The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen BLOG TOUR #TheBurningStones @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks #BookReview

 

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…

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen is published on 24 October 2024 by Orenda Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. The book is translated by David Hackston. 

It is almost ten years since I read my first Antti Tuomainen novel. That was The Mine back in 2016, I was so impressed by that first read and have devoured all of his translated works ever since. 

You know how sometimes you only have to hear one chord played by a guitarist and you know immediately who it is? Well, this is how I feel about Tuomainen's writing. As soon as you begin to read, it screams Antti at you. He is unique and just one of a kind.

Being Finnish, this author knows a lot about saunas, and in The Burning Stones we are treated to an opening chapter that shows just how dangerous sitting amongst red hot coals can be. Ilmo Räty has recently been made head of Steam Devil; a long standing company that supplies sauna stoves throughout the country. Sitting back to enjoy a sauna, Ilmo has no idea what is in store. He doesn't leave the sauna. An intruder makes sure of that, and Ilmo is welded to the bench as the temperatures rise. Dead.

Steam Devil is a company doing well, with a small but very eclectic group of staff. Erkki 'The Stove King' Ruusula, founder and main shareholder of the business is standing down and every one of his staff are in line to take over, now that Ilmo is no longer around. Fifty-three year old Anni Korpinen, super saleswoman, is the favourite to take over his role and is now the lead suspect in the murder of Ilmo. 

We follow Anni as she tries her best to prove her innocence and also does her own investigation into what really took place that day. Anni is a complex character, she loves a sauna, she's married to a man who is far more interested in Formula One racing and she often looks back on her past, with regret. 

This is a laugh out loud hilarious story at times. Tuomainen's characters are wonderfully formed, each and every one of them are totally unique, and their interactions with each other are so fabulous to follow.  

Once more, this talented, original, funny and very fine author has delivered a story to savour. One to chuckle at, one to discover the world of the sauna business and one to experience the wonders of the Finnish landscape. Recommended by me. 

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 and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. 

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 became an international bestseller and has been released as a TV series, 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’, and Little Siberia (2019) was 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 prequel to The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

X @antti_tuomainen