The End of Innocence

Leena Lehtolainen

Original title: Viattomuuden loppu

Author: Leena Lehtolainen

Published: 2017

Publisher: Tammi

Genre: Crime & Suspense

Pages: 464

Part of a series: Maria Kallio series

Reading material

English sample & synopsis

German edition
Finnish edition

Book 14 in the bestselling Maria Kallio series. A female detective police procedural, The End of Innocence is also a study of young men’s fragile sexuality. Perfect for fans of Lynda La Plante’s DCI Jane Tennison series.

When a newly-released child molester is found dead in an abandoned playground, the case lands on Maria Kallio’s desk. As newly-appointed chief of the child & youth crime unit, Kallio finds herself with a highly sensitive homicide case on her hands, with suspects including the deceased’s victims and their relatives. A harrowing case for Maria, the mother of a teenage son herself, the novel examines whether we can survive abuse, and privacy in the age of the internet.

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
GERMANY: Rowohlt
TV RIGHTS: Jarowskij Finland

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About author

Leena Lehtolainen

Leena Lehtolainen is the top female crime author in Finland: her new titles always head straight to #1 on the Finnish bestseller lists.

Lehtolainen created her successful protagonist, detective Maria Kallio, in 1993. Having already featured in 16 novels and a complete TV series, a new Maria Kallio TV reboot series was launched in Fall 2021 on C More. Lehtolainen’s novels have been translated into 30 languages and have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

And just like the events in Bodyguard, a that takes the heroine Hilja Ilveskero all around Europe, Lehtolainen’s own work takes her to book festivals, exhibitions and other events across the globe.

Leena Lehtolainen has also published outside the crime genre; her book The Charm of Figure Skating was voted sports book of the year 2010 in Finland, and A Life in Six Scenes showed her return to literary fiction.

The Crossing of the Green Dragon is her first title for YA audiences.

In her free time, Lehtolainen enjoys all kinds of music and follows lynx trails in the forests – just like Maria Kallio.

Photo credit: Ville Juurikkala