a classic crime novel with police investigation, suspense and unexpected disputes. The mix of all this makes “The Wolf’s Cub” a great read for everyone, whether you like crime fiction or not.”

– Nerikes Allehanda newspaper, Örebro, Sweden

You can download materials for WOLF CUB here!

OUR LAST GAME

Pulkkinen masters the distinctive voices of the characters, right down to the narrator. The work poses ethical and philosophical questions through the mouths of its numerous characters… OUR LAST GAME asks how much of what was broken in childhood can be repaired with medicine. Above all, it asks what is ultimately broken in us and what is the fabric of life itself.

– Maija Alander, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

*****

Riikka Pulkkinen’s OUR LAST GAME is a masterpiece of psychiatric power. It is a stunningly beautiful cry for help for the mentally broken. The novel has the makings of a Finlandia nominee.

– Maaseudun Tulevaisuus newspaper, Finland

You can download materials for OUR LAST GAME here!

MILO
Merkitty – Tammi 2024 – 400 p.
Rights Sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), FRANCE: Mera Editions, GERMANY: Bastei Luebbe, LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji, NORWAY: Aschehoug, FILM & TV: Solar Films
Reading Materials: 50 p. English sample + synopsis, Finnish edition

WOLF CUB
Vargens unge – Albert Bonniers Förlag 2024 – 428 p.
Rights Sold:
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag (orig.), FINLAND: Förlaget (Swedish) & Otava (Finnish)
Reading Materials: English sample & 27-page synopsis, Swedish edition, Finnish edition

OUR LAST GAME
Viimeinen yhteinen leikki – Otava 2024 – 411 p.
Reading Materials: English sample & synopsis, Finnish edition