The Killer's Girlfriend

Leena Lehtolainen

Original title: Tappajan tyttöystävä ja muita novelleja

Author: Leena Lehtolainen

Published: 2018

Publisher: Tammi

Genre: Crime & Suspense

Pages: 327

Reading material

Finnish edition
English synopsis

In The Killer’s Girlfriend, Lehtolainen delights the readers with short stories featuring the loved protagonists of her Maria Kallio and The Bodyguard books, but expands also into mystery and ghost stories. How does a librarian become a killer’s girlfriend? Is love stronger than death, and can a child have three fathers?

The capturing stories take their characters in unexpected situations and don’t let the reader off the hook.

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

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