A carefully guarded secret, a hushed crime—and a gift that turns the lives of mother and son upside down.
Author: Jouko Heikura
Finnish original: Lahja äidilleni
Publisher: Gummerus, 2020
Number of pages: 253 pp.
Genre: suspense
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample, English synopsis
The old, Finnish born mother of a middle-aged lawyer Timothy Stone has a terminal cancer. When he finds a letter addressed to him in her papers by accident, a secret she’s guarded her whole life is revealed to him.
Timothy, now in the middle of a divorce, has been brought up by the most important person in his life, his mother who lost her own family in her youth. Now he decides to give her a special Mother’s Day surprise—even though organising it calls for dubious means and extreme measures.
Jouko Heikura’s A gift to my Mother is a seamlessly built, addictive and riveting combination of family drama and psychological thriller, peppered with credible, multifaceted characters. The dark and devious story set in London, the author’s home town, poses questions about whether the end justifies the means, and the times it is right to act wrongly.
“Heikura abridges and concentrates on the plot, resulting in a tight psychological thriller that is also his best novel yet.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
“Here’s a splendid summer crime novel to satisfy various tastes! A drop of crime, a slice of family saga and a pinch of suspense in perfect measure. Heikura’s writing flows enjoyably. He doesn’t flourish or try too hard but instead lets the story take the reins. And what a ride, with an impressive plot that starts to unfold in a well-heeled part of London. […] I shall not open the story one iota further, so as to leave the reader to discover the delicious family secrets.”
– Ilta-Sanomat newspaper
“If you’re after a plot-driven novel with old family secrets revealed like in a suspense novel, here is a good example. […] A Gift to My Mother is addictive page-turner.”
– Maaseudun Tulevaisuus newspaper
“Heikura has managed to write a novel that is a touching portrait of a family, an impressive personal story and an entertaining thriller.”
– Satakunnan Kansa newspaper
“A Gift to My Mother is dense but not fast-paced. It’s suspenseful but not a thriller. It’s moving but not too sad. Heikura writes real sorrow and loss but not to the point of dread. To top it all off, the novel is very surprising!”
– Leena Lumi literary blog
About the author:
Jouko Heikura