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My First Murder (Maria Kallio Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Leena Lehtolainen (Author), Owen Witesman (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

3.6 2,933 ratings

Book 1 of 11: The Maria Kallio Series

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Twenty-three-year-old law student Maria Kallio is recruited for a temporary position at the Helsinki police department. Sweet-faced but tough and hot-tempered, Maria faces pushback from her new squad—so when a young playboy is murdered at his family’s summer villa, the new detective is out to prove herself.

Found floating facedown at the water’s edge after a night of partying, Tommi Pelatonen appears to have been murdered by one of his closest friends—but why? As Maria discovers, bitter passion and jealousy seethe under the placid surface of the group’s privileged, carefree lifestyle. As Maria uncovers the victim’s unsavory secrets, motives for all seven suspects come to light. Now it’s up to her to untangle the clues before the killer strikes again.

The first book in Leena Lehtolainen’s international bestselling Nordic crime series starring Detective Maria Kallio, My First Murder serves up murder with a slice of life in the Finnish upper crust.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First published in 1993, this solid first in a mystery series from Lehtolainen, billed as “Finland’s bestselling female crime author,” introduces 23-year-old Sgt. Maria Kallio, of Helsinki’s Violent Crime Unit. Kallio’s initial low-level cases and paper-pushing lead her to begin law school, but boredom with her studies prompts her to return to the force for a six-month stint as a substitute officer. Her provisional status and sexist male colleagues complicate her first homicide inquiry, into the death of singer Tommi Peltonen, the leader of a quartet, who appears to have drowned in the sea off his parents’ summer house, though a blow to the head could have been a contributing factor. Peltonen was organizing a summer musical event for a double quartet, whose surviving members become the obvious suspects. The author does a good job integrating her dogged detective’s inner life with the murder inquiry. (Dec. 2012)

Review

“Leena Lehtolainen has a winner with her debut thriller (My First Murder, Book 1 in Maria Kallio series). Detective Maria Kallio deserves a place alongside literature’s best tough but vulnerable detectives.” – Mystery Scene Magazine

“It has taken 20 years for the highly-regarded Leena Lehtolainen's first Maria Kallio novel to be translated from Finnish, so plaudits to Amazon Crossing (an American imprint) for allowing English-language readers to experience her work, and to Owen Witesman for a smooth translation” – Eurocrime.Co.Uk

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008PTXSWA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Crossing (December 11, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 11, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1535 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 259 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1612184375

Best Sellers Rank: #433,793 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #5,054 in Murder
- #6,281 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)
- #8,755 in Murder Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
3.6 2,933 ratings

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Leena Lehtolainen

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Leena Lehtolainen is Finland's bestselling female crime author - all of Lehtolainen's crime novels have reached the top ten of the Finnish bestseller list. Lehtolainen first reached international acclaim for her hit detective series starring Maria Kallio, which she began with My First Murder in 1993. Her distinctively down-to-earth heroine brought a woman's perspective to the male-dominated detective genre. The twelfth book in the series, Rautakolmio (Iron Triangle), was published in Finland in August 2013. In 2009 Lehtolainen started a trilogy of tongue-in-cheek international thrillers starring Hilja Ilveskero, a female bodyguard.

In a mere twenty years, Lehtolainen has become a classic of Nordic crime literature. She's been called "Finland's answer to Henning Mankel" (Brigitte), while her Maria Kallio series has been ascribed "cult status" (Bunte). Lehtolainen has twice won the Finnish Whodunit Society's annual prize for the best Finnish crime novel (1997, 1998) and has been nominated for the prestigious Glass Key award for the best Nordic crime novel (2003). Readers as well as critics around the world have discovered Lehtolainen's detective novels--to date, her titles have sold over 2 million copies in 29 languages including German, French, Italian, Russian, Czech, Dutch, Hebrew, and Chinese, and the Kallio series has been adapted for television.

In addition to her career as a crime writer, Lehtolainen has worked as a literary researcher, columnist, and critic. In her free time, she enjoys all kinds of music from 1970s punk to Bach--just like Maria Kallio. Lehtolainen currently lives in Finland with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, she is fond of classical singing, her beloved cats, and--her greatest passion---figure skating.

Learn more about Leena Lehtolainen here: http://www.leenalehtolainen.fi/

http://www.ahlbackagency.com/aba_authors/lehtolainen-leena/

Photo Credit: Charlotta Boucht

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3.6 out of 5

2,933 global ratings

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X-Diplo

Murder in Helsinki

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2013

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This is a light, enjoyable read that gives some insight into Finnish society, or at least the part occupied by young adults in the capital. I bought it partly because I used to live in Helsinki, and I enjoy revisiting the place in fiction. The descriptions of people and places did bring a pleasant nostalgia for one of my favorite places.

