Murder mystery set in AKRANES, Iceland
Murder mystery set in rural FINLAND
8th April 2025
The Burning Stones by Antii Tuomainen, murder mystery set in rural Finland.
TR: David Hackston
The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen is an intense and darkly funny murder mystery novel. I devoured it in one sitting and particularly enjoyed the contrast of the drama with the descriptions of the story’s setting; the sights, sounds and sensations of life in rural Finland. The author has already shown in his previous novels that he has a wonderfully well-developed sense of the ridiculous. While this isn’t entirely lacking in The Burning Stones, it is slightly toned down from the levels in the Moose Paradox trilogy, to a delicious wry humour. (You don’t need to have read previous books to enjoy this one.)
The book’s protagonist is Anni Korpinen, a 53-year-old sales representative. She and her husband live in a fictional village, where nothing much happens. She works for Steam Devil, a Finnish company that manufactures market-leading stoves to heat saunas. Her long career with the company has also been mostly uneventful. But everything changes when her colleague is hideously murdered in his own sauna. What could be more Finnish? Anni begins to question how well she knows those she works with. Could one of them be the murderer?
Anni takes a closer look at each of her colleagues. The task becomes even more urgent when she falls under suspicion herself and evidence against her begins to stack up. Then there’s the question of the murderer’s motive – is it some kind of rivalry? If so, it might not just be her freedom that is at stake: there’s a possibility that Anni might be targeted next.
It’s typical of Tuomainen’s main characters that they feel isolated and out of sync with the rest of the cast and Anni is no exception. She takes solace in her peaceful surroundings and in her sauna, but she is aware that she needs support from those around her, which is sorely lacking. To put the tin lid on it, the police officer in charge of the investigation has been nursing a grudge against Anni’s family for many years. He is disinclined to believe in her innocence. Can she identify the murderer in time to save herself?
For those who love Tuomainen’s sense of humour, there’s plenty to be found in this book. There’s Anni’s husband, the obsessive collector of Formula One memorabilia, such as racing driver’s old socks. Then there’s Anni’s client, an amateur sleuth whose thoughts about the perpetrator of the murders cast even more suspicion on Anni herself. And there’s a giant statue – of course there is! In this book it’s a huge Steam Devil stove that dominates the car park at the company’s headquarters. In summary, this is a witty and original murder mystery that will appeal to fans of Antti Tuomainen’s writing and hopefully win over an absolute army of new readers.
Sue for the TripFiction Team
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