Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my
Copy of this book.

Anni sells stoves for saunas. When her colleagues is murdered, she is the top suspect. Why is someone setting her up, she needs to figure it out!

This book was ok. I struggled with a bit and it nearly end up in my could not finish pile. I just didn’t care enough about the characters, or see the appeal of the sauna stoves. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. And that’s ok!

Loved this novel. Read it in three days. Hooked me from the first chapter. Will be recommending.
Did not see that ending coming.

3.5* rounded up.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is a cosy mystery set in a small company which designs and manufacture stoves for saunas. I learnt a lot about saunas while reading this, including the existence of 'bumlets'. The Finnish setting was strong and the translation excellent. Anni, a long time executive at the company sets out to prove her innocence as her colleagues are murdered and the police suspect her. That is, one of the police officers does; the other is a man she was engaged to decades ago. Then there is her husband who spends all his time watching historic Formula 1 races and buying and selling related memorabilia (or is that all he is doing?)

This was a quick easy read and I liked Anni. I didn't find it quite as humorous as the blurbs led me to expect, but there were moments, and the ending was satisfactory. I would read more by this author.

I don’t know if it was the original text or the translation which worked its magic, but the way this is written is absolutely divine. The author creates a realistic world in which an unlikely series of murders happens, and somehow the absurdity of the situation is balanced perfectly with a sense of near pathos about the passing of time and what it means. A seemingly mundane setting and ordinary people become compelling in the context of a series of sauna-related murders. I didn’t expect to be so entranced by this book, but I just couldn’t put it down.

Just could not get into it. Read half way thru and abandoned. Nothing happens or it happens slowly. And very Finnish centric. You can give it a try-you may think otherwise.

When her colleague is burned alive in a sauna, Anni soon realises that it is up to her to solve the case and prove that she is not the killer. As if she doesn't have enough to worry about with her long-term client refusing to buy the stoves she needs to sell to make her promotion, her boss acting less and less like himself, her husband locking himself away with old Formula One races, and her ex-fiancé investigating her for murder...

Antti Tuomainen is one of my favourite authors because you never know what to expect from him. The Burning Stones takes its title from the saunas at the heart of the book; as a pastime and form of employment for Anni and her colleagues, who manufacture and sell sauna stoves, and as not only a setting for murder but also the murder weapon itself. I'm not actually a huge fan of saunas, but even I was tempted by the evocative descriptions of characters ladling water onto fire and feeling the heat seep into their muscles. What I particularly loved about this focus is that it's easy for readers of all kinds to imagine and yet it's also a peculiarly Finnish custom, which is exactly the kind of thing that I read translated fiction for.

The Burning Stones also features plenty of Tuomainen's trademark humour (in case you couldn't already tell that from the book's synopsis), which made this page-turning mystery a highly entertaining read. I particularly loved the suspicious cast of characters who people this mystery, each of whom Anni investigates in turn, and who kept me guessing until the very end. If you haven't read any of this author's books before, The Burning Stones is as good a place to start as any.

Thank you to NetGalley, Antti Tuomainen and Independent Publishers Group for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I thought this book had a unique concept and beautiful setting. The humour was right up my alley from the very beginning and I was immediately intrigued to see where it went.

The storyline and main character were strong. Particular highlights for supporting characters were Janne and Erkki. Where this book fell short for me was having too many characters to follow. There wasn’t enough differentiation between some of the supporting characters for me to remember who was who and really try to solve the murder myself ahead of the reveal.

I’d recommend this book for fans of whodunnits that want a humorous twist on the genre.

A very tongue in cheek whodunit that I would have enjoyed so much more if it was in audio or TTS enabled (vision problems, not translation issues). David Hackston is to be commended for his translation. It's a fine gigglefest of a mystery with the sauna being both the instrument of murder and a real joy to experience. Rally hope to be able to buy an audio!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley/PDF from Independent Publishers Group | Orenda Books via NetGalley. Avail Apr 29 2025
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The Burning Stones is the first Antti Tuomainen novel I’ve read. His name has been among authors recommended by some Goodreads friends and, consequently, I placed a few of his books in my “Want To Read” list—a list that has grown so long that I’ll never complete it. When The Burning Stones appeared on my NetGalley list, with a description suggesting that it had a humorous tone, I requested it. At the time I needed to read a humorous novel.

The book does not begin with a comical scene. In fact the first scene is exceptionally dark—the slow torture of Elmo Raty, newly appointed CEO of Steam Devil, glued to his sauna bench. Someone keeps adding wood to the stove, and the temperature keeps rising, until the structure catches fire.

But then the POV switches to Anni Korpinen, a top salesperson at Steam Devil, and a sauna devotee herself. She is a bit quirky, with her sauna obsession, suppressed memories of a long-ago stabbing, repressed attraction to her former fiancé, Police Constable Janne Piirto, and tolerance of her wacky husband, Santeri. Santeri spends all his time reliving long-gone Formula One races and collecting memorabilia from said races—an obsession that defines his entire existence.

The scene then changes to the offices of Steam Devil, and Anni’s work colleagues, all of whom exhibit eccentric characteristics. I did get a bit lost in this section of the book, as it was difficult to remember which foreign name was associated with which odd behaviour. Shortly after encountering these colleagues, I found my interest in the story declining because of rambling comments made by the retiring founder of Steam Devil, Erkki ‘Stove King’ Ruusula, about aging, interspersed with long introspectional ramblings by Anni, also on the topic of aging. It seemed to me that the plot was split between (1) dealing with an aging mentality and (2) the murder investigation—two separate themes.

The narrative shifts again, to accusations that Anni is the murderer—accusations made by the head of police, Reijo Kiimalainen, a man who hates Anni because years ago her now deceased father shot the elk that Reijo himself had coveted. The evidence against her—her sauna bumlet found at the scene of the crime. Yes, a “bumlet”, and no, I’ve never heard of such things either before reading this novel.

Anni knows she is innocent but evidence keeps pointing her way. As she is the frontrunner to take over the helm at Steam Devil, it appears likely that one of her colleagues is framing her. So, Anni begins investigating, although she admits she is no Sherlock Holmes.

The absurdist elements keep piling up, and although I am not a fan of absurdist literature, I couldn’t stop reading. And, in the end, the mixture of (1) a murder mystery—a whodunnit, (2) satire, and (3) a philosophical discourse on “aging” do converge into a satisfying finale.

I enjoyed this novel even though I personally hate saunas; I’ve tried them and can’t understand why Finnish people are so enamoured by them. I also didn’t understand why so many of the characters in this story were in childless marriages; I assume that children do not fit into the absurdist world that author Tuomainen has created. But bumlets, a collapsing giant stove, wacky work colleagues, and Anni’s marriage to a nonentity captured me.

Thanks to the Independent Publishers Group for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.

Saunas. Killer saunas. Only the vivid imagination of the amazing Antti Tuomainen can give us such a terrific twisted tale. It's as captivating as it is witty. When our protagonist discovers she is being framed as a sauna serial killer, she must take matters into her own hands. The problem, as she sees it, is the fact she's no Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, or Jessica Fletcher. The mystery is whether she'll be able to solve the mystery. It's Tuomainen so you know the book is populated with colorful characters and charm. This is another of his instant classics. Thank you to Independent Publishers Group, Orenda Books, and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.