The heroine is a likable young woman with a severe case of ambivalence about her career. She might want to be a lawyer, a prosecutor, or a police officer. For the moment, she is a summer replacement, having left the force to go to college and been hired back to fill a shortage of cops. Her career ambivalence is credible, and typical of a lot of young Europeans. She's basically a pretty upbeat sort - don't buy this book expecting a female Wallander. (By the way, the name Maria isn't pronounced in the English/Spanish/Italian way we say it, with the accent on the middle syllable. Finnish is always accented on the first syllable, no exceptions, so the name is more like MAR-e-yah. Similarly, the city is HEL-sink-e, not Hel-SINK-e.)

The story is kind of a cross between a police procedural and an English country house murder. Not great literature, but enjoyable enough. I have two criticisms:
1. Maria knows several of the suspects from college. She is much too close to the people involved, I cannot imagine a big-city police department, even one suffering from a severe shortage of detectives, keeping her on the case. That's what makes it like an English country house murder.
2. The translation is in a way too good, i.e. too American. The Finnish language has some quirks that I find quite enjoyable, and I'd have liked the dialogue better if it sounded more like Finns speaking English.

I also gave the book to a female friend for Christmas; she liked it too.

This is a light piece, ideal for the beach or an evening alone in your hotel room (which is how I read it). It's not great literature, but it's a pleasant couple of hours to read.

6 people found this helpful

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prisrob

Should She Continue?

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2013

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This book was recommended by a friend. A very quick read and only $2.99 as an e-reader. While looking up the author, I found this first translation from the Finnish mystery is over twenty years old! That explains a great deal.

The novel is categorized as a mystery, and it really is not. The plot line is easy to guess. A young woman, Maria Kallio, short, red headed with impossible hair, but by all accounts, very attractive is the lead detective. Now, this is surprising. The woman is a temporary detective, trying to figure out if the law or police work is her calling. This is her first murder, and it has come to her because of two reasons. 1. Her boss is an alcoholic and cannot be counted upon for much. 2. Her immediate superior is ready to start vacation. By all accounts this would not fly in any other police station, but, here we are.

A group of choir singers meet to practice at the summer house of the family of one of them, Tommi. As the book opens, Tommi is found dead. Maria tells the story in her own way, she interviews the singers, some of whom she knew when they were students together. Now, this should disqualify her from the get go, but, no, off she goes. Maria spends the rest of the book trying to investigate them. She is also very interested in the victim and his colleagues and family. Each chapter is headed with a line from the poem quoted in the preface, and, as we come to find out, they are relevant to the murder case. This part of the novel was very clever, but easily missed.

Maria is not a good detective from the start. First, she allows all of the singers to congregate together before she interviews them. After an initial, very primitive interview, she allows them all to leave and to take their belongings before the investigation of the house is complete. No mention of using gloves and any method of removing clues and artifacts. Her interviewing techniques are not good nor solid. The singers are patronizing, and to be frank, I did not find Maria to be an interesting protagonist. Too young and immature in my opinion.

I did enjoy the glimpses into,Finnish life, the food, the culture, and the lifestyle. This is not a true mystery but one of who committed this crime? Maybe, because I am a true mystery/police procedural aficionado, I did not appreciate the simplicity of this novel. It seems amateurish to me. There may be more to this series, but I am not sure I would continue with it.

Recommended with reservations. prisrob 01-14-13

8 people found this helpful

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DP

My First Murder

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013

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Loved it! This was my first Leena Lehtolainen book. She is a fantastic writer. The characters are well developed. I connected with Maria and really wanted her to stick it out and solve the case. She has a great mind for figuring things out and putting things together to make sense. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was totally off base and the ending was completely unexpected. Leena's writing style is very casual and easy to read without a lot of extra fluff and unnecessary adjectives, the same way Finns speak. The story flows well and I could picture the countryside, homes and towns. Other reviewers stated that they had a hard time following the story because the names of people and towns confused them and they thought it would be a better story if it had English names. Finnish is a difficult language but that keeps the story authentic, after all she is writing about Finland! Being Finnish/American, having family in Finland and some knowledge of the language I had no problem with the names and keeping everyone straight. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the rest of the Maria Kallio series.

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Alicia

Il libro è stampato male: le pagine 123-126 sono capovolte e incomplete

Reviewed in Italy on May 6, 2024

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Non mi è piaciuto trovare un libro con le pagine INCOMPLETE come si vede nella foto

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Barb Dee

A Good Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2019

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I don't often read other reviews until I have read a book and in this case it is just as well as I might not have bought the book which would have been a shame as once I got into it I enjoyed it. It was nice to read a book about another country's police force and see they also seem to suffer the thought that women cannot do a good job! Regarding the story, there was plenty of suspense and I didn't guess the murderer. Would recommend this book if you like something a bit out of the ordinary.

