Elina Backman and Helen Pärk

Elina Backman (1983) is a Finnish crime writer. Having worked in media, advertising and marketing for years, she was quite late in making her debut – the first book of the Saana Havanen series All the King’s Men (Kun kuningas kuolee) was published in 2020. Saana Havas is an online journalist who lost her job and decided to spend her summer with her aunt in Central Finland, in a small town called Hartola. However, once there, she is haunted by a thirty-year-old unsolved case that began with the discovery of the body of a young girl in a river. The story gets a new twist when another body is found at the Suomenlinna fortress with the sign of a king’s crown burnt on it. The book gained immediate attention and recognition, including Elisa’s Newcomer Award. A new star of Nordic Noir’ was born. Saana Havas has continued to solve murder mysteries in books Still Waters Run Deep (Kun jäljet kaotavat, 2021) and Before the Polar Night Falls (Ennen kuin tulee pimeää, 2022). What are her future plans? This and much more will be discussed by Elina Backman when she talks to crime literature specialist Helen Pärk.