Leena Lehtolainen
Leena Lehtolainen (1964) is a Finnish prose writer, columnist and critic. She is considered one of the most popular writers in Finland, mainly for her crime thrillers. Dubbed the Finnish Henning Mankell, she has certainly amplified the female point of view in the usually male-centred Finnish crime fiction. Her most famous character is the redhead Maria Kallio who has been solving cases in 14 books in total. Lehtolainen can be called mature beyond her years because she published her first book, the young adult novel Ja äkkiä onkin toukokuu in 1976 when she was 12. She began publishing the Maria Kallio books in 1994 with the novel Ensimmäinen murhani, where the young detective has to find her way around a murder committed in a seemingly cosy summer house district. The latest book, Viattomuuden loppu sees Kallio facing violence against children. Leena Lehtolainen will speak to English author Jason Goodwin.
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