The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen translated by Don Bartlett

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.

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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…

My Review

I think it will take me some time to get the images of the first murder out of my head. I’m not going to say any more. I don’t want to be reminded.

Then there are the sprats. I ate them once as a child and was immediately sick, and I have never eaten them since. The thought of them still fills me with horror!

Finally we have the ‘bumlet’. It’s a square of folded linen designed for hygiene purposes. I wasn’t sure if it’s an actual ‘thing’ or just created for the story. Of course I googled it and apparently the Finns (who invented the sauna) also like the extra protection from the heat. They take their saunas much hotter than we do in the UK.

But we also don’t really do naked in the UK. And if we did, we would sit on a neatly folded towel, with another one over any naughty bits. In the case of our first victim, it would have taken more than a double thick bumlet or a folded towel to save him from overheating.

Anni Korpinen is our narrator. Following the impending retirement of Erkki ‘The Stove King’ Ruusulu and the horrific murder of his successor Ilmo Räty, she is now in line to be the next CEO of Steam Devil sauna stoves. She is also the number one suspect in the murder as she has motive, means and opportunity. Chief of police Kiimalainen couldn’t care less about any of these – he is gunning for her because of an age old feud with her father over an Elk. I kid you not.

Anni is married to Santeri who is obsessed with Formula One and former racing drivers’ old socks. Thirty years ago she was engaged to police officer Janne who she jilted, but that’s a whole separate story.

Incidentally, the translation is seamless. Hard to believe The Burning Stones was written in a foreign language, especially as Finnish is considered one of the hardest languages to learn.

I loved this book. It’s very different from the Adventure Park trilogy, where our intrepid hero Henri Koskinen was an actuary. Anni Korpinen is a sauna stove salesperson, though I’m not sure that’s any more exciting. And she doesn’t have a cat. If there’s a follow up can she have one of Schopenhauer’s kittens please.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

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, his third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. 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 became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards and now a Finnish TV series. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) and Little Siberia (2019) were shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the first book in the trilogy will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios, and the first two books were international bestsellers. Antti lives in Helsinki with his wife.

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.