Welcome back to another Orenda Book Tour with Antti Tuomainen. The Burning Stones was published by Orenda on October 24th. I also have a print copy for you to win. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post. Saunas, love and a ladleful of murder…
A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest moment: the new head of a
sauna-stove company is murdered … in the sauna. Who has turned up the
temperature and burned him to death?
The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and the victim’s successor at Steam Devil.
And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its
purpose, and struggling with work weren’t enough, Anni realizes that she
must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is
behind it all – before it’s too late…
From the international bestselling author of The Man Who Died and The Rabbit Factor,
comes a darkly funny, delightfully tense new thriller that showcases
humanity at its most bare – in middle age, suspected of murder and, of
course, in a sauna…
My Thoughts
Written in Antti Tuomainen's trademark style, there is plenty of black humour to be found. Having just visited Finland where I heard how ubiquitous and popular saunas are in the country, I was rather amused to find that the saunas are the setting for this crime thriller. There are plenty of suspects to be found and each one has their own backstory and personality. At first sight, the sauna company they all work at seems quite humdrum but work dynamics reveal a different story.
At the centre, is Anni. All fingers seem to point to her in some people's ayes. However, you discover that some motivation is full of bias and fury at past scores. Anni seems surprised to be told that she is the main contender to be promoted to manage the company. As the story evolves, you do see her reappraise her capabilities and work through changes which she needs to bring in in her personal life. Her relationship with her husband is stale and spent. A past relationship also rears its head and you find out that Anni has a closely guarded secret which threatens her relationship. This is a tightly plotted crime thriller which entertains as well as intrigues.
In short: a cast of suspects to entertain
About the Author
Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when
he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s
third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime
Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. Two years later, in
2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark
as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was
one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his
poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died (2017) became an international
bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach
Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the
funniest writer in Europe’.
Thanks to Antti Tuomainen, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the Blog Tour.
Check out these great bloggers!
To win a print copy of The Burning Stones just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!
Closing date is October 26th 2024 and there is one winner.
*Terms and Conditions – UK only. The winner will be selected at
random via a random retweet selector from all valid entries and will be notified by X (Twitter)
and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right
to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the
competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with
third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed
to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not
responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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