Rod Baxter

Just a little more suspense, please.

Reviewed in Australia on September 25, 2019

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This is a great first murder mystery. I enjoy reading it. It lacked three things that could have made it better. Firstly, it got bogged down in procceedure. Secondly, it could have done with a twist. Thirdly, there was a lack of any real tension or danger. Except towards the end. Whilst not an absolute page turner, it did keep my interest, well enough to read to the end and to read the next in the series.

Roger

I have enjoyed reading this book

Reviewed in Canada on May 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

I have enjoyed reading this book.
A well written story of a young police officer, who, as a woman, is subject to difficulties in her chosen profession. She does a very good job in finding the assassin, in a case she was assigned to.
It looks like it should be fun to read other books from this author.

Roger

G. Remrow

Spannend bis zum Schluss

Reviewed in Germany on February 26, 2013

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

Der Thriller von Leena Lehtolainen ist spannend bis zum Schluss: Ein junger, gut aussehender und erfolgreicher Mann wird ertrunken und mit Verletzungen am Kopf aufgefunden. Der stellvertretende Leiter einer Gesangstruppe die sich vor allem mit klassischer Musik beschäftigt starb bei einem Proben- Wochenende dass er mit sieben weiteren Mitgliedern, Männern und Frauen, gemeinsam verbringen wollte. Zu den Ermittlungen wird ausgerechnet eine frühere Studienkollegin der Truppe gerufen die einen Teil ihrer Ausbildung im aktiven Polizeidienst leistet.
Die Ermittlungen führen die junge Polizistin in einen Sumpf an Kriminalität in die der getötete Leiter des Chors, ein beruflich erfolgreicher und bei den Frauen sehr beliebter Mann, verwickelt war.

Soweit so gut, die Geschichte ist spannend erzählt, verfügt über genügend Drehungen und Wendungen und birgt als finnische Geschichte genügend landschaftliche und andere skandinavische Besonderheiten um sie überaus interessant zu gestalten. Den Roman habe ich, passenderweise mit musikalischer Untermalung von "Nightwish" an einem Abend ausgelesen, so spannend und fesselnd war er.

Die verbesserungswürdigen Punkte betreffen zum einen den Stil der Übersetzung und die Ausgestaltung des Motivs. Zur Übersetzung ist zu sagen dass sie rau wie irischer Whiskey ist, sie erscheint holprig und auf jeden Fall gewöhnungsbedürftig. Dass der Übersetzer so viele andere Bücher ins Englische gebracht haben soll... na ja. Das Wort "wee" zum Beispiel bedeutet so viel wie "littel, small" und ist schottischen Ursprungs, im Englischen ist es nahezu unbekannt. Auch andere Wörter sind ungewöhnlich, um nicht zu sagen, unglücklich gewählt. Den großen Erfolg würde Frau Lehtolainen mit einem Übersetzer haben der Englisch wirklich kann.

Bei der Ausgestaltung des Motivs verfiel Frau Lehtolainen in den typischen Anfängerfehler vieler Autoren und packte zu viel des Guten (oder Bösen) in die gleiche Figur. Nicht nur dass der jungen Mann berufliche erfolgreich ist und seine Chefin beglückt, nein, er hat auch an jedem Finger eine und macht sie reihum alle glücklich - ohne Viagra, versteht sich. Als richtiger nordischer Superheld dealt er nicht nur mit Haschisch, sondern liefert auch selbstgebrannten Schnaps, Kokain und willige Frauen an die zahlende Kundschaft. Das wiederspricht nicht nur allen kriminalistischen Erkenntnissen (und dem gesunden Menschenverstand) sondern wird nach einer Zeit auch lächerlich. Geradezu lachhaft aber wird es wenn auch noch eine Rennjacht als Kokaintransporter enthüllt wird... etwas weniger wäre mehr gewesen. Wenn man von diesen Punkten absieht und sie großzügig überliest ist der Roman ein Genuss, eine Spitzenleistung ist es leider nicht. Vielleicht wäre weniger Booze beim Schreiben besser gewesen.

Sehr gut gestaltet ist das Titelbild, ein reales Portrait einer jungen Frau ohne kiloweise Schminke und Retousche: Ein Mensch wie er ist und wie man sie die Hauptperson vorstellen kann. Falls ich für die Gestaltung Sonderpunkte vergeben könnte, dann für den Einband.

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My First Murder (Maria Kallio Book 1) Kindle Edition

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